Doncaster railway station was situated in the Hexthorpe

Hexthorpe

Hexthorpe is a small village located on the edge of the town of Doncaster. Hexthorpe lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The area's shape resembles a rhombus, with borders with Balby and Doncaster Town Centre, separated by railway lines and the river separating...

 area of Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

, South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, England

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...

 and was accessed from St. James' Bridge, the main road link between Doncaster town centre and the railway community of Hexthorpe. The station was a little nearer Doncaster than the South Yorkshire Railway

South Yorkshire Railway

The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company which was based in the south of the former West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its first section of line opened on 10 November 1849 between Swinton Junction and Doncaster...

's Doncaster (Cherry Tree Lane) railway station

Doncaster (Cherry Tree Lane) railway station

Doncaster railway station was situated in the Hexthorpe district of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England and was the original terminus of the South Yorkshire Railway....

 being less than a mile south of the main station, adjacent to the Sheffield line.

The station, which consisted of a single island platform, was built by the LNER

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 to serve excursion traffic, principally that bringing visitors to the town in connection with the St. Leger horse racing festival held each September although it was also used for seaside excursions leaving (or passing through) the town heading for the east coast, principally to Cleethorpes

Cleethorpes

Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...

. (Those not required to stop would usually be routed via the Doncaster Avoiding Line

Doncaster Avoiding Line

The Doncaster Avoiding Line is a railway line, which as its title suggests, avoids the town of Doncaster and routes goods traffic, principally coal and steel, away from the main line station where it would have to cross from the Sheffield line to the Hull or Cleethorpes lines and cause a...

 due to pressure of space). This station, adjacent to carriage sidings where incoming trains could be stored also relieved the pressure of platform space in the town's main station.

Access was by a substantial wooden ramp, stepped on one side, plain slope for cyclists on the other, from St. James' Bridge, a favourite place for trainspotters with views over the East Coast Main Line

East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

 and the Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 bound line. Platform facilities were minimal and consisted of a small office, used by the staff which came from the main station as needed.

Because the station never had a regular timetabled service it did not appear in timetables, only in "Special Traffic Notices" when it was to be used. This also means that closure notices were not required when it was no longer needed by the demands of traffic and an official closure date not recorded. It was, however, in use until the late 1950s, but possibly even later.

The station platforms were not removed on closure and were in situ until changes were made to the track layout in the area in the late 1990s.