Whitacre Junction Station

LMS Route: Nuneaton to Birmingham New Street
LMS Route: Hampton in Arden to Whitacre

The original Whitacre station was opened on 10th February 1842 by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway some thirty-one months after the route from Derby to Hampton was opened, the result of the B&DJR opening their own and more direct line to Lawley Street, Birmingham. This new line diverted Birmingham to Derby traffic away from the more convoluted route via Hampton and the necessity of passengers being transferred to onward L&BR services to Birmingham. The B&DJR's passenger services to London still remained although by this date the Midland Counties more direct route to London via Rugby had resulted in their daily services being reduced to five 'Down' through coaches to London and three 'Up' through coaches to Derby.

On 1st November 1864 the line between Birmingham to Nuneaton was opened and the original B&DJR Whitacre station was closed being replaced by a new station of three platforms with an island platform configuration three-quarters of a mile to its south at the junction to this new line. According to Colin Magg's 'the Hampton branch passenger train used the outer face of the Down island platform. The construction of a goods yard for the new station caused the Hampton branch to be re-aligned for a quarter of a mile'. The station was closed to passenger services on 4th March 1968 and was very quickly demolished.

Select an image below to view the larger version with accompanying text:

Ref: mrwj123 - Anon MR 0-6-0 No 2641, a member of the 1874 class, on the Hampton to Whitacre one-coach train

Ref: mrwj123a - Anon Close up of MR 0-6-0 No 2641 at the head of the single-coach Whitacre to Hampton Parliamentary train

Ref: mrwj126 - WL Good LMSR 1P 2-4-0 No 19 heads a westward bound local out of Whitacre Junction station, just after the grouping of 1923

Ref: mrwj126a - WL Good Close up showing the station building with signalbox located on the platform and footbridge to the opposite platform

Ref: mrwj125 - Anon Ex-LMS 2-8-0 8F No 48135 trundles a mineral train through the station having just come off the line from Nuneaton

Ref: mrwj615 - A Muckley View of Whitacre's 1864 buildings which replaced the 1842 B&DJR structure seen one month prior to closure in March 1968

Ref: mrwj616 - M Mensing Looking towards Whitacre station with the original B&DJR line to Derby curving off to the left and the line to Nuneaton to the right