Grand Easter weekend opening for Northampton & Lamport extension
FOLLOWING 16 years of hard graft, the grand opening ceremony of the Northampton & Lamport Railway’s southern extension and new station at Boughton is to be held on Saturday, March 30.
Completing the extension has involved repairing a seven-arch low viaduct, restoring a LNWR Victorian signalbox to full working order, tracklaying track, erecting semaphore signalling and building a new station platform.
The railway, which has more than 300 members, is run entirely by volunteers. It attracts about 10,000 visitors a year, despite operating only on Sundays and some Saturdays and Bank Holidays, and the opening of the extension will hopefully see that figure grow.
The line occupies a section of the Northampton to Market Harborough route that was finally closed by BR on August 16, 1981, the intermediate stations on the route having been closed for many years. Three years later, a revivalist group was formed by Michael William Papworth, of Northampton, with the intention of reopening a section as a heritage line.
Following the granting of a Light Railway Order, the line carried its first fare-paying passengers in November 1995, with the official grand opening taking place on March 31, 1996.
Up to now, services have run over the 1½-mile section from Pitsford & Brampton station. However, in 2007, work began on a half-mile southern extension to a run-round loop at the former Boughton Crossing on the A5199, with the first panels of track laid south of Bridge 11.
Support
The signalbox is from Betley Road, near Crewe. It was preserved during 2005 and, following restoration, was re-erected at Boughton in spring 2008. It dates from 1875 and is the earliest design built by the LNWR.
The extension has been supported by public donations and the former Daventry District Council. The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (LEADER) provided finances to cover the cost of purchasing materials for the refurbishment of Bridge 11 and the construction of a new station platform at Boughton. Work on the platform began in 2019, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic was not completed until early 2023. Work on Bridge 11 commenced in 2019 with the installation of a new waterproof deck. Repairs to delaminated brickwork were untaken 2021. Brickwork stitching was undertaken in the summer of 2023 and final repointing completed last autumn.
The project has been completed by a small band of volunteers working mainly on Sundays, with normally between six and eight people attending each work party.
When first open, the new station will have booking office and waiting room facilities provided in a Mk.3 coach stabled in the bay platform. Temporary toilet facilities have been provided thanks to a donation from a supporter.
Future plans
The long-term ambition is to build a permanent station building at Boughton. It would likely be a modest brick building, possibly similar to the original LNWR buildings at Davenport in Greater Manchester.
The railway has no designated parking at Boughton. However, there is a public car park serving the Brampton Valley Way around the corner, while Pitsford & Brampton will remain the railway’s main station and hub.
The morning opening ceremony is a closed event for invited guests only, which includes a passenger train and a demonstration freight. The railway will open to the general public at 11.45am.
The first public train will depart Pitsford & Brampton at noon with further trains every hour, on the hour, until 3pm. Trains will depart Boughton on the half-hour, while demonstration freights will operate inbetween passenger trains throughout the day. ➜ For more information, visit www.nlr. org.uk