Bolsover Castle railway station

Bolsover Castle is a former railway station in Bolsover, Derbyshire, England.

This article is about the former Midland Railway station. For the former Great Central Railway station, see Bolsover South railway station.

Bolsover Castle
Bolsover Castle station late 1950s or 1960s
Location
PlaceBolsover
AreaBolsover
Coordinates53°13′56″N 1°18′31″W
Grid referenceSK 462 706
Operations
Original companyMidland Railway
Post-groupingLMSR
British Railways
Platforms1
History
1 September 1890Opened as "Bolsover"
28 July 1930Timetabled passenger service withdrawn
25 September 1950Renamed "Bolsover Castle"
1 November 1962Goods service withdrawn
16 August 1981Last Miners' Welfare special ran
1985-99Station demolished
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Context

The station was built by the Midland Railway on the circuitous Barrow Hill to Pleasley West line[1] known as The Doe Lea Branch, because it ran for much of its length along the valley of the River Doe Lea. In 1897 the Doe Lea Viaduct was opened, straddling the Doe Lea Branch a short distance to the south of Bolsover Castle station.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Staveley Town
Line and station closed		   Midland Railway
Doe Lea Branch		   Palterton and Sutton
Line and station closed

History

The station was opened without ceremony on 1 September 1890 as "Bolsover".[2][3] It initially provided a service of three trains each way between Mansfield and Chesterfield, taking about an hour from end to end.[4][5]

The line was single track between Seymour Junction[6][7] and Pleasley West. Accordingly, the station had a single platform and typical Midland Railway country station building very similar to those at Clowne and Barlborough and Glapwell.[8][9]

Normal passenger traffic along the Doe Lea Branch dwindled over the years and finally ceased on 28 July 1930.[10][2][3] An unadvertised service continued to call at the station until 14 August 1931 and pre-war excursions continued until at least 27 July 1939.[3][2] Records show that a half-day excursion service called at Bolsover on 26 July 1949 on its way to Bridlington and Scarborough.[3] The last steam train to use the line was an enthusiasts' special on 16 October 1965.[8][11] This train also traversed the Clowne Branch.

British Railways renamed the station "Bolsover Castle" on 25 September 1950 to help distinguish it from the ex-LD&ECR "Bolsover" which became "Bolsover South".[3][2][12] Goods facilities were withdrawn from the station on 1 November 1962.[13]

Although regular passenger traffic ceased in 1930 and the line was severed as a through route shortly thereafter by the closure of Rowthorn Tunnel, occasional specials continued to call at the station. A special was run to Chesterfield in connection with the Queen's Jubilee celebrations in Queen's Park on 28 July 1977.[14][3][2] This had been on the initiative of the headmaster of Bolsover Church of England Junior School as there were insufficient buses to take all the children to the event. Thereafter, there were yearly August excursions from 1978 until 1981 organised by Bolsover Miners' Welfare when trains of at least nine coaches ran to Scarborough.[8][3] Another source claims that the last charter from Bolsover Castle was a nine-coach train to London Liverpool Street via Chesterfield on 15 November 1980 organised by Bolsover Secondary School PTA.[15][14][3]

When Glapwell Colliery closed in 1974 the line South of Bolsover Castle station became redundant, though it was not lifted until 1978. The branch between Bolsover Castle and the bottom of Rylah Hill between Palterton and M1 J29 is now a public bridleway known as The Stockley Trail.[16]

By 20 July 2013 all tracks through Bolsover Castle station site had been lifted, but the trackbed was intact. The station itself was demolished some years ago. A business park had been developed immediately west of the station site. One occupant is a firm providing road-rail vehicles, such as track welding lorries fitted with retractable rail wheels. A length of track with dummy overhead wires, presumably for training and clearance testing purposes, has been installed in their depot in plain view from public areas.

Possible future

The line from Foxlow Junction through Seymour Junction to Oxcroft Disposal Point has been lifted but protected from breach or encroachment as there remains the possibility of opencasting in the area. For example, in 2005 UK Coal (now Coalfield Resources), expressed an interest in extracting c530,000 tons near Mastin Moor.[17]

The Doe Lea line South from Seymour Junction to the site of the former Markham Colliery (now known as "The Bolsover Branch") has been mothballed as it runs through the new Markham Vale Enterprise Zone at M1 Junction 29A.[18] The track is in place, but at 20 July 2013 has trees taller than a man growing though the sleepers in places. It is hoped that someone will invest in this infrastructure to create road-rail interchange facilities. The line through Clowne has been lifted, but it, too remains protected from breach or encroachment as it, too, might provide access to Markham Vale from a different direction.

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References

Notes
  1. Kay 1998, Sheet 12.
  2. Butt 1995, p. 38.
  3. Quick 2009, p. 92.
  4. The service in 1890 Old Miner
  5. Hurst 1987, p. 76.
  6. Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 42.
  7. Kaye 1988, p. 27.
  8. Hurst 1987, p. 79.
  9. Howard Anderson 1973, p. 157.
  10. Hurst 1987, p. 77.
  11. DVD 2004.
  12. Clinker 1988, p. 156, note 437.
  13. Clinker 1988, p. 15.
  14. Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 49.
  15. Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 45.
  16. "Stockley Trail". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  17. "UK Coal plc; Annual Report & Accounts 2005" (PDF) (PDF). UK Coal. 2 March 2006. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  18. "Markham Vale". Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone. 2012. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.

Sources
  • Anderson, Paul; Cupit, Jack (2000). An Illustrated History of Mansfield's Railways. Clophill: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-903266-15-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Butt, R. V. J. (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.
  • Clinker, C.R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
  • Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, R. W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations, Halts and Stopping Places. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-281-0. OCLC 10507501.
  • Howard Anderson, P. (1973). Forgotten Railways: The East Midlands. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-6094-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hurst, Geoffrey (1987). The Midland Railway Around Nottinghamshire, Volume 1. Worksop: Milepost Publications. ISBN 978-0-947796-05-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Midland Railway System Maps (The Distance Diagrams), volume 2 - Leeds to Leicester and branches; Derby to Manchester and branches; Cheshire Lines (1909-1923 ed.). Teignmouth: Peter Kay. 1998. ISBN 978-1-899890-17-0.
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • DVD (2004). East Midlands Steam. Bradford: Marsden Rail. Marsden Rail 26.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.

Further reading
  • Kingscott, Geoffrey (2007). Lost Railways of Derbyshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-042-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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