Harby and Stathern railway station

Infobox UK disused station
name = Harby & Stathern
gridref = SK879713


caption =
manager = Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway
owner = LNER and LMS Joint
locale = Harby
borough = Melton, Leicestershire
platforms = 2
years = 15 December 1879
events = Opened
years1 = 7 December 1953
events1 = Closed to regular services
years2 = 9 September 1962
events2 = Closed to summer specials

Harby & Stathern Station was a former station on the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway that served the villages of Harby and Stathern, in Leicestershire. It was the locomotive exchange station for goods traffic, with GNR engines working to the north and LNWR engines working to the south. Harby & Stathern was chosen due to local opposition in Melton Mowbray.

It was difficult to manage and run. The sidings were insufficient at peak times and the turntable could not be accessed directly so engines had to shunt to gain access through the sidings. The station was not very convenient for local passengers as the approach road was about five hundred yards long. The goods yard was very large and the original warehouse still stands.

The principal services were GNR services from Leicester Belgrave Road to Grantham and LNWR services from Northampton to Nottingham London Road Low Level. Initially the LNWR also ran trains from Northampton to Newark, but in 1882 these were replaced by trains running between Harby & Stathern and Newark which connected with the Nottingham trains. The connecting trains were themselves withdrawn in the 1890's. In addition there were many summer excursion trains.

The station closed to regular traffic in 1953, but summer specials lasted until 1962. [A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 9 The East Midlands. Robin Leleux] [Forgotten Railways, The East Midlands. (P Anderson)]

Former Services

References