Fenny Stratford (FEN)

Fenny Stratford is a stop on the Marston Vale Line in Buckinghamshire between Bletchley and Bow Brickhill.

LNWR signage

Information
Type:	National Rail (Marston Vale Line)
Station code:	FEN
Opened:	1846
Platforms:	1

The station was opened by the Bedford Railway in 1846, the station buildings being rather grand looking half-timbered, this was on the insistance of the Duke of Bedford as the station was close to his estate. The station originally had two platforms staggered either side of a level crossing. One platform was later resited to face the other in 1948 [1] though in the 1960s the station became a single platform affair, and unstaffed in 1968. A number of sidings were also withdrawn. The line at Fenny Stratford was singled in 1972.

The station is managed by London North Western Railway who operate all services at the station. There were no services at all (apart from rail replacement buses) for a couple of years in the early 2020s after the withdrawal of LNWR's Class 230s, which had operated on the line, following the collapse of Vivarail in 2022. Railway services were resumed with replacement stock in 2024.

Level crossing at end of the platform

Down the platform, no trace of the former facing platform can be seen

Station building, now a private residence

View towards Bletchley

Station entrance

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Bletchley to Bedford (Middleton Press, 2007) Fig. 13

St Chads Metro

St Chads is a stop on the West Midlands Metro in Birmingham between St Paul's and Bull Street.

Tram 34 leaves St Chads heading for Bull Street

Information
Type:	West Midlands Metro
Opened:	2016
Platforms:	2

The original city centre terminus of the West Midlands Metro was at Birmingham Snow Hill railway station. In 2016 the metro was extended into the city centre, eventually as far as Edgbaston Village. St Chads was opened in 2016 as a replacement for the Snow Hill stop which was closed. 

Although St Chads is adjacent to the railway station's platforms there was no direct interchange between the two put in place. Indeed, Bull Street is advertised as the best stop to alight for the railway station, this is why the tram stop was not called Snow Hill when opened.

Platform, Snow Hill is behind

Preparing to depart

Shelter

Tram stop viewed from the railway, so near but so far!

Rotherham Central (RMC) and Supertram

Rotherham Central is a stop on the Dearne Valley and Wakefield Lines in South Yorkshire between Meadowhall Interchange and Swinton. It is also between Tinsley Meadowhall South and Parkgate on the Sheffield Supertram.

Northern 158 842 arrives at Rotherham Central

Information
Type:	National Rail (Dearne Valley & Wakefield Lines) Sheffield Supertram
Station code:	RMC
Opened:	1874 (Closed 1966)
Re-opened:	1987
Platforms:	2 (+2)

The station was opened in 1874 by the South Yorkshire Railway. The station later became part of the Great Central Railway and was renamed Rotherham & Masborough in 1889, the station reverted back to it's original name in 1950. However, it went into decline under British Railways like much of the old GCR and the station was closed in 1966. A new Rotherham Central was opened in 1987 near to but not exactly in the same place as the old station. The station was rebuilt in 2012. In 2018 the Sheffield Supertram was extended to Rotherham Central using Class 399 tram trains. The tram platforms are situated on the ends of the heavy rail platforms and are lower.

The station usually has two trains in each direction operated by Northern, who also manage the station. There is also a single Trans Pennine Express station per day through to Doncaster.

Sheffield Supertram 399 203 arrives with a Sheffield Cathedral bound service

View up the platforms

Northern 150 215 arrives

Supetram platform shelter

The ramp up to the heavy rail platform (and exit)

Orrell Park (OPK)

Orrell Park is a stop on the Merseyrail Northern Line Ormskirk Branch in Liverpool between Aintree and Walton.

Merseyrail 777 009 arrives at Orrell Park

Information
Type:	National Rail (Merseyrail Northern Line Ormskirk Branch)
Station code:	OPK
Opened:	1906
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1906 as Orrell Park Halt (it lost the Halt part of the station name in 1948).

The station has a staffed booking office with ramps down to platform level. A footbridge allows transfer between the two platforms. The station is managed and served by Merseyrail with trains at up to every fifteen minutes interval in each direction.

