Northampton and Lamport Railway

The Northampton & Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Northampton.

Northampton & Lamport Railway
Peckett 0-4-0ST Works No. 2104 with a train
Locale	England
Terminus	Pitsford and Brampton
Commercial operations
Name	Northampton to Market Harborough line ("Harborough Line")
Built by	London and North Western Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Operated by	Northampton & Lamport Railway Preservation Society
Stations	1
Length	1 ^1⁄2 miles (2.4 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened	1858
Closed	1981
Preservation history
1984	Work started at (and around) Pitsford and Brampton station site
1995	Light Railway Order, Granted with First public passenger train operated
1996	Grand Re-opening (NLR re-opened, officially)
Headquarters	Pitsford and Brampton
Website
www.nlr.org.uk

Northampton and Lamport Railway
Brampton Valley Way Railway legend Trails legend
MP (Milepost) former route to Northampton Boughton Crossing Brampton Valley Way (Terminus) Boughton (Terminus) Passing Loop Boughton Sidings Community Woodland footpath crossing horse farm crossing Bridge 11 end of passenger services 4½ Pitsford Sidings footpath and vehicle crossing summit 4¾ Bridge 12 Pitsford Road footpath crossing Pitsford and Brampton plant crossing 5¾ Station Loop Bridge 12a River Nene Pitsford and Brampton siding Bridge 13 5¼ farm crossing Bridge 14 Merry Tom Halt (proposed) Merry Tom Lane former route to Market Harborough Brampton Valley Way continues

Overview

The line between Northampton and Market Harborough was finally closed (by British Rail) on 16 August 1981, the intermediate stations on the route having been closed for many years.

In 1984 (just 3 years after the line's closure) a group was formed by Michael William Papworth (of Northampton) with the intention of re-opening a section of the line as a heritage railway. The site opened to the public shortly afterwards. Following the granting of a Light Railway Order, the line carried its first fare-paying passengers in November 1995. The official Grand Opening Ceremony took place (just 4 months later) on 31 March 1996.

Currently, passenger trains operate on a section of line approximately 1 ¹⁄₂ miles (2.4 km) in length, departing from and arriving at the only station, Pitsford and Brampton.

However, As of November 2013, An extension south had currently been under construction which adds another ¹⁄₂ mile (0.80 km) of running line, with around 90% of track-relaying completed around Spring 2012. Once complete it will include a station with sidings and run-round loop at the former Boughton Crossing on the A5199 at the Northamptonshire village of Boughton.

A northern extension of the NLR to Spratton currently remains within the planning stage. The previous extension heading north, opened after several years' work and around £50,000 was spent on repairs to Bridge 13, (the same amount (or more) will be required for Bridge 14, when the NLR turns its intention northwards).

The signalling system, with two working signal boxes (and a third under construction), makes it one of the most comprehensive and detailed on any heritage railway of its size, within Preservation. The Booking Office at Pitsford and Brampton station was built using the disused Lamport signal box, originally located around 5 ¹⁄₂ miles (8.9 km) away on/up the same line. It had since been converted in such a way that it can be easily converted back into a signal box if whenever required in the future.

A third signal box has been installed at the Boughton Terminus; the former Betley Road signal box from Crewe is being used following its restoration.

The Brampton Valley Way is a "linear park" offering a traffic-free route for walkers, cyclists and pedestrians, and which runs alongside the railway, separated by a stout safety fence. Access is also available to horse riders on other sections away from the railway.

The railway is open for viewing from 10:00 to 17:00 on Sundays. Train rides are available on Sundays from March to October, diesel hauled with steam-hauled trains for special events (subject to availability). Open from March to October and throughout December for Santa's visit.

Events

A number of special events take place throughout the year, the popular Santa Specials run throughout the month of December.

On 18 July 2007 the Railway at War weekend, an event held at the railway every September, was named Best Event in the 2007 Northamptonshire Renaissance Heritage Awards.[1]

Locomotives

Steam

• GWR 2-8-0 2884 Class No. 3862. Built in 1942. Under restoration.
• GWR 4-6-0 4900 Class No. 5967 Bickmarsh Hall. Built in 1937. Under restoration.
• Peckett and Sons 0-4-0ST No. 2104. Built in 1948. Withdrawn January 2017, awaiting overhaul.[2]
• Peckett and Sons 0-6-0ST No. 1378 Westminster. Built in 1914 for the Fovant Military Railway[3] Under restoration.
• Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. 0-4-0ST No. 776 Firefly. Built in 1896. Under restoration.
• Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No. 2323. Built in 1952. Under restoration.
• Hawthorn Leslie and Company 0-4-0ST No. 3718 Swanscombe No. 4. Built in 1928. Operational, returned to steam in 2019.

Main line diesel

• British Rail Class 31 A1A-A1A No. 31289 Phoenix - operational
• British Rail Class 47 Co-Co No. 47205 - operational

Industrial diesel and shunters

• Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 165DS No. 764 Sir Gyles Isham (first locomotive to arrive on the line) - operational
• Ruston & Hornsby 0-6-0 165DS No. 53 Sir Alfred Wood - under repair
• Fowler 0-4-0DH No. 21 - Spares recovery before scrapping

Carriages

• British Rail Mark 3 DVT No. 82114 - being prepared for service by NLRCIO the vehicle owners
• British Rail Mark 2 TSO No. 5174 - in service
• British Rail Mark 2 TSO No. 5132, formerly named Clan Munro- operational
• British Rail Mark 2 BSO(T) No. 9102. - in service.
• British Rail Mark 1 TSO No. 3919. - being overhauled by NLRCIO, the vehicle owners.
• British Rail Mark 1 RBR (Buffet Car) No. 1647 - out of service for repairs
• British Rail Mark 1 NAV No. 84031 - operational (as temporary Buffet)

Gallery

• 
  The booking office and platform at Pitsford and Brampton
• 
  The platform at Pitsford and Brampton Station
• 
  Pitsford and Brampton signal box
• 
  Pitsford Sidings signal box
• 
  Steam locomotive 7646 "Northampton" officially named by the Mayor of Northampton
• 
  Peckett 0-4-0ST Works No. 2104 in the yard, preparing for a day's use on passenger trains
• 
  The first passenger train to cross Bridge 13, with headboard from 1981 (Class 117 51402 has since moved to the Strathspey Railway)
• 
  Boughton — end of the Brampton Valley Way which runs alongside the railway
• 
  JCB excavator used in the railway's construction
• 
  Stanley Steamer visiting an event at the railway
• 
  Hunslet 0-6-0ST 'Ring Haw' and a short goods train
• 
  Santa Special hauled by № 7646

References

1. Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 19 July 2007
2. Chambers, Brian, ed. (Winter 2016). "Fairwell to 2014 Peckett". Premier Line. No. 102. pp. 17–18.
3. "Peckett B2 Class 0-6-0ST № 1378 "Westminster"". NLR. Retrieved 20 October 2013.

External links

• Homepage of the Northampton & Lamport Railway