Ashby Magna railway station

Coordinates: 52°30′43″N 1°10′57″W / 52.51199°N 1.18246°W / 52.51199; -1.18246
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Ashby Magna
Site of Ashby Magna in 2006
General information
LocationAshby Magna, Harborough
England
Grid referenceSP55589077
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingGreat Central Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
15 March 1899Opened
5 May 1969Closed

Ashby Magna was a station on the Great Central Railway, the last main line to be constructed from the north of England to London, which opened in 1899 to serve the Leicestershire village of Ashby Magna.

Architecturally, the station was very similar to Whetstone in that it comprised a single island platform designed by Alexander Ross which allowed the tracks to pass either side of a central platform, and was intended to facilitate future expansion of the railway.[1] Access to the station was via a stairway which led down from the road bridge on Station Road.[2]

History[edit]

Opened by the Great Central Railway, it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was then closed by the British Railways Board.

The site today[edit]

The station closed along with the railway line in 1969, and today little remains of it. The construction of the M1 motorway (which occurred whilst the line was still open) to the east of the station resulted in the demolition of the stationmaster's house and the loss of the goods yard. Today, a timber merchant occupies the site and remains of the cattle dock are still visible.[3]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Lutterworth
Line and station closed
  Great Central Railway
London Extension
  Whetstone
Line and station closed

References[edit]

  1. ^ Leicester County Council, "Lutterworth Station".
  2. ^ Ashby Magna today.
  3. ^ Healy, J.M.C. (1988). The Great Central Rail Tour. Paddock Wood, Kent: Unicorn Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-85241-005-6.

52°30′43″N 1°10′57″W / 52.51199°N 1.18246°W / 52.51199; -1.18246