Derby Friargate railway station

Derby Friargate
Platform remains in 1974
Location
Place	Derby
Area	City of Derby
Operations
Original company	Great Northern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	4
History
1 April 1878	Opened as Derby
December 1881	Renamed Derby Friargate
7 September 1964	Closed to passengers
4 September 1967	Goods facilities withdrawn
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

Derby Friargate Station was the main station in Derby on the Great Northern Railway Derbyshire Extension popularly known as the (Derby) Friargate Line.

Today little remains of the station except Andrew Handyside & Co's bridge over Friargate, although the remaining arches attached to the south side of the bridge on the right side reveal a boarded-up arch, the inside of which contains the original staircase to the central island platforms. Now vanished is the canopy that provided passenger access to the station, which was directly adjacent to the boarded-up arch. It is now impossible to access this from below or from the boarded-up recess where the staircase ascended to the platforms.

It is possible to walk the old station site and to inspect Handyside's bridge, although the crossing has been fenced off for safety reasons. The old route of the line was towards Mickleover over a steeped bridge taking the line under Uttoxeter Old Road. The main line and sidings are now an industrial estate.

From here the route approaches the site now occupied by Sainsbury's and there are still some signs of the existence of the old railway, such as a disused bridge over where the line once stood. Further along and a bridge carrying the old Kingsway part of Derby outer ring road can be observed, although today it only carries a little-used pavement.

Next the line crosses the line of the A38 and climbs through a deep cutting to a summit at Mickleover tunnel. Neither end of the 464-yard tunnel is visible, having been hidden beneath spoil since 1982. For further information about the route of the line and its history see Great Northern Railway's Derbyshire Extension.

In late 2007 many members of the public and people with local businesses near Friargate railway bridge have noticed the poor state of maintenance of the bridge. Several letters appeared in the local paper about this issue. An online petition was set up for people to show their support for getting the council to restore the bridge. The bridge was sold by British Rail to Derby City Council for a pound in the 1960s. The transaction was carried out on the promise that the bridge should be maintained in good condition in perpetuity.

Published in 1998, the book Memories of Friargate Station by local author Susan Bourne chronicles the station from its early days until its demolition. It also looks at the people who worked there.