Piddington railway station

Piddington
Location
Place	Horton
Area	South Northamptonshire
Operations
Original company	Bedford & Northampton Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
10 June 1872[1]	Opened as Horton
1 May 1876	Renamed Piddington & Horton
1 April 1904	Renamed Piddington
5 March 1962	Closed to passengers
7 September 1964	Goods facilities withdrawn
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
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Piddington was a railway station on the former Bedford to Northampton Line. Despite its name, the station was located close to the village of Horton in Northamptonshire, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from the village of Piddington.

History

By the 1870s, Piddington was linked to the national rail network by the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway, known as the "SMJR",^[2] with a station at Salcey Forest to the West of Horton village. This part of the line ran from Towcester to Bedford via Blisworth and Stoke Bruerne with a connection to Northampton and the West Coast Main Line. It closed to passengers in 1951, and was later shut completely in the 1960s.

Routes

A 1911 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Piddington

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Northampton St. John's Street		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Bedford to Northampton Line		Olney

Present day

The station can be found off the B526 in Horton village. The route of the line is just to the northeast of the village. There is a proposal to reopen this line.^[3][4] Confusion sometimes occurs as there is a disused railway line in Piddington itself, however that is the former Stratford and Midland Junction Railway, which had no station at Piddington or Horton.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 123.
2. "Stratford and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ)". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
3. Sole Trader Self Employed, "Bedford - Olney - Northampton".
4. BBC News, "New bid to reopen old rail link", 21 June 2004.

Coordinates: 52°11′16″N 0°47′21″W / 52.1877°N 0.7891°W