Northampton and Lamport Railway

Northampton & Lamport Railway
Boughton, end of the line as of May 2012
Locale England
Terminus Pitsford and Brampton
Commercial operations
Name Northampton to Market Harborough line ("Harborough Line")
Built by London and North Western Railway
Original gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Operated by Northampton & Lamport Railway Preservation Society
Stations 1
Length 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Commercial history
Opened 1858
Closed 1981
Preservation history
1984 Work started at (and around) Pitsford and Brampton station site
1995 Light Railway Order, Granted with First public passenger train operated
1996 Grand Re-opening (NLR re-opened, officially)
Headquarters Pitsford and Brampton
Website
www.nlr.org.uk

Northampton & Lamport Railway

Brampton Valley Way
Railway legend
Trails legend
 MP (Milepost)
 former route to Northampton

Boughton Crossing
Brampton Valley Way (Terminus)

Boughton(Terminus)
Passing Loop

Boughton Sidings
Community Woodland

footpath crossing

horse farm crossing

Bridge 11

end of passenger services
4½
Pitsford Sidings

footpath and vehicle crossing

summit
4¾

Bridge 12Pitsford Road

footpath crossing

Pitsford and BramptonHeritage railway

plant crossing

5¾ Station Loop

Bridge 12A
River Nene
Pitsford and Brampton siding

Bridge 13
5¼

farm crossing

Bridge 14
Merry Tom Halt(proposed)

Merry Tom Lane
former route to Market Harborough
Brampton Valley Way continues

The Northampton & Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Northampton.

Overview

The line between Northampton and Market Harborough was finally closed (by British Rail) on 16 August 1981, the intermediate stations on the route having been closed for many years.

In 1984 (just 3 years after the line's closure) a group was formed with the intention of re-opening a section of the line as a heritage railway. The site opened to the public shortly afterwards. Following the granting of a Light Railway Order, the line carried its first fare-paying passengers in November 1995. The official Grand Opening Ceremony took place (just 4 months later) on 31 March 1996.

Currently, passenger trains operate on a section of line approximately 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) in length, departing from and arriving at the only station, Pitsford and Brampton.

However, As of November 2013, An extension south had currently been under construction which adds another 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) of running line, with around 90% of track-relaying completed around Spring 2012. Once complete it will include a station with sidings and run-round loop at the former Boughton Crossing on the A5199 at the Northamptonshire village of Boughton.

A northern extension of the N&LR currently remains within the planning stage, but before work can start, however, extensive repairs are needed to Bridge 14 which carries the track over the River Nene. In addition Northamptonshire County Council, which owns the former trackbed, will not grant a lease on the land required for the extension until the NLR's southern extension (to as far as Boughton) is completed. The previous extension opened after several years' work and around £50,000 was spent on repairs to Bridge 13, (the same amount required for Bridge 14, when the NLR turns its intention northwards).

The signalling system, with two working signal boxes (and a third under construction), makes it one of the most comprehensive and detailed on any heritage railway of its size, within Preservation. The Booking Office at Pitsford and Brampton station was built using the disused Lamport signal box, originally located around 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) miles away on/up the same line. It had since been converted in such a way that it can be easily converted back into a signal box if whenever required in the future.

A third signal box has been installed at the Boughton Terminus; the former Betley Road signal box from Crewe is being used following its restoration.

The Brampton Valley Way is a "linear park" offering a traffic-free route for walkers, cyclists and pedestrians, and which runs alongside the railway, separated by a stout safety fence. Access is also available to horse riders on other sections away from the railway.

The railway is open for viewing from 10:00 to 17:00 on Sundays. Train rides are available on Sundays from March to October, diesel hauled with steam-hauled trains for special events(subject to availability). Open from March to October and throughout December for Santa's visit.

Events

A number of special events take place throughout the year, the popular Santa Specials run throughout the month of December.

On 18 July 2007 the Railway at War Weekend, an event held at the railway every September, was named Best Event in the 2007 Northamptonshire Renaissance Heritage Awards.[1]

Locomotives

Steam

Main line diesel

Industrial diesel and shunters

Carriages

Image gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northampton & Lamport Railway.

References

  1. ↑ Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 19 July 2007
  2. ↑ "Peckett B2 Class 0-6-0ST № 1378 "Westminster"". NLR. Retrieved 20 October 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 52°17′36″N 0°55′24″W / 52.29333°N 0.92333°W / 52.29333; -0.92333

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.