Old North Road railway station
Encyclopedia
Old North Road was a railway station on the Varsity Line
which served the small village of Longstowe
near Bourn
in Cambridgeshire
. As its name suggests, the station was located on the eastern side of the Old North Road
- a major Roman road
which linked London
with Lincoln
. Opened in 1862, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.
(LNWR) from its opening in 1862, which acquired the Bedford & Cambridge in 1865.
Simply laid out on the eastern side of the Old North Road which was crossed on the level
, the station had two concrete facing platforms. The majority of the station buildings were situated on the northern Up side, including a goods shed
and a type 5 LNWR signal box
. A coal siding and cattle pens were located on the Down side.
Varsity Line
The Varsity Line is an informal name for the railway route that formerly linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated successively by the London and North Western Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and British Railways...
which served the small village of Longstowe
Longstowe
-Demography:At the time of the 2001 census, Longstowe had 193 residents living in 73 households. All described themselves as White; 73.6% were Christian and 26.4% did not follow a religion or did not state one.-Landmarks:...
near Bourn
Bourn
Bourn is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. Surrounding villages include Caxton, Eltisley and Cambourne. It is 8 miles from the county town of Cambridge. The population of the parish was 1,764 people at the time of the 2001 census.Bourn has a Church of England...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. As its name suggests, the station was located on the eastern side of the Old North Road
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
- a major Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
which linked London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
. Opened in 1862, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.
History
Old North Road station was opened by the Bedford & Cambridge Railway as part of its line from Bedford, the construction of which began in April 1861. The line was worked by the London and North Western RailwayLondon 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...
(LNWR) from its opening in 1862, which acquired the Bedford & Cambridge in 1865.
Simply laid out on the eastern side of the Old North Road which was crossed on the level
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
, the station had two concrete facing platforms. The majority of the station buildings were situated on the northern Up side, including a goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
and a type 5 LNWR signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
. A coal siding and cattle pens were located on the Down side.