Sandy and Potton Railway
| Potton | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Place | Potton |
| Area | Central Bedfordshire |
| Grid reference | TL219493 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Sandy and Potton Railway |
| Pre-grouping |
Bedford and Cambridge Railway London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping |
London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways (1948-1958) Eastern Region of British Railways (1958-1968) |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| November 1857 | Opened |
| January 1862 | Closed |
| 31 July 1862 | Reopened |
| 1 January 1966 | Closed to goods |
| 1 January 1968 | Closed to passengers |
| 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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Potton was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small town of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1857 as part of Sir William Peel's Sandy and Potton Railway, the station was initially situated further south near the Biggleswade Road. Upon being taken over by the Bedford and Cambridge Railway in 1862 a new station was opened which remained in service for over one hundred years before closing in 1968. The station building has survived and is now a private house.
Following the opening of Sandy railway station by the Great Northern Railway in 1850, local landowner Captain William Peel, third son of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, saw the benefits of a connecting link to Potton and added his voice to those of local traders who were calling for the construction of a line. Peel, the owner of an estate of around 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) between Potton and Sandy, offered to give permission for the line to cross his land and, furthermore, to construct it at his own expense. Construction began in May 1856 and by 25 June 1857 was ready for opening to goods traffic. The line, 3 miles (4.8 km) and 2 furlongs long and built at a cost of £15,000, did not require an Act of Parliament as it ran through private land owned by Captain Peel.
The Sandy and Potton Railway was worked by a small 0-4-0 well-tank engine built at a cost of £800 by George England and Co. in Hatcham. Captain Peel named the engine Shannon after HMS Shannon, a frigate which he had commanded in the Far East in the year it was built. The outlay in constructing the railway was soon recovered through the fruit and vegetable traffic carried from Peel's estate and the manure and fertiliser transported in, turning a £70 per annum profit for his estate in 1853 to one of £500 per annum in 1858. Passenger traffic commenced in November 1857 after an inspection from the Board of Trade. The initial station at Potton was equipped with very basic facilities; there was no booking office or passenger waiting room. A goods shed, small staff office and locomotive shed were however provided. The station was sited in a field to the west of the Biggleswade Road.
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