Rothley railway station

Rothley
A telephoto view of Rothley clearly showing the island platform layout and the end of the double track
Location
Place	Rothley, Leicestershire
Coordinates	52°42′17″N 1°09′36″W / 52.7048°N 1.1600°W / 52.7048; -1.1600Coordinates: 52°42′17″N 1°09′36″W / 52.7048°N 1.1600°W / 52.7048; -1.1600
Grid reference	SK568122
Operations
Original company	Great Central Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Operated by	Great Central Railway (preserved)
Platforms	2
History
15 March 1899	opened
4 March 1963	closed
Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Rothley railway station is a heritage railway station on the preserved section of the Great Central Railway's London Extension. Built to the standard island platform pattern of country stations on the line, it originally opened on 15 March 1899 and has been restored to late Edwardian era condition, circa 1910.

Climbing south from milepost 97, the formation of the Mountsorrel quarry branch joins the line from the east, crossing over the quadruple spanned bridge 352 to reach Swithland Sidings. Here, the up and down lines have parted as this site was originally to be the location of a projected Swithland station. The entrance archway from the road below can still be seen from passing trains, even though a platform was never built. Swithland has been redeveloped from a single track back into a four-track main line with a number of exchange sidings. Resignalling of the area using Great Western equipment to represent the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway is ongoing.

Shortly south of Swithland the summit is reached, and the line drops sharply again at a gradient of 1 in 176 into Rothley station. The station consists of a single island platform on which the station buildings sit, with original access from the road passing above. Beneath the stairway from the road is a museum, and beyond the booking hall there is a tea room. Rothley has been restored to its late Edwardian condition to represent the line during Great Central days. It is lit entirely by gas and never had mains electricity before closure by British Rail. The station's goods yard now forms the car park, at one end of which is a miniature railway, family picnic area, and historic stores room. At the other is a modern carriage repair works.

Overseeing railway traffic movements in the area is Rothley Cabin, a signal box recovered from Blind Lane Junction in Wembley and erected facing the station on the west side of the line. This signal box controls entry and exit to the southern end of the Great Central Railway's unique double track. In 2009 it was joined by an ex-GCR lamp hut taken from Whetstone railway station.

After falling to the bridge over Rothley Brook (structure 355), the line begins climbing again towards the summit at Birstall.