Clowne and Barlborough railway station

Clowne & Barlborough is a former railway station in Clowne northeast of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England.

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

Clowne & Barlborough
The station in 1951.
Location
PlaceClowne
AreaBolsover
Coordinates53°16′35″N 1°15′41″W
Grid referenceSK 493 757
Operations
Original companyMidland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Railways
Platforms1
History
1 November 1888opened as "Clown"
4 July 1938renamed "Clown and Barlborough"
18 June 1951renamed "Clowne and Barlborough"[1]
5 July 1954Timetabled passenger service withdrawn
July 1960Goods service withdrawn
11 August 1962Final Summer Blackpool service ended
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 at the summit[2] of the circuitous Barrow Hill to Elmton and Creswell line known as the Clowne Branch.[3]

History

The station was opened without ceremony on 1 November 1888 as "Clown". All passenger trains called at all stations between Mansfield and Chesterfield.[4]

The line was single track between Seymour Junction[5][6] and Elmton and Creswell. Accordingly, the station had a single, curving platform and typical Midland Railway country station building very similar to those at Bolsover Castle and Glapwell.[7][8][9] Remarkably, the station survived into the 21st Century, being demolished in 2000.

On 4 July 1938 the station was renamed "Clown and Barlborough", then renamed again by British Railways (BR) on 18 June 1951, this time by adding a "e" to become "Clowne and Barlborough."[10] BR went to this trouble to seek to distinguish the station from its neighbour, a mere 30 yards to the south, the ex-LD&ECR station which it renamed Clowne South.[11][12]

Passenger services

Passenger services commenced on 1 November 1888. Initially the service of three trains each way, with a market day extra on Wednesdays and a Saturday evening extra, eastbound only. No service was ever provided on Sundays. All these trains plied between Mansfield and Chesterfield, calling at all stations to Elmton and Creswell, then Clown, Netherthorpe, Staveley and Whittington. A common thread between these stations is that every one of them was subsequently renamed at least once or, in the case of Whittington, relocated. The time taken for this sinuous 21 miles (34 km) journey was about an hour.[4]

By 1922 five trains a day, Monday to Saturday, plied the route, [13] but this was the high-water mark. By 1952 only one train each way, Monday to Friday, served Clowne and Barlborough, timed to suit schools. It ran eastwards from Chesterfield in the morning as far as Elmton and Creswell, but was extended, unadvertised, to Shirebrook West during term time. This was reversed in the afternoons, starting unadvertised from Shirebrook West during term time, and from Elmton and Creswell on the public timetable.[14] That service was withdrawn on 5 July 1954; the last train was operated, remarkably, by a brand new DMU.[15]

The station's goods facilities closed in July 1960, leaving its sole purpose excursions, such as for football matches, and Summer Saturday holiday traffic, notably from Radford to Blackpool North. That called for the last time northbound on 11 August 1962,[16] returning southbound the following Saturday.[17]

The last steam train to use the line was a non-stop enthusiasts' special on 16 October 1965.[18][19] This train also traversed the Doe Lea Branch.

Steam special through Clowne 1965

Freight

Light engine movements and intermittent freight trains continued over the Clowne Branch until the early 1990s when an underground fire threatened to undermine the line, compounded by the expensive need to replace the points connecting the branch to what is now known as the Robin Hood Line at Elmton and Creswell. These points were replaced by plain line, as were those at Oxcroft Colliery Junction. Superb images of the area are available on line[20] but note that, as the aerial view on the site shows, "Oxcroft Colliery No 3" signalbox was near Barlborough Colliery, not Oxcroft Colliery.

Modern times

A visit to several points along the branch on 20 July 2013 showed that the single track between Oxcroft Colliery through the station to Creswell Junction has been lifted and piles of concrete sleepers have been placed under road overbridges at Woodthorpe Road (between Shuttlewood and Mastin Moor) and immediately west of Clowne and Barlborough station site, to deter wheeled access to the trackbed. Overbridges remain Network Rail's responsibility and there is evidence of them undertaking maintenance. The trackbed and bridges remain intact and protected. Clowne and Barlborough station site was a riot of wild flowers. The western end of the lone platform can be identified, along with a fencing remnant. The platform as a whole can be identified by a clear difference in height from the trackbed. The station house is in private ownership and bears a former LD&ECR clock on an outside wall, which could confuse the unwary.

Yards west of the station site is the North Road overbridge. Immediately next to that bridge stands Clowne Methodist Church. The church's property is separated from railway property by a long fence in classic Midland Railway style.

Possible Future

The trackbed from Foxlow Junction to Seymour Junction and Oxcroft Disposal Point is protected 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.[21]

The Doe Lea line South from Seymour Junction to the former Markham Colliery (now known as "The Bolsover Branch") has been mothballed as it runs to the new Markham Vale Enterprise Zone at M1 Junction 29A.[22] It is hoped that someone will invest in this infrastructure to create road-rail interchange facilities. The line through Clowne has not been removed or breached as it, too, might provide access to Markham Vale from a different direction.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Staveley Town
Line and station closed		   Midland Railway
Clowne Branch		   Creswell
Line closed, station open

References
  1. Butt 1995, p. 64.
  2. Hurst 1987, p. 69.
  3. Kay 1998, Sheet 12.
  4. Hurst 1987, p. 67.
  5. Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 42.
  6. Kaye 1988, p. 27.
  7. Hurst 1987, pp. 70,71.
  8. Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 43.
  9. Lund 1997, p. 28.
  10. Hurst 1987, p. 66.
  11. Kingscott 2007, p. 134.
  12. Both Clowne stations: via Picture the Past
  13. Bradshaw 1985, p. 660.
  14. Hurst 1987, p. 68.
  15. Kingscott 2007, p. 137.
  16. Hurst 1987, p. 70.
  17. Hurst 1987, p. 53.
  18. Hurst 1987, p. 79.
  19. DVD 2004.
  20. Oxcroft No.3 Signalbox: via signalboxes
  21. Potential opencasting: via coalfieldresources Archived 27 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  22. "Markham Vale Enterprise Zone: viasheffieldenterprisezone". Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 14 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)
  • Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
  • 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.
  • 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)
  • Kingscott, Geoffrey (2007). Lost Railways of Derbyshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-042-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lund, Brian (1997) [1995]. Derbyshire Railway Stations on old picture postcards. Keyworth: Reflections of a Bygone Age. ISBN 978-0-946245-86-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • DVD (2004). East Midlands Steam. Bradford: Marsden Rail. Marsden Rail 26.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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