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Swithland Sidings


Coordinates: 52°42′48.00″N 01°10′00.00″W / 52.7133333°N 1.1666667°W / 52.7133333; -1.1666667 Swithland Sidings is a set of railway sidings on the preserved Great Central Railway, situated just south of Swithland Reservoir and Swithland Viaduct which crosses it.

The original plans for the MS&LR's London Extension had a station situated at Swithland instead of Rothley, although Rothley was much the larger village of the two, and only slightly further from the line. Local pressure, much of it spearheaded by Frederick Merttens, Lord of Rothley Manor, forced a change in the plans and the proposed site changed to Rothley; however, this did not mean that Swithland station was abandoned. The railway company had visions of turning the area into a tourist spot and the construction of Swithland station was commenced anyway. It would have consisted of an island platform of the standard design that became typical of the line, here the less common "embankment" type reached from a roadway (the Swithland-Rothley road) that passed beneath the line, similar to East Leake. In the event, these plans were thwarted, reportedly at a fairly advanced stage, and work stopped. Since it was barely a mile away to the south, Rothley station was deemed adequate to serve the area.


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