Bolsover Castle railway station

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

Former railway station in Derbyshire, England

Bolsover Castle

Bolsover Castle station late 1950s or 1960s

General information
Location| Bolsover, Bolsover
England
Coordinates| 53°13′56″N 1°18′31″W﻿ / ﻿53.23222°N 1.30861°W﻿ / 53.23222; -1.30861
Grid reference| SK 462 706
Platforms| 1
Other information
Status| Disused
History
Original company| Midland Railway
Post-grouping| LMSR
British Railways
Key dates
1 September 1890| Opened as "Bolsover"
28 July 1930| Timetabled passenger service withdrawn
25 September 1950| Renamed "Bolsover Castle"
1 November 1962| Goods service withdrawn
16 August 1981| Last Miners' Welfare special ran
1985-99| Station demolished
Site of Bolsover Castle in 2021

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

## Context

[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Midland Railway

Legend

Clowne and Doe Lea branches

|  |  |

|  | Key

|
|
|
|

|  |

|  | open ex-Midland Railway Lines
|  |

|  | Clowne Branch
|  |

|  | Doe Lea Branch
|  |

|  | other closed Midland Railway Lines
|  |

|  | ex-London and North Eastern Railway Lines
|  |  |  |  |  |

Context

|  | Great Central Main Line

to Sheffield Victoria

|  |
| Midland Rly "Old Road"

to Rotherham Masborough

|  |  | Robin Hood Line

to Worksop
Staveley Town |  |

|  | Whitwell
Staveley Central |  |

|  |

Seymour Junction

Barrow Hill |  |

|  | Clowne and Barlborough
Whittington |  |

|  |

Creswell Junction

| Midland Main Line

to Sheffield

|  | Creswell
Chesterfield |  |

|  |
| Midland Main Line

to Derby

|  | Langwith Whaley Thorns
Bolsover Castle |  |

|  |

Doe Lea Viaduct

|  |

|  |

| Lancashire, Derbyshire

and East Coast Railway

Palterton and Sutton |  |

|  |
Glapwell |  |

|  | Langwith

Rowthorn Tunnel

|  |

|  |
Rowthorn and Hardwick |  |

|  | Shirebrook
Pleasley West |  |

|  |

to Teversall Manor

|  |

|  | Mansfield Woodhouse
|  |

|  | Mansfield
|  |

|  |  | Robin Hood Line

to Nottingham (MR)
|  |  |  |  |  |

Detail

| Lanc's, Derbyshire & East Coast Rly

to Spinkhill

|  |  | Robin Hood Line

to Worksop

Barlborough Colliery

|  |

|  |

Southgate Colliery

Clowne and Barlborough |  |

|  | Whitwell
Clowne South |  |

|  |

Creswell Junction

| Great Central Main Line

to Sheffield Victoria

|  | Elmton & Creswell

Hartington Colliery

|  |

|  | Creswell and Welbeck

to Barrow Hill

|  |

|  |

| Lanc's, Derbyshire & East Coast Rly

to Shirebrook North

Bell House Sidings

|  |

|  |
Staveley Central |  |

|  |

Oxcroft Colliery

Staveley Town |  |

|  |

Seymour Colliery

Ireland Colliery

|  |

|  |

Seymour Junction

Markham Colliery/Vale

|  |

|  |

Coalite Chemical

|  |

|  |

Bolsover Colliery

|  |

|  |
Bolsover Castle |  |

|  |
| Doe Lea Viaduct

(Lanc's, Derbyshire & East Coast Rly)

|  |  | Bolsover South

(LD&ECR)

to Shirebrook

North

Byron Bricks

|  |

|  |
Palterton and Sutton |  |

|  |

Ramcroft Colliery

|  |

|  |

Glapwell Colliery

|  |

|  |  | Great Northern Railway

to Shirebrook North
Glapwell |  |

|  |
Pleasley West |  |

|  | Pleasley East

Rowthorn Tunnel

|  |

|  |

Pleasley Colliery

Rowthorn and Hardwick |  |

|  | Mansfield Woodhouse

to Teversall Manor

|  |

|  | Mansfield
| Great Northern Railway

to Nottingham Victoria

|  |  | Robin Hood Line

to Nottingham (MR)
|  |  |  |  |  |

## History

[edit]

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.[citation needed] 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.

## Stationmasters

[edit]

* Job Frederick Fisher 1890 - 1891
* W. Hackett 1891 - 1892[17]
* Herbert Mason Read 1892 - 1893[17] (afterwards station master at Watnall)
* Richard Grice 1893 - 1896[17] (formerly station master at Killamarsh, afterwards station master at Darfield)
* William Henry Johnson 1896[17] \- 1899[18] (afterwards station master at Ullesthorpe)
* Herbert H. Willis 1899 - 1902[18]
* John Daniel Neale 1902 - 1904[18] (afterwards station master at Shipley Gate)
* John William Palmer 1904[18] (formerly station master at Glapwell)
* Harry York 1904 - 1908[18] (formerly station master at Attercliffe Road, afterwards station master at Worthington)
* George H. Dewey 1908[18] \- 1911 (formerly station master at Worthington, afterwards station master at Burton Joyce)
* Samuel Palfreyman 1911 - 1920[19] (afterwards station master at Swinton)
* Ernest C. Beckley ca. 1921 ca. 1924
* G.P. Kirland ca. 1940

## Possible future

[edit]

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.[20]

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.[21]

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Kay 1998, Sheet 12.
2. ^ a b c d e Butt 1995, p. 38.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 49.
15. ^ Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 45.
16. ^ "Stockley Trail". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
17. ^ a b c d "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 857. 1881. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
18. ^ a b c d e f "1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1027". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 436. 1899. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
19. ^ "A token of esteem". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 8 May 1920. Retrieved 28 February 2021 - via British Newspaper Archive.
20. ^ "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.
21. ^ "Markham Vale". Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone. 2012. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.

