Sharnbrook railway station was opened in 1857 by the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
to serve the village of
Sharnbrook
Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, situated around north-west of Bedford town centre.
The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred o ...
in
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It was on the Midland's extension from
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
to
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
and
Hitchin
Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...
.
It was situated near to
Sharnbrook Summit. Here, originally there was a 1 in 119 gradient from the south taking the line to 340 feet above sea level. Around 1880, the line was quadrupled, with the new goods tracks taken through long Sharnbrook Tunnel. Following this, in 1884, a long curve, the Wymington Deviation allowed the ruling gradient on the slow/goods lines to be reduced to 1 in 200.
It closed in 1960 and the station buildings were subsequently demolished.
The slow/goods lines were singled and put up to passenger standard in 1987. As of 2007 they see one train a day plus occasional engineering diversions, such as on the weekend 6/7 May 2007.
Quadruple track was restored between Sharnbrook Junction and Kettering South Junction in 2020; electrification was in progress as at September, 2020. The existing Down Slow remains signalled for bi-directional use; the Up Slow is signalled for use in that direction only.
Stationmasters
*H. Robinson until 1861
(afterwards station master at Thorpe)
*Joseph Wright 1861
[ - ca .1864 (formerly station master at Finedon)
*William G. Hawkins ca. 1869 - 1873][ - 1885][ (formerly station master at Finedon)
*John V. Hawkins 1898][ - ca. 1916
*W.E. Turner 1924 - 1931 (afterwards station master at Kegworth)
*J.A. Dowdeswell 1931 - 1938 (formerly station master at Swannington)
*A.J. Chamberlain 1938 - 1939
*Harold Joseph Miller 1939 - 1948 (formerly station master at East Horndon)
*W.H. Shepperson 1948 - 1959]
Route
References
Disused railway stations in Bedfordshire
Former Midland Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1857
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1960
Charles Henry Driver railway stations
1857 establishments in England
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
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