507 016 arrives with a Liverpool bound service

View down the platform showing the footbridge and standard shelters

Ramp on the left

Station entrance

777 018 arrives with an Ormskirk bound service

Totteridge and Whetstone (ZTW)

Totteridge & Whetstone is a stop on the London Underground Northern Line's High Barnet Branch in north London between Woodside Park and High Barnet.

Northern Line 51665 arrives with a north bound service

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Underground Northern Line)
Station code:	ZTW
Opened:	1872
Platforms:	2

The station was opened (as Whetstone & Totteridge) by the Great Northern Railway in 1872, though has originally been a project of the Edgware, Highgate & London Railway. The name was switched around two years later [1]. In 1923 the station became part of the London North Eastern Railway. In the late 1930s the High Barnet branch became part of the London Underground's Northern Heights project. The first Underground trains began serving Totteridge & Whetstone in 1940, LNER services ceased the following year. LNER and later British Railways freight services continued to use the station's goods yard until 1962.

The station retains it's original GNR buildings, the main station building being at street level over the lines. Access between the platforms is via a footbridge. The goods yard is now the station's car park! The station has at least sixteen trains in each direction per hour, southbound trains go to either Morden or Battersea Power Station.

51530 departs north

View down the platforms

Waiting to go

Heading north

Heading south

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 161

Kirriemuir

Kirriemuir was a stop on the Scottish Midland Junction Railway in Angus between Kirriemuir Junction and Glamis.

Kirriemuir [1]

Information
Type:	Scottish Midland Junction Railway
Opened:	1861
Closed:	1952
Platforms:	1

The station was opened in 1861 by the Scottish North Eastern Railway on it's line from Perth to Forfar, which was known as the Scottish Midland Junction Railway. It later became part of the Caledonian Railway.

The station was closed to passengers in 1952 though goods traffic continued until 1965.

[1] "The Perth-Dundee-Montrose Section of the LMSR", The Railway Magazine p. 6

Bentley (Hampshire) (BTY)

Bentley is a stop on the Alton Line in Hampshire (there is also a Bentley station in South Yorkshire) between Farnham and Alton.

SWR 450 055 at Bentley

Information
Type:	National Rail (Alton Line)
Station code:	BTY
Opened:	1854
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the London & South Western Railway in 1854. The line through the station was doubled in 1901, the station gaining canopies at this time [1]. In 1905 the Bentley & Bordon Light Railway was built linking Bentley to a military camp at Bordon, a bay platform being added for the new branch line. This line was closed to passengers in 1957 and closed completely in 1966.

The line to Alton was singled in 1985 though a passing loop has been installed for operational flexibility. Most trains, in either direction, use platform 1 which is where the main station building is situated. A footbridge allows access for when platform 2 is in use, which is usually during peak hours. The station is managed by South Western Railway. The station usually has an hourly service in both directions. Not all services on the line stop at Bentley.

Station building

The platforms are not long enough for a double rake of Class 450s

Footbridge

A Class 450 approaches

At the station

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Woking to Alton (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 82

Northampton (NMP)

Northampton is a stop on the West Coast Main Line between Long Buckby and Wolverton, the principal station on the WCML's Northampton Loop.

LNWR 350 405 prepares to depart for Birmingham

Information
Type:	National Rail (West Coast Main Line)
Station code:	NMP
Opened:	1859
Platforms:	5

The first station in Northampton was Bridge Street which was opened in 1845 by the Northampton & Peterborough Railway. In 1859 the London & North Western Railway opened a station on the site of the town's former castle (and indeed the station ended up being called Northampton Castle). This station was initially a rather minor station compared to Bridge Street. The building of the Northampton Loop along with other improvements to the Birmingham New Street - London Euston line (now the WCML) saw the Castle station grow in importance and it was rebuilt and enlarged in the early 1880s.

In 1964 Bridge Street closed leaving Castle station the only one remaining in the town. It was renamed to just Northampton a couple of years later. The station was rebuilt in the late 1960s along with the arrival of electrification. This station remained until 2013-14 when a brand new station building twice the size of the 1960s one was opened.

Most services at Northampton are by London Northwestern Railway, who manage the station, though a couple of Avanti West Coast services also stop at the station every day.

Station building

Freightliner 66 951 leads a freight through Northampton

View down the platforms

Platform canopies

350 130 prepares to depart for London Euston