Calling at... British railway stations

North Camp (NCM)

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North Camp is a stop on the North Downs Line in Surrey between Farnborough North and Ash.

A GWR DMU prepares to depart for Redhill

Information
Type:	National Rail (North Downs Line)
Station code:	NCM
Opened:	1858
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as North Camp, Aldershot named after the nearby North Camp area of Farnborough. The station has changed name a number of times over the years. It was renamed Aldershot Camp in 1863, then to Aldershot (North Camp) in 1879. In 1910 the name was changed to Aldershot (North Camp) & South Farnborough, in 1923 this shortened to Aldershot (North). However, the following year the name was changed again to North Camp and it has remained unchanged ever since!

The station goods yard was removed in 1969 but the station building, which was reputedly designed by Lord Kitchener [1], remains in place though nowadays is used by a dental practice. The station is managed by GWR who provide up to two services an hour in each direction between Reading and Redhill.

Level crossing at the end of the platforms

View down the platform

Very faded station sign still showing traces of Network South East

Main station building

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Reading to Guildford (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 73

Bicester North (BCS)

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Bicester North in Oxfordshire is a stop on the Chiltern Main Line between Kings Sutton and Haddenham & Thame Parkway. Nearby (though not on the same line) is Bicester Village on the line to Oxford.

Chiltern 168 004 arrives at Bicester North

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chiltern Main Line)
Station code:	BCS
Opened:	1910
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1910. The station as built was far more elaborate than the station which exists now. Bicester North had a goods yard and a couple of through roads for non-stopping services. The Chiltern line drastically cut back in the late 1960s, being singled for a lot of it's stretch though a loop was retained at Bicester North [1]. The track was redoubled in the early 2000s and remodelled through the station to allow for higher speeds. The space formally occupied by the through road became the new Up (London) bound track through the station. The platform was widened as a result (which is why the waiting rooms and other buildings on that platform are so far back!)

The main station building is little changed since the opening of the station with the original canopy. The footbridge is largely as it was since the station was built, though lifts have been added. Originally the bridge had to span four tracks hence its width! The station is managed and served by Chiltern Railways.

Chiltern 165 002 arrives with a South bound service

Under the GWR canopy

Footbridge

Main station building

Just arrived

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Princes Risborough to Banbury (Middleton Press, 2001) plate 63

The Hawthorns (THW)

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The Hawthorns is a railway / light rail interchange in West Bromwich. It is adjacent to West Bromwich Albion's football ground and shares the same name.

Information
Type:	National Rail (Jewellery Lines) & TfWM Midland Metro
Station code:	THW
Opened:	1995
Platforms:	2 (+2 Metro)

The station was opened in 1995 on the site of the football-only Hawthorns Halt which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1931 and stayed open until 1968 though only served football specials.

The Hawthorns was opened as part of the Jewellery Line which restored services to Birmingham Snow Hill unlike the earlier station it is open every day the railway is open and not just on match days.

In 1999 the Midland Metro also opened stops next to the railway station. Access between the platforms is via an over bridge to the ticket hall and station entrances.

LM 172 337 stops on a Stourbridge bound service

Access bridge between all platforms, here we are on the Metro platform, a railway platform is to the right

Railway platforms view

Two Midlands Metro trams

LM 172 345 departs heading for Birmingham

Leicester (LEI)

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Leicester is a major stop on the Midland Main Line as well as a hub for services throughout the East Midlands.

EMR 156 406 stands at Leicester

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line)
Station code:	LEI
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the Midland Counties Railway in 1840 (though an earlier station was built elsewhere in the city in 1832). The station was later owned by the Midland Railway, under whom the station was renamed Leicester Campbell Street.

The current main statoon building dates from a major rebuilding of the station in the 1890s when the station was renamed Leicester London Road. It was built with an overall roof over the platforms, however this badly deteriorated after being damaged in the Second World War, the remains were finally removed in the mid-1970s [1]. The station name was changed to simply Leicester in 1969 after the closure of the two other stations in the city in the late 1960s. Further changes to the station including the current booking hall and the platform facilities date from modernisation in the late 1970s.

The platforms are partially covered by modern canopies. There are overall footbridges at both ends of the platforms.

The station has four platforms and is a major stop on East Midland Railway services between London St. Pancras and the North, there are also regular services to other destinations such as Birmingham New St, Derby and Loughborough by EMR and Cross Country.

EMR 222 004 departs

View down the platform, note the canopy

An EMR train stands under the footbridge at the end of the open air end of the platforms

View of the footbridge

EMR 156 498 stands on Platform 4

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Coventry to Leicester (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 89

Kirkdale (KKD)

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Kirkdale is a stop on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network at the junction of the Ormskirk and Kirkby branches and is in between Sandhills and Walton or Rice Lane. The station is next to Kirkdale TMD which is the largest depot on the Merseyrail network.

Ormskirk bound Merseyrail 507 016 arrives at the station

Information
Type:	National Rail (Merseyrail Northern Line)
Station code:	KKD
Opened:	1848
Platforms:	2

The station was opened as Bootle Lane in 1848 on a joint line built by the Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston and Liverpool & Bury Railways. The station was renamed Kirkdale in 1877.

Although still a busy spot on the network Kirkdale used to have a number of other lines and routes pass through or underneath the station. Since 1977 it has been part of the Merseyrail network and is the interchange between the Kirkby and Ormskirk branches which diverge just North of the station.