LMS Route: LMS Route: Nuneaton to Leamington

Hawkesbury Lane Station: lnwhl146

Hawkesbury Lane station's down platform building which comprised a passenger waiting room and booking office. The photograph was taken in British Railways days as is evident by the new station 'running in board (name board) which is BR's Midland Region's corporate livery of white lettering on a maroon background. The steps between the two doors were made available for passengers who had difficulty in accessing the carriages from the platform. This was because the designs of carriages on the first railways evolved from stage coaches with passengers accessing the compartments from road level. Initially this practice was continued in railway passenger vehicles which resulted in platforms being built only a little above rail height as seen at Maxstoke on the Hampton to Whitacre line - 'mrcm175a'. As carriages became longer they were fitted with fixed axles necessitating the floor of the carriage to be raised to accommodate a much stronger chassis but at a height still much lower than when bogie wheels were provided. Carriages fitted with bogies required the floor to be raised to a height sufficient for the bogies to rotate under the chassis. In 1850, when Hawkesbury Lane was opened, the height of the platform was based upon carriages with fixed axles and therefore the steps needed to be provided. The issue of platforms with platforms being lower than required for 20th century rolling stock was common to most railway companies.

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