Humberstone Road railway station

Humberstone Road station was a station to the north of Leicester, England, which opened in 1875 and closed in 1968.[1]

Humberstone Road
Leicester Humberstone Road station building in 1984 before being taken apart and rebuilt at Shenton
General information
LocationLeicester, City of Leicester
England
Grid referenceSK6005105130
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
1875Opened
1968Closed

The line was originally opened by the Midland Counties Railway, which merged with the North Midland Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to form the Midland Railway, which opened Humberstone Road station.[2]

The small village of Humberstone, situated some two miles further north-eastwards, was noted for its alabaster mine, but Humberstone Road station, alongside what is now the A47, served the rapidly expanding northern side of Leicester. Although the line is still a major route (the present-day Midland Main Line), there is now very little trace of the station.[3]

The station building lay derelict for many years following the station's closure. As a Grade II listed building it had to be preserved, but British Rail did not have sufficient funds for such an operation. Eventually the building was sold to Leicestershire County Council for £1 plus VAT. It was moved brick by brick to its new home at Shenton station on the Battlefield Line Railway, where it would serve as an information point for Bosworth Battlefield and a southern terminus building for the railway.

The next station northwards was at Syston, between Leicester and Loughborough. A short distance away was the similarly named Humberstone railway station, which was on the Great Northern Railway's Leicester branch.[4]

Former Services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Leicester London Road   Midland Railway
Midland Main Line
Leicester to Peterborough
  Syston
The former Humberstone Road station building, now rebuilt at Shenton

References edit

  1. ^ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
  2. ^ Higginson, M, (1989) The Midland Counties Railway: A Pictorial Survey, Derby: Midland Railway Trust.
  3. ^ Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
  4. ^ British Railways Atlas.1947. p.16

52°38′26″N 1°06′50″W / 52.6406°N 1.1140°W / 52.6406; -1.1140

External links edit