Coleshill later Maxstoke Station
Coleshill station was the only intermediate station on the
route between Hampton and Whitacre. It looked distinctive with its very short
platform suffice for two or three four wheel coaches, a station house with
booking office and waiting rooms as well as a short goods siding. Whilst
photographic evidence confirms only one platform which was sited on the up
line, in all probability there was once a second platform on the down line
which was swept aside when the track was singled.
The line was originally built with double track when first
opened on 5th August 1839 reflecting its importance to the B&DJR as its
gateway to London via the L&BR. The line reverted to single track between
August 1842 and March 1843 when its importance as a route to and from the North
on MR metals was significantly down graded by the opening on the 1st July 1840
of the Leicester to Rugby route and on the 10th February 1842 the Whitacre to
Birmingham line.
The number of passenger services never again reached the
anticipated volume and because the line was not now fully utilised the line was
singled between August 1842 and March 1843. Even after the line was singled, of
the three daily services each way, two carried through coaches to London until
February 1845. The daily service of three trains each way was reduced to two in
1859, and from May 1877 the service was reduced to a single coach morning train
in each direction. This being the minimum level of service required by
Parliament.
Colin Maggs in his book 'Branch Lines of Warwickshire'
states that "although from 1902 the service often ran without a single
passenger the MR could not close the line to passengers". It was not until 1st
January 1917 when war time economy measures enabled the MR to enact legislation
that the line closed to passenger traffic. Still in use for occasional goods
traffic in 1923 the station was renamed Maxstoke, with Forge Mills being
renamed Coleshill. On 12th January 1935 the branch line was cut in half when
the timber bridge opver the River Blythe was certified as too weak to support a
train. Coleshill or now Maxstoke still had a goods service until 30 April 1939
when the line was used to store crippled wagons.
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