Jump to content

Whittington railway station

Coordinates: 53°16′14″N 1°23′58″W / 53.2705°N 1.3994°W / 53.2705; -1.3994
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Whittington
General information
LocationChesterfield
England
Grid referenceSK 401 750
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 October 1861Station opened
9 June 1873Replaced by new station further north
4 February 1952Closed to regular services
March 1977Closed completely[1]
North Midland Railway
72¾
Leeds (Hunslet Lane)
70¾
Hunslet
(1850)
68¾
Woodlesford
66¼
Methley
64¼
Calder Viaduct
Altofts and Whitwood
(1870)
63¼
Normanton
59¾
Barnsley Canal
Oakenshaw
for Wakefield
Sandal and Walton
(1870)
58¼
Chevet Tunnel
57
56
¾
Royston and Notton
(
1st
2nd
)
(
1841–1900
1900–1968
)
53¾
Cudworth
49¼
Darfield
(2nd)
(1901–1963)
48¾
48¾
Darfield
(1st)
(1840–1901)
47¾
Wath North
45¾
Swinton Town
43¾
Kilnhurst West
Parkgate and Rawmarsh
(1853)
40¾
Rotherham Masborough
Ickles viaduct
36¾
Treeton
35¼
Woodhouse Mill
34¾
Beighton
(1840-1843)
32¼
Killamarsh West
30¼
Eckington and Renishaw
27¾
Barrow Hill
Whittington
Tapton Junction
25
24
¾
Chesterfield
original
current
20¾
Clay Cross
17¾
Stretton
14¾
Wingfield
11½
Lodge Hill Tunnel
11
10½
Ambergate
current
original
Longland Tunnel
7
Belper
current
original
5
Duffield
current
original
Nottingham Road
(1856)
0¾
Derby

Whittington railway station is a former railway station on the southern edge of New Whittington, Derbyshire, England.

History

[edit]

The original Whittington station was built by the Midland Railway to serve Old Whittington. The station opened on 1 October 1861[2] with two services per day to Derby, and three to Leeds. The impetus to provide the station at Whittington came from the establishment of extensive steel works and the opening of several collieries at Whittington which increased the population in the area.[3] The initial station comprised wooden buildings with platforms on both lines, and roads were made from the old and new villages for access.

The station was on the North Midland Railway's "Old Road" between Chesterfield and Rotherham Masborough. The line opened in 1840 and became very busy with coal and steel traffic with a number of new branches. In 1870 the Midland opened the "New Road" through Sheffield from Tapton Junction just north of Chesterfield, diverting passenger expresses away from the Old Road.

The line through Whittington remained busy with local passengers, particularly with the rapidly expanding industry. The original station was replaced with a station 1.5 miles (2 km) further north in 1873. This 1873 station was the final Whittington station in the area.

The buildings were constructed of timber, as was the signal box, with loops to each line. For a period around 1938 there was a wagon works nearby, with a small siding.

The station experienced some trouble on 19 August 1911 during the National Railway strike of 1911. A large mob resorted to throwing stones at every train that passed through Whittington. Railway officials learned that it was the intention of the mob to stone the train due to arrive at 10.11 for Chesterfield. The company sent for a detachment of the West Yorkshire Regiment which were at Barrow Hill. The soldiers were brought to Whittington and detrained about 100 yards (91 m) north of the station and proceeded on foot to clear a safe passage for the people in the train following. The mob returned the next day and stoned the station buildings, breaking around half of the windows.[4]

The last regular passenger trains called on 4 February 1952, though it was used for excursions and special trains until 1977.[5]

Stationmasters

[edit]
  • J. Hey 1861 - 1862[6]
  • S. Jervis 1862 - 1864[6]
  • H.T. Brown 1864 - 1865[6]
  • Charles Fox 1865[6] - 1870[7]
  • Joseph Cowland 1870[8] - 1880
  • George Pooley 1880[9] - 1886[10]
  • John Ross 1886 - 1889[10]
  • Aaron Walker 1889 - 1895[10] (afterwards station master at Sandal and Walton)
  • J. Shaw 1895 - 1898[10]
  • William Little 1898[10] - 1909 (formerly station master at Heaton Mersey)
  • C.H. Baker ca. 1911
  • W. Thompson until 1939[11]
  • W. M. Powis from 1939

Passenger services

[edit]

In 1922 passenger services calling at Whittington were at their most intensive, with trains serving four destinations via five overlapping routes:

  • On Sundays only
  • On Mondays to Saturdays three stopping services plied between Sheffield (MR) and Chesterfield
    • most ran direct down the "New Road" through Dronfield and went nowhere near Whittington.
  • the other two services went the "long way round" via the "Old Road". They set off north eastwards from Sheffield (MR) towards Rotherham then swung east to go south along the Old Road
    • one of these continued north past Holmes, a short distance before Masboro' then swung hard right, next stop Treeton, then all stations, including Whittington, to Chesterfield,
    • the other continued past Attercliffe Road then swung right onto the Sheffield District Railway passing through or calling at West Tinsley and Catcliffe before Treeton, after which they called at all stations to Chesterfield.
  • Also on Mondays to Saturdays two stopping services plied between Mansfield (MR) and Chesterfield via Barrow Hill

Modern traffic

[edit]

The line is now part of the current Midland Main Line. It is used predominantly for freight, with a handful of passenger trains going the "long way round" from Chesterfield to Sheffield via the Old Road and Darnall largely to retain staff route knowledge in case of diversions.[13]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Barrow Hill
Line open, station closed
  Midland Railway
North Midland Railway "Old Road"
  Chesterfield
Line and station open

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Butt 1995, p. 247.
  2. ^ "Midland Railway. Opening of Whittington Station". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 28 September 1861. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Whittington. New Railway Station". Sheffield Independent. England. 7 October 1861. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Throwing at the Trains. New Whittington Mob's Return". Derbyshire Courier. England. 26 August 1911. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ Pixton 2001, p. 13.
  6. ^ a b c d "1859-1866". Midland Railway Miscellaneous Depts: 166. 1914. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Presentation at North Whittington". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 12 November 1870. Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 174. 1871. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  9. ^ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 642. 1871. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 203. 1881. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  11. ^ "New Stationmasters". Sheffield Evening Telegraph. England. 15 December 1939. Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Bradshaw 1985, p. 660.
  13. ^ Old Road passenger traffic in 2013: via psul4all

Sources

[edit]
[edit]

     

53°16′14″N 1°23′58″W / 53.2705°N 1.3994°W / 53.2705; -1.3994