Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway
The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway was a pre-grouping railway company in the English Midlands. Construction began in 1869 and the railway was opened in 1873.[1] The railway was built to serve the Leicestershire coalfield. It linked Moira and Coalville Town with Nuneaton.
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Construction of the Ashby & Nuneaton joint railway near Dadlington using a Manning Wardle tank engine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ownership
Until the 1923 grouping the railway was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway.[1] It then became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which withdrew passenger services in 1931.[1] Nationalisation in 1948 made the railway part of British Railways, which closed the line to freight traffic in 1971.[1] Although the section from Measham to Overseal and Moira remained open to serve Donisthorpe Colliery until 1981, when the line closed. The section from Ashby to Moira remains open to freight traffic on the Burton - Leicester Line.
Today, the stations and their sites are:
Moira-Shackerstone section:
- Donisthorpe - Filled in and landscaped but the trackbed towards Measham and Moira are now footpaths
- Measham - Is now in use as a museum and was to become part of the restoration of the Ashby Canal but plans have since been shelved
- Snarestone - Demolished but the engine shed and station master's house remain as private residences
Coalville-Shackerstone section:
- Hugglescote - Was in use for a conveyor belt but has since been removed and is now overgrown
- Heather and Ibstock - Demolished and now a housing estate but the station master's house remains as a private residence
Shackerstone-Nuneaton/Hinckley section:
- Shackerstone - Now part of and the northern terminus of the Battlefield Line Railway
- Market Bosworth - In private ownership but a platform is in use by the Battlefield Line Railway
- Shenton - Demolished but in use as the southern terminus of the Battlefield Line Railway
- Stoke Golding - Private residences but the engine shed is in use for industrial and visitors
- Higham on the Hill - Demolished but the station master's house remains as a private residence
- Nuneaton Abbey Street - Demolished
- Hinckley - Open as part of the Birmingham - Peterborough line
Preservation
Part of the line between Shackerstone and Shenton has been re-opened as the Battlefield Line Railway, a heritage railway.
References
- Speller, John. "Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway (L&NWR/MR)". John Speller's Web Pages. Retrieved 16 January 2012.