Croft railway station, Leicester

Croft
Croft railway station in 1988
General information
Location	Narborough, Blaby England
Coordinates	52.5572°N 1.2455°W / 52.5572; -1.2455
Grid reference	SP512957
Platforms	2
History
Original company	South Leicestershire Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 December 1877	Opened
4 March 1968 (1968-03-04)	Closed

Croft railway station was a railway station serving the village of Croft in Leicestershire. It was on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line about 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Leicester. The line is owned by Network Rail.

History

The station was opened on 1 December 1877[2] by the London North Western Railway, at a cost of £1209.[3]

British Rail closed the station on 4 March 1968.[4]

The station was of timber, modular construction, similar to that of the LNWR on the Rugby to Stamford Railway, with simple timber braces to support the awning. Access was from the main driveway and footpaths from the adjacent footbridge. Although the "down" platform was removed in 1950, steps from Arbor Road led here. In 1885, the booking office was extended to the west to provide a goods office, this time in concrete, mined from the local granite company. A station master's house was provided in 1892, built on the west side of Station Road. The platforms were faced in local granite and extended in 1904 and again in 1922. The station was a popular entry into the LNWR gardens competition, but was demolished following the station's closure.[5] The Station Masters house and cottages remain after suffragettes set fire to the station in 1914.[6]

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Hinckley		CrossCountry Birmingham-Leicester		South Wigston
				Leicester
	Historical railways
Narborough Line open, station open		LNWR South Leicestershire Railway		Elmesthorpe Line open, station closed

References

1. Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
2. Leicestershire's Lost Railways, Neil Burgess, Stenlake Ayrshire ISBN 9781840337594
3. Leicestershire's stations, An Historical Perspective, Andrew Moore, Laurel House ISBN 0953362809
4. Stretton, John (2005). Leicestershire. British Railways Past and Present. Past and Present Publishing. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85895-198-4.
5. Atlas of railway station closures, 2nd edition, Crecy Manchester 2018 ISBN 9780860936978
6. Leicestershire's stations, An Historical Perspective, Andrew Moore, Laurel House ISBN 0953362809