Byfield railway station
Encyclopedia
Byfield railway station was a railway station serving Byfield
in the English
county of Northamptonshire
.
and Towcester
in 1873
The line was not very successful and in 1877 the two trains a day in each direction were discontinued. However in 1899 the London extension
of the Great Central Railway was opened through Woodford Halse
which brought extra traffic.
The line was also helped by a partial reorganisation in 1908 and its merger into the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
The group of lines carried on unsteadily until grouping
in 1923 when they became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway By 1905 there were four trains off the Great Central line and two Woodford to Stratford services.
However demand reduced until in 1946 there was one morning through train each way, and one each way between Towcester and Byfield. The station closed on 5 April 1952, with freight finishing on 1 March 1965,
The design of the station buildings was virtually the same as all the others on the line, with two platforms serving a passing loop in the otherwise single line. There was a single line siding with a goods shed and a timber signal box. To avoid having a crossing the station was built close to an overbridge carrying A561 road.
The signal box's main function was to operate the ETS token system, although there was a facility to switch Byfield box out and operate a long block. Today, virtually all trace of the line and the station has disappeared
Byfield, Northamptonshire
Byfield is a village and civil parish forming part of the Daventry district in Northamptonshire, England.- History :Byfield, with Westhorp, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has been close to many of the important events in history. During the Wars of the Roses, in 1469 the battle of Edgecote...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
.
History
It was opened by the East and West Junction Railway between Stratford upon AvonStratford-upon-Avon railway station
Stratford-upon-Avon railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. It was once a through station on the Great Western Railway route from Birmingham to Cheltenham, but has been the terminus of the line since 1976.There are plans for a new...
and Towcester
Towcester
Towcester , the Roman town of Lactodorum, is a small town in south Northamptonshire, England.-Etymology:Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster. Tófe refers to the River Tove; Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa...
in 1873
The line was not very successful and in 1877 the two trains a day in each direction were discontinued. However in 1899 the London extension
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line , also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , is a former railway line which opened in 1899 linking Sheffield with Marylebone Station in London via Nottingham and Leicester.The GCML was the last main line railway built in...
of the Great Central Railway was opened through Woodford Halse
Woodford Halse railway station
Woodford Halse railway station stood on the Great Central Railway main line, the last main line to be built from the north of England to London. The station opened with the line on 15 March 1899 under the name Woodford and Hinton and served the adjacent villages of Woodford Halse to the east and...
which brought extra traffic.
The line was also helped by a partial reorganisation in 1908 and its merger into the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
The Stratford Upon Avon & Midland Junction Railway was a small independent railway company which ran a line across the empty, untouched centre of England. It visited the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and a little of Buckinghamshire, only existing as the SMJR from 1909 to...
The group of lines carried on unsteadily until grouping
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
in 1923 when they became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway By 1905 there were four trains off the Great Central line and two Woodford to Stratford services.
However demand reduced until in 1946 there was one morning through train each way, and one each way between Towcester and Byfield. The station closed on 5 April 1952, with freight finishing on 1 March 1965,
The design of the station buildings was virtually the same as all the others on the line, with two platforms serving a passing loop in the otherwise single line. There was a single line siding with a goods shed and a timber signal box. To avoid having a crossing the station was built close to an overbridge carrying A561 road.
The signal box's main function was to operate the ETS token system, although there was a facility to switch Byfield box out and operate a long block. Today, virtually all trace of the line and the station has disappeared