Higham Ferrers branch / Northampton-Peterborough railway

[Helvellyn]

This is more a what if than anything else, but looking at old maps of the Higham Ferrers branch (Wellingborough Midland Road - Rushden - Higham Ferrers) and the Northampton - Peterborough line I wondered if anyone knew if either the Midland or LMS ever considered extending the branch from Higham to Irthlingborough, and thus linking up with the Northampton-Peterborough line?

Accepting that it would have required bridging the River Nene (likely East of the A6), and possibly a new station at Irthlingborough due to the closeness of the "old" A6 route to the as built station, nevertheless it would potentially have linked a two-station branch into a cross-country route albeit due to a reversal at Wellingborough London Road possibly at the expense of through passenger services from Northampton to Peterborough - although Wellingborough Midland to Peterborough via Rushden might even have generated a bit more traffic than the existing route, with Wellingborough Midland to Northampton a separate service.

Between Wellingborough London Road and Irthlingborough the only station was at Ditchford, another ancient crossing of the Nene but with no settlement so it's not like diverting via Rushden/Higham would have lost any other local traffic.

I've linked to a map extract from the National Library of Scotland to show the routes around this area here.

 

[muddythefish]

I might be wrong but I believe the Midland Railway's original plan was to extend the Higham branch to Raunds on the Kettering-Huntingdon line.

 

[RT4038]

This is more a what if than anything else, but looking at old maps of the Higham Ferrers branch (Wellingborough Midland Road - Rushden - Higham Ferrers) and the Northampton - Peterborough line I wondered if anyone knew if either the Midland or LMS ever considered extending the branch from Higham to Irthlingborough, and thus linking up with the Northampton-Peterborough line?

Accepting that it would have required bridging the River Nene (likely East of the A6), and possibly a new station at Irthlingborough due to the closeness of the "old" A6 route to the as built station, nevertheless it would potentially have linked a two-station branch into a cross-country route albeit due to a reversal at Wellingborough London Road possibly at the expense of through passenger services from Northampton to Peterborough - although Wellingborough Midland to Peterborough via Rushden might even have generated a bit more traffic than the existing route, with Wellingborough Midland to Northampton a separate service.

Between Wellingborough London Road and Irthlingborough the only station was at Ditchford, another ancient crossing of the Nene but with no settlement so it's not like diverting via Rushden/Higham would have lost any other local traffic.

I've linked to a map extract from the National Library of Scotland to show the routes around this area here.

I think that when the line was built there was intention to extend to Raunds. Whether the intention was to link up with the Kettering-Huntingdon line, or the extension was abandoned because of the building of this line, I am unsure.

I doubt there was any justifiable traffic reason to link Higham Ferrers with Irthlingborough - passengers making that sort of journey would be few and goods traffic insufficient to make such expenditure on cheaper working worthwhile. The Higham Ferrers line was Midland and Irthlingborough LNW, so little reason to co-operate with each other! The exchange at Wellingborough was probably good enough for the freight traffic on offer.

 

[SargeNpton]

"The intention was to extend the line to Raunds to create a through route and join up with the Varsity Line, but it proved impossible to overcome the opposition of a key landowner."

Extract from "Lost Railways of Northamptonshire" by Geoffrey Kingscott.

 

[Calthrop]

"The intention was to extend the line to Raunds to create a through route and join up with the Varsity Line, but it proved impossible to overcome the opposition of a key landowner."

Extract from "Lost Railways of Northamptonshire" by Geoffrey Kingscott.

I take it that "the Varsity Line" here, refers to Kettering -- Huntingdon (running powers east thereof, to Cambridge) -- involving just one "Varsity"; rather than the expression's nowadays generally-current meaning, of what used to be Oxford -- Bletchley -- Cambridge !

 

[SargeNpton]

I take it that "the Varsity Line" here, refers to Kettering -- Huntingdon (running powers east thereof, to Cambridge) -- involving just one "Varsity"; rather than the expression's nowadays generally-current meaning, of what used to be Oxford -- Bletchley -- Cambridge !

That's correct.

 

[Helvellyn]

Thanks for the replies. Scrolling the map link I posted in my original post I guess the line would have headed North-North East towards Stanwick and then either East to Hargarve to join the Kettering-Huntingdon line or continued to Raunds itself. Raunds Station on the Kettering-Huntingdon line was some way out of the town (as many stations were)!

I doubt there was any justifiable traffic reason to link Higham Ferrers with Irthlingborough - passengers making that sort of journey would be few and goods traffic insufficient to make such expenditure on cheaper working worthwhile. The Higham Ferrers line was Midland and Irthlingborough LNW, so little reason to co-operate with each other! The exchange at Wellingborough was probably good enough for the freight traffic on offer.

I wasn't suggesting that any link would cater for Higham-Irthlingborough traffic, more that that the addition of Rushden and Higham to the route might have made it more viable overall with two more towns on it, when the one bypassed station - Ditchford - had no nearby settlement!

Given the answers about the reason the Midland were left with a branch I guess it really would have had to have been the LMS that would have had to consider linking it to the former LNWR line.

 

[70014IronDuke]

My memories may be mistaken, but I thought there was a darn great hill down from the Higham Ferrers terminus, which was a good way up into the Northants-Bedfordshire watershed. Meanwhile, the Nene Valley was ...... well, a valley, some way below all that. So topographically, not so easy to sort out?

OTOH, if they had ever used the Higham branch to run through trains to Northampton or northwards to Corby ...

But that probably counts as retrposective pseculation, so now I expect a rap over the knuckles from the mighty powers at be in here ...

 

[muddythefish]

My memories may be mistaken, but I thought there was a darn great hill down from the Higham Ferrers terminus, which was a good way up into the Northants-Bedfordshire watershed. Meanwhile, the Nene Valley was ...... well, a valley, some way below all that. So topographically, not so easy to sort out?

