Harby and Stathern railway station
Encyclopedia
Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway
The Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway was a joint railway owned by the Great Northern Railway and the London and North Western Railway in east Leicestershire.-Location:...
that served the villages of Harby
Harby, Leicestershire
Harby is a village in the English county of Leicestershire.The village is pleasantly situated on the south side of the Grantham Canal.Harby is in the far north-east of the county in the Vale of Belvoir, north of the town of Melton Mowbray, south west of the town of Grantham...
and Stathern
Stathern
Stathern is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England. It is in the Vale of Belvoir about north of Melton Mowbray. In the 2001 census the parish had 288 dwellings, and a population of 672.-External links:...
, in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
.
Overview
It was the locomotive exchange station for goods traffic, with GNRGreat Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
engines working to the north and LNWR
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
engines working to the south. Harby & Stathern was chosen due to local opposition in Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
.
It was difficult to manage and run. The sidings were insufficient at peak times and the turntable could not be accessed directly so engines had to shunt to gain access through the sidings. The station was not very convenient for local passengers as the approach road was about five hundred yards long. The goods yard was very large and the original warehouse still stands.
Services
The principal services were GNR services from Leicester Belgrave RoadLeicester Belgrave Road railway station
-Overview:Leicester Belgrave Road was the Great Northern Railway terminus in Leicester, England. It was the terminus of the GNR's branch line from the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway at Marefield Junction. It opened on 2 October 1882...
to Grantham
Grantham railway station
Grantham railway station serves the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England and lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross.-Description:Junctions near the town also connect to branches to Nottingham, and to Sleaford and Skegness...
and LNWR services from Northampton
Northampton railway station
Northampton railway station is a railway station serving the large town of Northampton and other parts of Northamptonshire in England. Other parts of South Northamptonshire are better served by Kings Sutton, Banbury and Milton Keynes Central stations....
to Nottingham London Road Low Level. Initially the LNWR also ran trains from Northampton to Newark, but in 1882 these were replaced by trains running between Harby & Stathern and Newark which connected with the Nottingham trains. The connecting trains were down to one in 1910 and were withdrawn altogether by 1922. In addition there were many summer excursion trains.