Tuxford North railway station

Tuxford North railway station once served the town of Tuxford in Nottinghamshire, England.

Tuxford North
The site of the station in 1992
General information
Location	Tuxford, Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire England
Coordinates	53.2340°N 0.8814°W / 53.2340; -0.8814
Grid reference	SK 747 714
Platforms	2[1][2]
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Northern Railway
Pre-grouping	GNR
Post-grouping	LNER British Railways
Key dates
1852	Opened as Tuxford
1 July 1923	Renamed Tuxford North
July 1955	Closed for passengers[3]
15 June 1964	closed for freight

v t e Great Northern Railway
Legend
Main Line
mi 188 York 184 Naburn 181 Escrick 179 Riccall 175 Selby 170 Temple Hirst 168 Heck 166 Balne 163 Moss ↑ North Eastern Railway 160 Joan Croft Halt 158 Arksey 156 Doncaster 151 Rossington 148 Bawtry 146 Scrooby 144 Ranskill 142 Barnby Moor and Sutton 138 Retford 132 Tuxford North 131 Dukeries Junction 127 Crow Park 126 Carlton on Trent 120 Newark North Gate 116 Claypole 112 Hougham 110 Barkston 105 Grantham 102 Great Ponton 97 Corby Glen 93 Little Bytham 89 Essendine 85 Tallington 76 Peterborough North See below for detail south of Peterborough 59 Huntingdon 32 Hitchin 0 London King's Cross mi
Southern area as of 1921 to York Peterborough North Yaxley and Farcet Ramsey St. Mary's Holme Abbots Ripton Huntingdon Cambridge (GER) Offord and Buckden Harston (GER) St Neots Foxton (GER) Tempsford Shepreth Sandy Meldreth Biggleswade Royston Arlesey & Shefford Road Ashwell & Morden Three Counties Baldock Dunstable Church Street Letchworth Garden City Luton Bute Street Hitchin Luton Hoo Stevenage Harpenden later LNER Hertford Loop Wheathampstead St Albans Ayot Hill End Hertford Cowbridge Smallford Hertingfordbury Nast Hyde Halt Cole Green Knebworth Attimore Hall Halt Welwyn Cuffley & Goff's Oak Crews Hill Hatfield Gordon Hill Potters Bar Enfield Hadley Wood Grange Park New Barnet Winchmore Hill Oakleigh Park Palmers Green Edgware High Barnet The Hale Totteridge Mill Hill Woodside Park Bowes Park Finchley (Church End) Alexandra Palace East Finchley Muswell Hill Cranley Gardens New Southgate branch transferred to Northern line Highgate Wood Green to CCE&HR Hornsey Crouch End Harringay Stroud Green Finsbury Park North London Railway Holloway and Caledonian Road King's Cross York Road Canonbury (NLR) London King's Cross Mildmay Park (NLR) (MET) Farringdon Dalston Junction (NLR) Snow Hill Tunnel Broad Street (NLR) (SE&CR) Snow Hill Aldersgate (MET) to Chatham & Dover Moorgate Street (MET)

Ambiguity

There were three Tuxford stations, though none was very near the centre of the town. They were:

• Tuxford North, the subject of this article
• Dukeries Junction, the next station south, about half a mile away, and
• Tuxford Central, about a mile to the south west on a different line.

The positions of the three stations are most easily seen in the "External links", below.

Context

The station was opened in 1852 by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) on its main line from King's Cross to Doncaster. The GNR became part of the LNER in 1923, then British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

The station had two platforms and a signal box,^[4][5] originally simply named "Tuxford", which controlled the Lincoln Road level crossing immediately north of the station. The road is now the A6075 and the level crossing has been replaced by a bridge which crosses the busy tracks slightly to the south.

The station was closed in 1955 and has since been razed to the ground.

The tracks through the station site are now part of the electrified East Coast Main Line.

Former services

Tuxford's three stations were connected, forming a triangle.^[6][7] However, it was only ever possible to catch trains along two sides of the triangle, i.e. between:

• Tuxford Central^[8] and the high level^[9] platforms at Dukeries Junction;
• Tuxford North and the low level platforms^[10] at Dukeries Junction.

