Leicester Belgrave Road railway station

Leicester Belgrave Road was the Great Northern Railway terminus in Leicester, England. It was the terminus of the GNR's branch line from the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway at Marefield Junction.

Leicester Belgrave Road
General information
Location	Leicester, Leicestershire England
Grid reference	SK592057
Platforms	5
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Great Northern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
1 January 1883	Opened
7 December 1953	Closed to regular services
9 September 1962	Closed to summer specials

Overview

The station opened on 1 January 1883. Marefield Junction was triangular and allowed through running north or south.

Services

The main services from Leicester were to Peterborough and Grantham. The station was also well provided in summer with specials, especially to Skegness and Mablethorpe.

The Peterborough trains were stopped as a war economy in 1916. Local traffic was never heavy, and by 1950 there were only two Grantham trains remaining, one of which was a semi-fast with limited stops which connected with the Flying Scotsman at Grantham. This train was withdrawn in 1951, the remaining stopping train survived until the end of regular services over the joint line in 1953.

Summer specials continued to run until 1962, in the later years with severe speed restrictions on the Leicester branch.^[1]

Closure

The line closed in 1962 but various depots continued in use for a few years using a reinstated connection with the Midland Railway which had last been used for materials delivery during construction. The last of these, Catherine Street oil depot, closed on 1 January 1969.^[2]

The Leicester station site has been since been developed as a supermarket and adjoining car park.

Summary of Former Services

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		Great Northern Railway Leicester Belgrave Road to Grantham		Humberstone Line and station closed
		Great Northern Railway Leicester Belgrave Road to Peterborough North

Sample Train Timetable for April 1910

The table below shows the train departures from Leicester Belgrave Road in April 1910.^[3]

Departure	Going to	Calling at	Arrival	Operator
07.00	Peterborough North	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, Tilton, East Norton, Hallaton, Medbourne, Rockingham, Seaton, Wakerley & Barrowden, King's Cliffe, Nassington, Wansford, Castor, Overton	08.48	GNR
07.30	Grantham	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern, Redmile, Bottesford, Sedgebrook	09.10	GNR
09.00	Grantham	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern, Redmile, Bottesford	10.28	GNR
09.45	Newark Northgate	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern, Redmile, Cotham	11.10	GNR
10.15	Peterborough North	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, Tilton, East Norton, Hallaton, Medbourne, Rockingham, Seaton, Wakerley & Barrowden, King's Cliffe, Nassington, Wansford, Castor, Overton	12.06	GNR
11.10	Grantham	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern (Mon, Wed, Sat only)	12.50	GNR
12.40	Grantham	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern, Redmile, Bottesford, Sedgebrook	14.12	GNR
15.45	Grantham	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern, Redmile, Bottesford, Sedgebrook	17.15	GNR
16.00	Peterborough North	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, Tilton, East Norton, Hallaton, Medbourne, Rockingham, Seaton, Wakerley & Barrowden, King's Cliffe, Nassington, Wansford, Castor	17.46	GNR
17.45	Grantham	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray North, Scalford, Long Clawson & Hose, Harby & Stathern, Redmile, Bottesford	19.15	GNR
18.40	Loseby	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby (Wed, Sat excepted)	19.01	GNR
18.40	Tilton	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby (Wed, Sat only)	19.06	GNR
20.20	Loseby	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby (Wed, Sat excepted)	20.42	GNR
22.45	Grantham	Thurnby & Scraptoft, Melton Mowbray North, Harby & Stathern (Sat excepted)	23.52	GNR
23.00	Melton Mowbray North	Humberstone, Thurnby & Scraptoft, Ingersby, Loseby, John O'Gaunt	23.38	GNR

References

1. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 9 - The East Midlands. (Robin Leleux)
2. Forgotten Railways. The East Midlands. (P Anderson)
3. Bradshaw's Railway Guide, April 1910

52.6453°N 1.1250°W / 52.6453; -1.1250

External links

• GNR spur to Leicester Belgrave Road