Swinton, later Swinton Central railway station was situated on 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...

 line from Sheffield Victoria to Doncaster

Doncaster railway station

Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross, and is about five minutes walk from Doncaster town centre. The station is managed by East Coast...

, between Kilnhurst Central

Kilnhurst Central railway station

Kilnhurst Central was a railway station in Kilnhurst, South Yorkshire, England, one of two railway stations serving the village, the other being Kilnhurst West, situated on the North Midland Railway line...

 and Mexborough

Mexborough railway station

Mexborough railway station serves the former mining town of Mexborough, South Yorkshire, England. It is a station on the Sheffield-Hull Line south west of Doncaster....

. The station was to serve the community of Swinton Bridge, near Mexborough

Mexborough

Mexborough is a town in the metropolitan borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, situated on the north bank of the River Don west of its confluence with the River Dearne...

, 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...

.

The station was opened in April 1872, shortly after the through line, and comprised two flanking platforms

Railway platform

A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

. The main building, including booking office, porters room etc., was on the Sheffield-bound platform and was a single storey structure with hipped roof

Hip roof

A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...

. The Doncaster-bound platform had, originally, a wooden waiting shelter which was replaced by a brick-built example in the 1890s. At the south (Kilnhurst) end of the platforms was an occupation crossing

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...

 which gave access to the platforms. This crossing was unprotected by signals

Railway signal

A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...

 or any form of locking

Interlocking

In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant...

. The line was also crossed by a footbridge

Footbridge

A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...

 at this point with steps, not only to the thoroughfare but to the station platforms.

In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, a government factory was built on land over this crossing and this had rail connection. With more than local traffic to cross the crossing was altered to manual worked gates released from Mexborough No.3 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...

 (at the north end of the station). Unusually the responsibility for manning the gates was with the factory authorities. The factory was bought by "white goods

Major appliance

A major appliance, or domestic appliance, is usually defined as a large machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task, which includes purposes such as cooking, or food preservation, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting...

" manufacturer Hotpoint

Hotpoint

The Hotpoint Electric Heating Company is a British brand of domestic appliances. The brand is currently fully owned by Italy's Indesit....

.

Swinton Central was closed on 15 September 1958.