Cowbit railway station

Cowbit
Cowbit
	Former signal box and station building at Cowbit
General information
Location	Cowbit, South Holland; England
Coordinates	52°44′42″N 0°07′32″W / 52.7449°N 0.1256°W
Grid reference	TF266179
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Northern Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
2 September 1867	Station opened
11 September 1961	Station closed to passengers
5 October 1964	closed for freight

Cowbit railway station was a station in Cowbit, Lincolnshire, England. It was located on the route between Spalding and March.^[1]

History

The station was opened by the Great Northern Railway on 2 September 1867. It was closed by British Railways on 11 September 1961.^[2] It was a frequent 'best kept garden' finalist in the 1950s. Despite extensive resignalling and installation of lifting boom barriers at the level crossing serving the Cowbit-Moulton Chapel main road in the summer of 1976, the March-Spalding line was closed on the late evening Saturday 27 November 1982 following the passage of Class 40 diesel No. 40024 Lucania on a northbound charter special. Tracklifting took place in two stages over the next three years: in autumn 1983 the Up line to March was lifted whilst the Down line to Spalding was lifted in summer 1985, mainly employing Class 31s and the Spalding pilot 08 shunter. The level crossing itself was resurfaced on 1 November 1985.

From 18 to 23 April 1977, Cowbit Up goods loop was the location of an episode of BBC Television's Life at Stake series.^[3] British Railways Standard Corridor Nos. W26121 and E24620, together with Brake Standard Corridor No. E35256, were repainted on one side in the colours of a Netherlands Railways commuter train to carry out a re-enactment of the 1975 Dutch train hostage crisis.^[3] Two Class 31 diesel-electrics from March depot provided the motive power.^[3]

The station buildings all survive in private ownership, the main station building has now been fully renovated, and work on converting the signal box (owned separately from the main building) into a private house has been ongoing for some years. Many of the signs from the building and box survive in private ownership. The former waiting shelter on the platform opposite the main station building has been converted into a dog grooming parlour trading under the name of "Paws at the Station".

In December 2018, outline planning permission was granted to Messrs Bacon & Drury for a development of 45 homes on land north of the station either side of Mill Drove South. The scheme would involve new homes being built on the former trackbed and the demolition of the goods shed since it is not a listed building.^[4]

Future reinstatement

The trackbed has been built on south and north of the station thus inhibiting reinstatement of the route on its original alignment. Additionally, the alignment to the south has also been breached by the new A16 bypass road. While Railtrack stated that the route is in its long-term plans for reinstatement because of the revival of the freight business, redevelopment continued unabated.

References

^ British Railways Atlas 1947: The last days of the Big Four. Hersham: Ian Allan. April 2011 [1948]. p. 17, section E2. ISBN 978-0-7110-3643-7. 1104/A2.
^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 70. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Holland, Lincs., used for Dutch film". Notes and news. Railway Magazine. Vol. 123, no. 916. August 1977. p. 409.
^ Webb, Sue (27 December 2018). "Improvement to junction of Mill Drove South and Stonegate Road in Cowbit to form part of development". Spalding Today.

External links

Cowbit station on navigable 1946 O. S. map

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Postland Line and station closed		GN and GE Joint Railway		Spalding Line closed, station open

[1] British Railways Atlas 1947: The last days of the Big Four. Hersham: Ian Allan. April 2011 [1948]. p. 17, section E2. ISBN 978-0-7110-3643-7. 1104/A2.

[2] Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 70. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.

[Dutch-3] "Holland, Lincs., used for Dutch film". Notes and news. Railway Magazine. Vol. 123, no. 916. August 1977. p. 409.

[4] Webb, Sue (27 December 2018). "Improvement to junction of Mill Drove South and Stonegate Road in Cowbit to form part of development". Spalding Today.

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