East Langton railway station was opened by the Midland Railway on what is now the Midland Main Line, initially calling it simply Langton.
East Langton | |
|---|---|
 Site of the station in 1995 | |
| General information | |
| Location | East Langton, Leicestershire, Harborough England |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Midland Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Railways |
| Key dates | |
| 2 October 1876 | opens as Langton |
| 1 May 1891 | renamed East Langton |
| 1 January 1968 | station closes[1] |
History
editThe station was opened on 2 October 1876.[2] A large party of Langtonians marked their appreciation by buying tickets for the 09.07 train to Kibworth, and returned by the 10.01.[2]
The station was designed by Charles Henry Driver and the contractors were Mason and Son of Kibworth.[3] The station had two platforms with neat Midland pattern timber buildings. The booking office was on the southbound up line, with a small waiting-room on the down. There was no footbridge and the line was crossed by a barrow crossing at the northern end. To the north were long sidings on either side of the running lines capable of handling trains of 30 to 41 wagons - typical for Victorian trains of the period. The signal box was next to these on the down side. Southbound LNWR trains also used the line on their way to a junction at Market Harborough and would signal their presence to the box by means of three whistles.[4]
It was renamed East Langton in 1891 though it also served West Langton, Church Langton, Thorpe Langton and Tur Langton.[5]
At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
It closed in 1968. Although the station itself was demolished upon closure the site is now privately owned and even though most of the features have also been demolished a number do still remain, parts of the platform still exist, parts of the first loading dock are still constructed and the second loading dock is complete in its entirety. The current owner of the site was informed that the station was bulldozed into part of the embankment and objects surface every now and then. There have been a number of small digs to recover items over the years but nothing significant has emerged.
Stationmasters
edit- John Potter 1876[6] - 1887[7]
- Richard Oliver 1887 - 1895[7]
- Frank Porter 1895 - 1898[7] (formerly station master at Burton Joyce, afterwards station master at Spondon)
- Ernest Clowes 1898[7] - 1903[8] (formerly station master at Castle Bytham, afterwards station master at Hathern)
- Frederick Betts 1903[8] - ca. 1914
- Arthur Melville Gill ca. 1923
- H.F. Wilson 1939[9] - 1943 (afterwards station master at Plumtree)
- L.H. Adams 1943 - 1945
- J. Hammond from 1945
- D. Cobb from 1949[10]
- Brian Edge 1956 - 1957[11] (afterwards station master at Whalley)
Route
edit| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kibworth | Midland Railway Midland Main Line |
Market Harborough | ||
References
edit- ^ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
- ^ a b "East Langton. Opening of the New Station". Leicester Chronicle. England. 7 October 1876. Retrieved 15 February 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "East Langton. The New Station". Leicester Chronicle. England. 30 September 1876. Retrieved 15 February 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Preston Hendry, R., Powell Hendry, R., (1982) An historical survey of selected LMS stations : layouts and illustrations. Vol. 1 Oxford Publishing
- ^ Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
- ^ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 720. 1871. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 697. 1881. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b "1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1027". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 663. 1899. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Market Harborough". Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail. England. 10 November 1939. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "A staff clerk". Northampton Mercury. England. 16 December 1949. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Station Master". Clitheroe Times. England. 6 December 1957. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
External links
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