Six Mile Bottom railway station

Six Mile Bottom
Six Mile Bottom station site in 2007, looking towards Dullingham. A Sprinter in Anglia Railways livery passes.
General information
LocationSix Mile Bottom, South Cambridgeshire
England
Coordinates52°11′10″N 0°18′19″E / 52.1862°N 0.3052°E / 52.1862; 0.3052
Grid referenceTL577567
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyNewmarket and Chesterford Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
4 Apr 1848Opened as Westley[1]
(to Great Chesterford)
October 1848Renamed Six Mile Bottom[1]
1851Stopped service to Great Chesterford; Started service to Cambridge
1967Closed

Six Mile Bottom railway station is a disused railway station on the Ipswich to Cambridge line between Dullingham and Fulbourn. It served the village of Six Mile Bottom, until closure in January 1967. The station buildings and one platform remain as a private residence. Although the station is closed, the line remains in use by trains between Ipswich and Cambridge.[2]

The Newmarket and Chesterford Railway opened the station in 1848 on its line which connected Newmarket and Great Chesterford. They had also commenced work on a line that would link Six Mile Bottom to Cambridge after which the company then intended to extend further with a line to Thetford which would give a more direct route to Norwich. The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) who operated trains via Cambridge to Norwich were not happy with this and put pressure on the Newmarket Railway leading them to cease trading in June 1850.

However, under the leadership of bankruptcy commissioner Cecil Fane, the company was re-established in September of the same year and instead the line from Six Mile Bottom to Cambridge was completed using the track from the Chesterford – Six Mile Bottom section. This line then opened on 9 October 1851 and the Chesterford route was closed.[3][4]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Fulbourn
Line open, station closed
  Great Eastern Railway
Ipswich to Ely Line
  Dullingham
Line and station open
Disused railways
Newmarket (High Level)   Newmarket and Chesterford Railway   Balsham Road

References

  1. ^ a b Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
  2. ^ "Disused Stations: Six Mile Bottom Station".
  3. ^ Catford, Nick. "Dullingham". Disused stations UK. Nick Catford. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ Robertson, Alic; Wilson, Bryan; Harley, Chris (April 2002). "Fulbourn(e), Cambridgeshire". Great Eastern Journal. 110: 24.