Warwick (WRW)

Warwick is a stop on the Chiltern Main Line in Warwickshire between Warwick Parkway and Leamington Spa.

Chiltern 168 005 arrives at Warwick

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chiltern Main Line)
Station code:	WRW
Opened:	1852
Platforms:	2

Warwick was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1852 on it's line between Oxford and Birmingham. The station was expanded in 1890 with the platforms lengthened. Warwick once had a bay siding for a bank engine to assist heavy goods trains up Hatton bank towards Birmingham.

Warwick had two goods yards, one for the gas works and the other for the Royal Agricultural Society which held shows nearby [1]. The goods yards and bay siding have now gone following rationalisation in the mid-1960s, as have the station buildings on the Up (London) line. The station building on the Down line still survives. The station has a small cafe and waiting room. Access between the platforms is via a subway.

 

The station is managed by Chiltern Railways who supply most services to the station on the Birmingham-London Marylebone route and services to Leamington Spa either from Stratford-upon-Avon or Birmingham Moor Street. West Midlands Railway also stop at the station at peak times. 

Since the opening of Warwick Parkway in 2000 the original Warwick has become overshadowed to an extent by the new station as it has a better intercity service and much better parking.

Main station building

A Stoneblower passes through the station

Station frontage

Station sign

Two Chiltern services at the station

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Banbury to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2004) Map XIV

Heron Quays (ZHQ)

Heron Quays is a stop on the Bank to Lewisham branch of the Docklands Light Railway between Canary Wharf and South Quay.

A DLR train at Heron Quays

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Docklands Light Railway)
Station code:	ZHQ
Opened:	1987
Platforms:	2

The station was opened in 1987, originally to be called Heron Wharf though this was changed to Quays by the time of opening [1]. The station was open air and on an elevated section of track. The station was closed in 2001 for reconstruction inside a new high-rise development at Canary Wharf. The rebuilt station also had longer platforms for three-car DLR trains. It re-opened in 2002.

The station is close to the Canary Wharf Jubilee Line underground station (indeed it is closer to it than the actual Canary Wharf DLR station!)

View from across the dock

Station entrance

View down the platform

[1] Stephen Jolly & Bob Bayman, Docklands Light Railway (Capital Transport, 1986) p. 55

Baynards

Baynards was a stop on the now closed Cranleigh line in Surrey between Cranleigh and Rudgwick. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Cranleigh Line)
Opened:	1865
Closed:	1965
Platforms:	2

Baynards station was opened by the Horsham & Guildford Direct Railway, in 1865, for Lord Thurlow, on whose land the Cranleigh Line (from Guildford to Horsham) passed through. The opening of a station to serve his estate was a condition for allowing the line to pass through his land. The station served no nearby settlement which did not do a great deal for the station's usage. However, in the twentieth century the station became popular as a filming location due to the rural surrounds [1]. The station appeared in a number of films made in the 1940s to 1960s as well as the BBC TV adaptation of the Railway Children.

Despite the rural location Baynard station had two platforms and a goods shed. There was a level crossing at one end of the platforms which was controlled from a signalbox. The Baynard Brick & Tile Works was near to the station and has it's own private siding.

The station was operated by the London Brighton & South Coast Railway and later part of the Southern Railway. Baynards was closed in 1965 along with the rest of the Cranleigh Line. The station buildings and platforms still survive and have been partially preserved.

Baynards station (KD collection)

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Branch Lines to Horsham (Middleton Press, 1982) Fig. 23

Kirkdale (KKD)

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.

 

The station was refurbished and modernised in 2000 with a new footbridge and an improved booking office.

Merseyrail 508 124 rests on a TMD siding next to the station

Merseyrail 507 023 departs Kirkdale

Combined footbridge and ticket office

Look down the platform, the TMD is in the background 

Departing for Liverpool

Melton Constable

Melton Constable was a stop on the Midland & Great Northern Railway in Norfolk, being a hub for a number of branch lines in North Norfolk. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland & Great Northern)
Opened:	1882
Closed:	1964
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Lynn & Fakenham Railway in 1882 on a line from Fakenham to Norwich. Other lines to Melton Constable were from North Walsham (1883) and a Great Eastern Railway line from Holt in 1884. Later the station came under the control of the Midland & Great Northern Railway.

As with many places the arrival of the railways greatly boosted the local economy, especially after the establishment of a locomotive works. This turned Melton Constable into one of the main centres of the Midland & Great Northern Railway. However, after the closure of the works in 1936 by the LNER (who by then owned the station) Melton Constable station and railways in the area went into decline. The Midland & Great Northern Railway was largely shut down in 1959 with Melton Constable remaining open for remaining services until 1964.

Despite being a junction for a number of lines the station only had a single island platform with access to the platform via a footbridge. The station building was demolished in 1971 though some traces of the old station and works still remain.

Melton Constable in 1947 (KD collection)

North Camp (NCM)

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

Beaconsfield (BCF)

Beaconsfield is a stop on the Chiltern Main Line between High Wycombe and Seer Green & Jordans. Beaconsfield has also appeared in the TV crime series Midsomer Murders a number of times as the railway station in Midsomer's county town!

Chiltern 165 018 departs

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chiltern Main Line)
Station code:	BCF
Opened:	1906
Platforms:	2

The station was openly jointly by the Great Western Railway and Great Central Railway in 1906. The station was located a short distance (about a twenty minute walk) from the old town and helped spark the development of a new town. The line underwent a long decline throughout the twentieth century. Originally four lines went through Beaconsfield but the two central fast lines were removed in 1974. The station had a goods yard, including a cattle dock, but it was closed in 1964 [1].

However, in latter years Beaconsfield has benefited from the upgrades to the Chiltern Main Line. Line speeds though the station have been increased though the station has not had some of the upgrades afforded to stations elsewhere. There is no step-free access between the two platforms available without leaving the station and crossing over to the other side via a road bridge that spans the lines.

 

The able-bodied can cross using a footbridge though it is quite a long one due to the fact there used to be four tracks here. The station has had improved car parking facilities and ticket barriers. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways.

View down the platform

One of the station entrances

A Chiltern service arrives at the station

View down the platform, the long footbridge is apparent

Station frontage, the main entrance

Bekonscot

Close to Beaconsfield station is Bekonscot model village, the oldest such tourist attraction in the world. Bekonscot has been creating a model replica of the country for nearly one hundred years. Bekonscot has it's own narrow gauge railway and an extensive mini-world of buildings ranging from castles to shops, schools to cable cars.

Bekonscot

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Paddington to Princes Risborough (Middleton Press, 2002) Fig. 89