Whitacre Junction Railway Station
History
The line had been opened in 1839 by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway from Derby, to a south-facing junction with the London and Birmingham Railway just north of Hampton-in-Arden.
Due to increasing traffic, and the inconvenience of having to reverse trains at Hampton-in-Arden to reach Birmingham Curzon Street, a branch was built in 1842 west from Whitacre to a new Midland Railway passenger station at Birmingham Lawley Street. The station opened to serve this junction.
The Midland Railway generally used the London and North-Western Railway Trent Valley Line and Great Northern Railway tracks to reach London, so the line south to Hampton faded into obscurity. By 1907 the 6½ mile route to Hampton-in-Arden was used by only 1 train per day.
In 1864, the Midland built a new line eastwards to Nuneaton. It is not clear when the original station was built, but it was moved 60 chains further south at this time.
In 1909 a cutoff line was built between Water Orton and Kingsbury.
The station closed on 4 March 1968.
Stationmasters
- John M. Shelly ca. 1850
- Charles Broad ca. 1859 - 1872
- Joseph Brindley 1872- 1888 (formerly station master at Wichnor Junction, afterwards station master at Widmerpool)
- George Lambert 1888 - ca. 1914 (formerly station master at Widmerpool)
- H.J. Turner until 1948 (afterwards station master at Selly Oak)
- S.W. Jamieson 1956 - 1958 (formerly station master at Peplow, afterwards station master at Lakeside, Windermere)
- Mr. Peake from 1958 (formerly station master at Endon, Stoke-on-Trent)
Route
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Coleshill Line and station open |
Midland Railway Birmingham to Leicester Line |
Shustoke Line open, station closed | ||
Kingsbury Line open, station closed |
Midland Railway Stonebridge Railway |
Maxstoke Line and station closed |
References
- ^ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
- ^ "Our Wonderful Railway of Ones". The Sketch. England. 28 August 1907. Retrieved 24 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Pixton, B., (2005) Birmingham-Derby: Portrait of a Famous Route, Runpast Publishing
- ^ "Local station amongst 20 axed". Burton Observer and Chronicle. England. 7 March 1968. Retrieved 24 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1859-1866". Midland Railway Miscellaneous Depts: 94. 1914. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 296. 1871. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 295. 1881. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ "Personal Link". Coleshill Chronicle. England. 20 September 1958. Retrieved 24 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Shustoke". Coleshill Chronicle. England. 20 December 1958. Retrieved 24 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
External links