Pleasley West railway station
Former railway station in Derbyshire, England
53°10′34″N 1°15′11″W / 53.1760°N 1.2530°W / 53.1760; -1.2530
Pleasley West was a railway station on the Doe Lea line in Pleasley, Derbyshire, England on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It opened in 1886 and closed to scheduled services in 1930, though it was served by excursion trains until 1964.
Context
The station was built by the Midland Railway near the junction of the circuitous Mansfield Woodhouse to Westhouses via Teversall Manor line known as "The Teversall & Pleasley Branch" and the equally circuitous Barrow Hill to Pleasley line[3] known as the Doe Lea Branch because it ran for much of its length along the valley of the River Doe Lea.
The railways always spelt Teversal as "Teversall", most other sources use "Teversal." In this article Teversall is used for railway items, and Teversal otherwise.[4]
History
The station was opened without ceremony on 11 May 1886 when the Teversall & Pleasley Branch opened to passenger traffic. It initially provided a service of four trains each way between Mansfield and Alfreton via Mansfield Woodhouse, Teversal and Tibshelf, taking about 40 minutes from end to end.[5] Services more than doubled on 1 September 1890 when the Doe Lea Branch opened, giving four trains a day from Mansfield to Chesterfield via Mansfield Woodhouse, Bolsover and Barrow Hill.[6][7]
The station originally had two platforms[8] with a typical MR country station building on the western (northbound) side.[9][10] Unusually the signal box was on one of the platforms. By 1950 all trace of the southbound platform had been erased.[11]
By 1930 the passenger service South from Pleasley West to Westhouses was down to one train a day southbound and, curiously, two a day northbound.[12] Normal passenger traffic along the Doe Lea Branch was three trains a day with an extra on Saturdays. On 28 July 1930 both passenger services were withdrawn.[13] Glapwell Colliery and others in the Doe Lea Valley were still going strong at this time, but all their coal went out northwards, so very little traffic passed through the steep line through Rowthorn Tunnel. The opportunity was therefore taken to abandon the line from just south of Glapwell station to Pleasley Colliery West Junction, a short distance South of Pleasley West, though a short length was left at the Pleasley end as a siding.
Although closed in 1930 the station remained physically intact and was used until 1963 for excursion traffic to places such as Skegness.[14] It was therefore duly renamed in 1950 from "Pleasley" to "Pleasley West"[15] to avoid confusion with its neighbour which became "Pleasley East".
Through traffic was rendered impossible from 1964 when the line North from Pleasley Colliery to the junction with what is now the Robin Hood Line closed. Pleasley Colliery subsequently sent its coal underground to Shirebrook and Teversal Colliery closed in 1980 after which the line through Pleasley West was redundant. It was closed on 7 January 1981 and lifted by November 1982.[12] The station has been razed to the ground.
Modern times
Parts of the trackbed and those of neighbouring lines have been turned into public footpaths and bridleways.[16][17]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowthorn and Hardwick Line and station closed | Midland Railway Doe Lea Branch | Mansfield Woodhouse Line closed, station open | ||
| Teversall Manor Line and station closed | Midland Railway Teversall & Pleasley Branch |
References
- ^ Butt 1995, p. 186.
- ^ Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 45.
- ^ Kay 1998, Sheet 12.
- ^ A History of Teversal, archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2021
- ^ Hurst 1987, p. 61.
- ^ The service in 1890 Old Miner
- ^ Hurst 1987, p. 76.
- ^ Kay 1998, Sheet 12 dated 1909.
- ^ Hurst 1987, p. 64.
- ^ Goode 1983, p. 19.
- ^ Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 40.
- ^ a b Hurst 1987, p. 62.
- ^ Hurst 1987, p. 77.
- ^ Hurst 1987, p. 63.
- ^ Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 44.
- ^ Rowthorne Trail: via Derbyshire County Council
- ^ Teversal and Pleasley Trails: via cycletrails
Sources
- Anderson, Paul; Cupit, Jack (2000). An Illustrated History of Mansfield's Railways. Clophill: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-903266-15-1.
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Goode, C.T. (1983). Railway Rambles on the Notts. & Derbyshire Border. Hull: C. T. Goode. ISBN 978-0-9508239-2-8.
- Hurst, Geoffrey (1987). The Midland Railway Around Nottinghamshire, Volume 1. Worksop: Milepost Publications. ISBN 978-0-947796-05-1.
- Midland Railway System Maps (The Distance Diagrams), volume 2 - Leeds to Leicester and branches; Derby to Manchester and branches; Cheshire Lines (1909-1923 ed.). Teignmouth: Peter Kay. 1998. ISBN 978-1-899890-17-0.
- Kaye, A.R. (1988). North Midland and Peak District Railways in the Steam Age, Volume 2. Chesterfield: Lowlander Publications. ISBN 978-0-946930-09-8.
- DVD (2004). East Midlands Steam. Bradford: Marsden Rail. Marsden Rail 26.
- Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
Further reading
- Howard Anderson, P. (1973). Forgotten Railways: The East Midlands. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-6094-1.
- Kingscott, Geoffrey (2007). Lost Railways of Derbyshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-042-8.
External links
- Pleasley West station on old O.S. map npe Maps
- The station on overlain OS maps National Library of Scotland
- The station and line on overlain OS maps Rail Map Online
- The station, line and mileages Railway Codes