### Sources

[edit]

* Anderson, Paul; Cupit, Jack (2000). An Illustrated History of Mansfield's Railways. Clophill: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-903266-15-1.
* 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.
*   *   * 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.
* Hurst, Geoffrey (1987). The Midland Railway Around Nottinghamshire, Volume 1. Worksop: Milepost Publications. ISBN 978-0-947796-05-1.
* 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.
* DVD (2004). East Midlands Steam. Bradford: Marsden Rail. Marsden Rail 26.
* Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Kingscott, Geoffrey (2007). Lost Railways of Derbyshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-042-8.

## External links

[edit]

* The station on a navigable 1949 OS map NPE maps
* The station on overlain OS maps National Library of Scotland
* The station and line on overlain OS maps Rail Map Online
* Bolsover railway structures Signalboxes
* The station, line and mileages Railway Codes
* The line and station Richards Bygone Times
* The station, staff and tickets Old Miner
* One of the station's former signs English Heritage
* The station in its early years eBay
* The station in its later years eBay
* The station in its later years eBay
* The station in its later years ipernity

* v
* t
* e

Closed railway stations in Derbyshire

Ashbourne line|

* Higher Buxton
* Hartington
* Alsop en le Dale
* Tissington
* Thorpe Cloud
* Ashbourne
* Clifton (Mayfield)
* Norbury and Ellaston

Cromford and High Peak Railway|

* Shallcross
* Ladmanlow
* Hindlow
* Dowlow Halt
* Hurdlow
* Parsley Hay
* Hopton Top Wharf
* Steeplehouse
* Cromford (C&HPR)

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock
and Midland Jcn Rly|

* Buxton (Midland)
* Peak Forest
* Millers Dale
* Monsal Dale
* Longstone
* Great Longstone for Ashford
* Hassop
* Bakewell
* Rowsley

Sheffield & Midland C'ttee|

* Birch Vale
* Hayfield

Woodhead line|

* Crowden
* Woodhead

Ashover Light Railway|

* Ashover Butts
* Salter Lane
* Fallgate
* Milltown
* Dale Bank
* Woolley
* Hurst Lane
* Stretton
* Clay Lane
* Springfield (Derbyshire)
* Holmgate
* Chesterfield Road
* Claycross and Egstow

North Midland Railway|

* Eckington and Renishaw
* Barrow Hill
* Whittington
* Clay Cross
* Stretton
* Wingfield
* Derby Nottingham Road

Derbyshire and Staffordshire extension|

* Egginton Junction
* Etwall
* Mickleover
* Derby Friargate
* Breadsall
* West Hallam
* Ilkeston North
* Heanor (GNR)
* Marlpool

Ripley and Heanor branch lines|

* Ripley
* Denby
* Kilburn
* Coxbench
* Little Eaton
* Crosshill and Codnor
* Heanor (MR)
* Langley Mill (Branch)

Melbourne line|

* Sinfin North
* Sinfin Central
* Chellaston and Swarkestone
* Melbourne

Castle Donington line|

* Weston on Trent
* Castle Donington and Shardlow

Midland Counties Railway|

* Borrowash
* Draycott and Breaston
* Sawley
* Long Eaton (MCR)

Erewash Valley line|

* Doe Hill
* Westhouses and Blackwell
* Pye Bridge
* Codnor Park and Ironville
* Shipley Gate
* Ilkeston Town
* Ilkeston Junction and Cossall
* Trowell
* Stanton Gate
* Stapleford and Sandiacre
* Long Eaton (1847–1863)
* Long Eaton (1863–1967)
* Trent

Pinxton branch line|

* Eastwood and Langley Mill

Lancashire, Derbyshire
and East Coast Railway|

* Chesterfield Market Place
* Arkwright Town
* Bolsover South
* Scarcliffe
* Shirebrook North
* Upperthorpe and Killamarsh
* Spinkhill
* Clowne South
* Creswell and Welbeck

GCR Main Line and Chesterfield loop|

* Chesterfield Central
* Sheepbridge and Brimington
* Staveley Works
* Grassmoor
* Staveley Central
* Killamarsh Central
* Renishaw Central
* Heath
* Pilsley
* Tibshelf Town

Clowne and Doe Lea branches|

* Staveley Town
* Clowne and Barlborough
* Bolsover Castle
* Palterton and Sutton
* Glapwell
* Rowthorn and Hardwick

Other|

* Buxworth
* Chapel-en-le-Frith Central
* Egginton
* Fairfield Halt
* Gresley
* Ramsline Halt
* Hazelwood
* Pinxton and Selston
* Sheepbridge
* Swadlincote
* Tibshelf & Newton
* Whiteborough
* Woodville (Derbyshire)
* Unstone

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