Stanbridgeford railway station

Stanbridgeford
Location
Place	Stanbridge
Area	Central Bedfordshire
Grid reference	SP970230
Operations
Original company	Dunstable & London & Birmingham Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
October 1849	Opened
2 July 1962	Closed to passengers
1 June 1964	Closed to goods
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

Stanbridgeford railway station on the London and North Western Railway's branch line to Dunstable served the Bedfordshire villages of Stanbridge, Totternhoe, Eaton Bray and Tilsworth from 1849 to 1964. Once popular with visitors to the nearby Totternhoe Knolls and ramblers, the station closed against a background of falling passenger numbers and declining freight returns. The station building has survived into private ownership, but a section of the alignment to the east and west of the site has been taken into the A505 Leighton Southern Bypass. National Cycle Network route 6 runs to the east over the bypass as far as the outskirts of Dunstable.

The passing of the Dunstable & London & Birmingham Railway Act on 30 June 1845 authorised the construction of a short branch line from Leighton Buzzard to connect Dunstable, and eventually Luton, with the London and Birmingham's main line. The proposals were devised by George and Robert Stephenson. The line opened for freight on 29 May 1848 and to passengers on 1 June. Stanbridgeford was the only intermediate station between Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable and opened to passengers in October 1849, more than a year after the line's opening. The station did not however appear in public timetables until October 1860, at which time two facing platforms made of old stone sleepers were provided. The opening of the station to goods traffic followed on 3 October 1860. The nearest settlement to the station was Stanbridge (then known as Stanbridgeford), although it was within reach of the villages of Totternhoe, Eaton Bray and Tilsworth. It became popular with visitors to the nearby Totternhoe Knolls, especially with Leighton Buzzard residents who took in great numbers to the countryside, so much so that in 1919 when 700 people arrived to take the train back from Stanbridgeford, the stationmaster had to call for extra coaches from Leighton Buzzard.

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