Towcester railway station

Towcester
Location
Place	Towcester
Area	South Northamptonshire
Grid reference	SP689494
Operations
Original company	Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	3
History
1 May 1866	Opened
7 April 1952	Closed to passengers
3 February 1964	Goods facilities withdrawn
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

Towcester was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway which served the Northamptonshire town of Towcester between 1866 and 1964. It was one of the most important stations on the line, and once served as an interchange for services to Stratford, Banbury and Olney. It also saw substantial traffic on racedays at Towcester Racecourse. Its closure came as the various interconnecting lines to the station closed one by one in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1863, the Northampton & Banbury Junction Railway (N&BJ), a forerunner of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ), received Parliamentary authorisation to construct an 18 miles (29 km) line from the London and North Western Railway's Blisworth station on their London to Birmingham line to Cockley Brake junction, at which point the new branch would form a junction with the existing Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line. The public opening of the section of line from Blisworth to Towcester took place on 30 April 1866, with Towcester station formally opening to traffic the next day. The remainder of the line was finally opened by 1 June 1872.

The station was a major centre of the SMJ. It was the only station on the line to have three platform faces (one up and two down platforms), and the down platforms were linked to the up platform by the line's only footbridge. The main station buildings, a two-storey gabled structure built of brick, were situated on the up platform. A small platform canopy projected from the front of this building, with its central section unusually raised in an inverted "V". Small single-storey extensions flanked either side of the main building. Inside the building, there was a booking office, waiting room and toilet facilities, as well as accommodation for the stationmaster. Extensive sidings were provided: the down side holding 126 wagons and the up side 3 wagons; there was also a 42 feet (13 m) locomotive turntable which was transferred from Stratford in 1908.

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