Traffic along the third side of the triangle between Tuxford Central and Tuxford North was mainly freight, supplemented by summer weekend excursions from the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire area to the Yorkshire coast; these passed through both stations without stopping.^[11]

In 1922

• five northbound trains a day called at Tuxford (it was renamed Tuxford North a year later) en route from Newark (later renamed Newark North Gate) to Retford, where there were good connections west, north and east
• six southbound trains called heading for Newark, with connections east, south and west.

Of the five northbound stoppers, only two picked up at Dukeries Junction, except on Fridays when three picked up there. Similarly, three southbound trains called at Dukeries Junction, with a fourth on Fridays.

Only one train in each direction called at Tuxford North on Sundays, on which days Dukeries Junction was closed.^[12]

Tuxford North stuttered along until July 1955 and Tuxford Central until September 1955; Dukeries Junction had closed in 1950. The summer excursions continued to pass until 1964. The "third side of the triangle"^[13][14] which connected Tuxford North and Central was closed in 1969.

Modern times

Tracks through the site of Dukeries Junction's low level platforms were slewed^{[clarification needed]} when the East Coast Main Line was electrified, enabling trains to go faster. This erased any last trace of the low-level platforms. Unusually for those days, the high-level station buildings were removed in the 1950s.

The line through the sites of Tuxford Central and the high level platforms at Dukeries Junction became redundant when High Marnham Power Station closed in 2003; however, the line reopened in 2009 as High Marnham Test Track.

Former Services

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Retford		British Railways GNR		Dukeries Junction
				Tuxford Central

References

1. Stewart-Smith 2016a, p. 34.
2. Stewart-Smith 2016b, p. 22.
3. Butt 1995, p. 236.
4. Lund 1999, p. 22.
5. Tuxford North on Picture the Past website
6. Kaye 1988, p. 70.
7. Greening 1982, p. 63.
8. Little 2002, p. 2.
9. Little 2002, p. 3.
10. Lund 1999, p. 24.
11. Marsden 2004, 4:30 minutes from start.
12. Bradshaw 1985, pp. 332-343 & 718.
13. Ludlam 2013, p. 137.
14. Mitchell 2008, p. 50.

Sources

• Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Greening, David (1982). Steam in the East Midlands. King's Lynn: Becknell Books. ISBN 978-0-907087-09-0.
• Kaye, A.R. (1988). North Midland and Peak District Railways in the Steam Age, Volume 2. Chesterfield: Lowlander Publications. ISBN 978-0-946930-09-8.
• Little, Lawson (Winter 2002). Bell, Brian (ed.). "Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway (Part III) Brief History of Tuxford". Forward. 134. Holton-le-Clay: Brian Bell for the Great Central Railway Society. ISSN 0141-4488.
• Ludlam, A.J. (March 2013). Kennedy, Rex (ed.). "The Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway". Steam Days. 283. Bournemouth: Redgauntlet 1993 Publications. ISSN 0269-0020.
• Lund, Brian (1999) [1991]. Nottinghamshire Railway Stations on old picture postcards. Keyworth: Reflections of a Bygone Age. ISBN 978-0-946245-36-9.
• Marsden, Michael (2004C) [1962-6]. Retford, Marsden Rail 18 (DVD). Birkenshaw: Marsden Rail 2004. DVD18.
• Mitchell, Alan (June 2008). Holley, Mel (ed.). "My First A1 Turn". Steam World. 252. Peterborough: Steam World Publishing. ISSN 0959-0897.
• Stewart-Smith, Robin (October 2016a). Milner, Chris (ed.). "Tuxford: The growth and decline of a railway centre". The Railway Magazine. 162 (1387). Horncastle: Mortons Media Group Ltd. ISSN 0033-8923.
• Stewart-Smith, Robin (November 2016b). Milner, Chris (ed.). "Tuxford: The growth and decline of a railway centre, Part 2". The Railway Magazine. 162 (1388). Horncastle: Mortons Media Group Ltd. ISSN 0033-8923.

Further reading

• Cupit, J.; Taylor, W. (1984) [1966]. The Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway. Oakwood Library of Railway History (2nd ed.). Headington: Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-302-2. OL19.
• Conolly, W. Philip (1998). British railways pre-grouping atlas and gazetteer (9th impression; 5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0. OCLC 221481275.

External links

• All Tuxford Stations National Library of Scotland
• All Tuxford Stations npe Maps
• All Tuxford stations Rail Map Online
• Tuxford Stations and former signalboxes signalboxes