Correct. Higham and its station are on top of a hill on one side of the Nene valley, and the Northampton-Peterborough line in the valley bottom. Connecting the two would have been "difficult" (to say the least) and not very desirable really.

The Higham branch had a fairly uneventful life. After the withdrawal of passenger trains I believe Saturday morning "shoppers' specials" to Leicester continued for some time and the branch continued to serve the local shoe industry until final closure - the huge goods shed serving the Rushden shoe factories is still there. Rushden MR station is preserved too with a short running line

I also remember (IIRC) seeing a picture of an 8F in Higham goods yard with a big goods train of white goods produced locally heading for Poland!

 

[Pigeon]

My memories may be mistaken, but I thought there was a darn great hill down from the Higham Ferrers terminus, which was a good way up into the Northants-Bedfordshire watershed. Meanwhile, the Nene Valley was ...... well, a valley, some way below all that. So topographically, not so easy to sort out?

You need to drop something around 30-35 metres in about 2km, so you probably end up looking at gradients somewhere in the region of 1 in 60. So kind of savage, but on the other hand not all that uncommon for minor cross-country routes. I've not seen a gradient profile for the existing routes, so I don't know whether it would introduce a hideous anomaly or just be more of the same.

You could of course make it considerably gentler by aiming for a junction point further north, but that rather cabbages the idea of including Irthlingborough.

 

[70014IronDuke]

.......

I wasn't suggesting that any link would cater for Higham-Irthlingborough traffic, more that that the addition of Rushden and Higham to the route might have made it more viable overall with two more towns on it, when the one bypassed station - Ditchford - had no nearby settlement!

Given the answers about the reason the Midland were left with a branch I guess it really would have had to have been the LMS that would have had to consider linking it to the former LNWR line.

But it wouldn't have just connected Rushden and Higham to the Peterboro line - it would have enabled traffic from Peterborough to head northwards through Wellingborough on the MML without a reversal at Irchester. However, I suppose the LMS had other priorities and it was not considered worth it.

The Higham branch had a fairly uneventful life. After the withdrawal of passenger trains I believe Saturday morning "shoppers' specials" to Leicester continued for some time and the branch continued to serve the local shoe industry until final closure - the huge goods shed serving the Rushden shoe factories is still there. Rushden MR station is preserved too with a short running line

That's interesting. I wonder what hauled them, Wellingboro' being a freight shed? 4Fs? Of course, they had some Ivatt 2-6-2Ts, but I doubt the operators would have wanted those working a long distance on the main line. Perhaps Kettering or Leicester sent down a Black 5?

 

[muddythefish]

That's interesting. I wonder what hauled them, Wellingboro' being a freight shed? 4Fs? Of course, they had some Ivatt 2-6-2Ts, but I doubt the operators would have wanted those working a long distance on the main line. Perhaps Kettering or Leicester sent down a Black 5?

The photos I've seen of the shoppers specials were Black 5s.

 

[RT4038]

But it wouldn't have just connected Rushden and Higham to the Peterboro line - it would have enabled traffic from Peterborough to head northwards through Wellingborough on the MML without a reversal at Irchester. However, I suppose the LMS had other priorities and it was not considered worth it.

But wouldn't traffic from Peterborough northward up the MML have been sent via Oakham/Melton Mowbray (if for Leicester and beyond) or via Seaton Junction (if for Market Harborough)? This only leaves Peterborough-Kettering traffic, which, if there was enough of it, could have been worked via Seaton Junction & Market Harborough without reversal, or the expense of building new lines?

 

[70014IronDuke]

But wouldn't traffic from Peterborough northward up the MML have been sent via Oakham/Melton Mowbray (if for Leicester and beyond) or via Seaton Junction (if for Market Harborough)? This only leaves Peterborough-Kettering traffic, which, if there was enough of it, could have been worked via Seaton Junction & Market Harborough without reversal, or the expense of building new lines?

Yes, you are quite right. I didn't think this through.

EDIT - Small point, but was there a connection between the LNW and Midland lines at Mkt Harborough? I think that was only put in during WW2? It doesn't negate your point, however. Most real traffic from-to Peterborough and environs for Leicester/Derby/Burton/Sheffield etc could have gone via Manton and/or other routes such as Grantham-Bottesford or Doncaster.

The photos I've seen of the shoppers specials were Black 5s.

Yes, that would have been my bet for such trains. Although I think some sheds in the area might have had some Ivatt 2-6-0s (43xxx) that might just have sufficed for the job, I suppose.

 

[backontrack]

Interesting thread - I wasn't aware of the Kettering-Huntingdon railway. It seems like there were a lot of lines and stations in the general Northamptonshire hinterland, linking together small market towns like Oundle, Thrapston, Raunds, Irthlingborough, Higham Ferrers, Rushden, Finedon, Burton Latimer, Desborough, Towcester, Daventry, Brackley...

 

[70014IronDuke]

Interesting thread - I wasn't aware of the Kettering-Huntingdon railway.

I think it was mainly for iron ore, at least at the western end. It only had three trains per day before it closed, and probably never any more. I think they were all Kettering - Cambridge. If I remember correction, part of the trackbed at the Huntingdon end was used for the Huntingdon turn off from the A1 - probably AI(M) now.

 

[John Webb]

According to Christopher Awdrey's "Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies" the Kettering and Thrapstone* Railway was set up with help from the Midland Railway in 1862. The MR then floated an extension to Huntingdon and St Ives which opened in 1866, when the 1862 railway had 'Huntington' added to it's title. The entry confirms the railways were to exploit ironstone workings in Northamptonshire. Became part of the MR in 1897, and closed to passengers in 1959.
*Spelling as per the railway's title.