Roade railway station
| Roade | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Roade |
| Area | South Northamptonshire |
| Grid reference | SP755515 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | London and Birmingham Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping |
London Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways |
| Platforms | 3 |
| History | |
| 17 September 1838 | Opened |
| 1881 | Relocated 220m south |
| 6 July 1964 | Goods facilities withdrawn |
| 7 September 1964 | Closed |
| 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 |
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Roade was a railway station serving the Northamptonshire village of the same name on the West Coast Main Line. Roade Station opened in 1838 as the principal station for Northampton (which the main line had bypassed), but its importance diminished upon the opening of the Northampton and Peterborough Railway in 1845. The construction of the Northampton Loop Line in 1875 made Roade a junction station, and it survived until 1964.
The London and Birmingham Railway (L&B) opened Roade station in 1838 as part of its line from London to Birmingham. Hostility to the railway in Northampton and steep gradients in the suggested route prevented the line from running through the town and so Roade was announced as its nearest station – even though the county town is some 6 miles (9.7 km) away. It lost this status in 1845 when the L&B opened a branch linking Northampton and Peterborough allowing services to run directly into Northampton from Blisworth. This had an immediate effect on Roade: the refreshment room was removed by 1865, while the daily stopping services fell to seven.
In 1875, the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) (which had acquired the L&B in 1846) increased the main line to four tracks as far as Roade and then onwards from Rugby. The direct route to Rugby was increased to two tracks and a two-track direct main line link to Rugby via Northampton (known as the Northampton Loop Line) was added. This deviates from the L&B line at Roade, running through Northampton to rejoin the main line at Rugby, where four track running resumed. Roade, by then a junction for fast trains north as well as services through Northampton, saw its facilities considerably enlarged to include three platforms. In 1881, the station was resited 200m to the south of a bridge carrying the Northampton to London road over the line.
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