Helpston railway station

Railway station in Cambridgeshire, England

Helpston
Remains of the station in 1995
General information
LocationHelpston, City of Peterborough
England
Grid referenceTF131055
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Key dates
2 October 1846Opened as Helpstone [1]
1 July 1858Renamed Helpstone for Market Deeping
1 May 1877Renamed Helpston for Market Deeping
1 May 1912Renamed Helpston
6 June 1966Closed

Helpston railway station was a station in Helpston, Cambridgeshire, on the Midland Railway's Syston and Peterborough Railway. It was closed in 1966. The Great Northern Railway main line runs adjacent to the Midland Railway at this point, but the Great Northern never had a station in Helpston. This was due to an agreement whereby the Midland carried materials to the site during construction of the Great Northern, and in return the Great Northern offered no competition for services on this section.[2]

The goods shed survives, as does the Great Northern Railway signal box, which is now used only to monitor a number of level crossings in the vicinity. Helpston level crossing itself carries the Helpston to Glinton road over the four tracks of the ex-GNR line and the two tracks of the ex-MR line. This was previously two separate level crossings, controlled by two separate signal boxes. There was space for two cars between the level crossings. The crossings were merged and converted from gates to full barriers in the 1970s.

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Peterborough railway line diagram
Legend
Great Northern Railway to Grantham
Helpston
Werrington Junction
Walton
Wisbech Junction
Westwood Junction
New England sidings
Peterborough North
(GNR)
Peterborough Crescent
River Nene
Fletton Junction
Great Northern Railway to London

References

  1. ^ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
  2. ^ Robin Leleux, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 9 The East Midlands.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Bainton Gate   Midland Railway
Leicester to Peterborough
  Walton

52°38′10″N 0°19′51″W / 52.6360°N 0.3307°W / 52.6360; -0.3307

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Closed railway stations in Cambridgeshire
Cambridge to Mildenhall railway
Ely and St Ives Railway
Stour Valley Railway
Varsity Line
Cambridge and Huntingdon railway
March to Wisbech
Leicester to Peterborough
Gt Northern & Gt Eastern Jt Railway
Stamford to Wansford
Ely–Peterborough line
M&GN (Peterborough branch)
Kettering to Huntingdon line
Holme to Ramsey North
Benwick Goods Railway
  • Quakers Drove
  • West Fen Drove
  • Burnt House
  • Whittlesey Dyke
  • Jones Drove
  • White Fen
  • Benwick
Ipswich–Ely line and
Newmarket and Chesterford Railway
Other lines