LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton

LMS Route: Hampton in Arden to Whitacre

Hampton - Joint Midland and LNWR Station

The first station at Hampton was opened in April 1838 when the London & Birmingham Railway's (L&BR) line to Rugby came into operation. The Birmingham & Derby Junction Railway (B&DJR) opened their station at Hampton the following year in order to provide passengers from the north with a route to London via Whitacre. However other lines opened by constituent companies of what became the Midland Railway (MR) soon relegated the Whitacre to Hampton line no more than a single branch line. Despite the limited MR service from Whitacre the London North Western Railway (LNWR), the successor to the L&BR, continued to use their station first known both as Hampton as well as 'Derby Junction' followed by Hampton Junction and then later back to Hampton. On 28th July 1884 the joint arrangements between the MR and the LNWR ceased which was followed by the LNWR opening their station on 1st September 1884. The LNWR station at Hampton (Midland) was allegedly closed on the same day but photographic evidence would appear to show a relatively new LNWR down platform structure built after 1884 but before circa 1890 when the LNWR erected a new signal cabin. Its not known when the LNWR down platform was demolished. The road leading to the original station was subsequently name Old Station Road whilst the road adjacent to the new road side station building leading off the High Street to the goods yard was named Station Road.

Hampton was at the southern end of the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, later part of the Midland Railway. Opened as a double-track main line on 12th August 1839, the section from Whitacre to Hampton, known as the Stonebridge Railway, was downgraded to a branch line in 1842 after the opening of the line from Whitacre into Birmingham; it was singled in 1843 and lost its final passenger service in 1917 as a wartime economy measure. After lingering on as a goods line, it was closed entirely in 1935 following a bridge failure at Packington. The line had originally enabled passengers from the Tamworth, Kingsbury, Whitacre, Shustoke and Coleshill areas to make connections at Hampton for other parts of the country, because at one time the B&DJR and the L&BR had stations side by side at Hampton, at the point where the two lines met. The Midland Railway's goods yard continued to be used by the LNWR after the opening of the LNWR station. When this ceased and the LNWR Hampton in Arden's facilities opened is not certain but is thought to have been shortly afterwards.

The station was originally named 'Hampton', as the village was then known, but was renamed 'Hampton Junction' on 1st November 1849 and reverted to 'Hampton on 1st December 1872. Roger Waring writes in his book 'The Stonebridge Railway that the station was also known as 'Derby Junction' but implies that this was not the case from 1st November 1849 when the name changed. This might be the case in written material such as timetables etc but as seen in the images below a sign displaying the name 'Derby Junction' was writ large above the booking office door. In all probability the continued display of the sign 'Derby Junction' may well have been to advertise its purpose, being the junction for Derby. The B&DJR station building can still be seen being a listed building, but the adjacent LNWR station disappeared long ago, being replaced by the present Hampton-in-Arden railway station some 500 yards nearer London in 1884. At Hampton there was a two-road locomotive shed which quickly became redundant with the opening of the Whitacre to Birmingham line and consequently closed. It later became a saw mill for Messrs. Blackwell. A length of the former branch remained at the Hampton end until the early 1960s to give rail access to the mill. The six and half mile journey from Whitacre to Hampton took thirty minutes each way in 1887 but by 1910 the journey took just fifteen minutes.

Accident at Hampton - Coventry on 3rd August 1852

The report on the collision near Hampton-in-Arden of a down passenger train with the derailed portion of an up passenger train. This document was published on 13th August 1852 by Board of Trade. It was written by Capt. R. M. Laffan (RE).

"It appears from the evidence that on the morning in question the ordinary 9.15 a.m. passenger train for Rugby left Birmingham at its appointed time, and that it had proceeded in safety as far as a mile to the southward of the Hampton station, when suddenly the driver felt a violent oscillating movement in his engine, and the guard who rode in the leading van heard a shower of gravel-stones and sand thrown up against it in front.

The driver immediately felt that something had gone wrong, and at once proceeded to shut off the steam, to apply the tender break, and to sound the whistle to convey an alarm to the guards; at the same time the guard who rode in the front van put on his break. The engine and tender came to a stand within a short distance upon their own line, but the van broke away from the tender, and followed by a second-class carriage left the up rails, and inclining to the right, ran across the down line just at the very moment that a down train from Leamington was about to pass the spot. The Leamington engine struck the van and the carriage on the side, destroying the hinder part of the van and the front compartment of the carriage, and two second-class passengers were killed on the spot, and several were seriously injured."

Hampton Midland Station

Ref: lnwrhiaj391 Illustrated London News Hampton station showing the B&DJR building on the right with the L&BR lines to Birmingham on the left

Ref: lnwrhiaj707 Dr A Smith The original Hampton station, 'Derby Junction' with the LNWR station on the left and the B&DJR station on the right

Ref: lnwrhiaj707a Dr A Smith Close up of the new LNWR down platform apparently built at the same time as the new 'Hampton in Arden' station

Ref: lnwrhiaj707c Dr A Smith Close up of the original B&DJR station building with the sign 'Derby Junction' displayed above the door to the office

Ref: lnwrhiaj707b Dr A Smith A LNWR locomotive stands in the MR portion of the station on a southbound service opposite a MR Kirtley 0-6-0

Ref: lnwrhiaj392a PE Butler Close up showing the Midland Railway Signal Box located in the vee of the two lines to Whitacre

Ref: lnwrhiaj1560 M Bryant Looking from the LNWR signal cabin this view shows the original Derby Junction station now renamed 'Hampton'

Ref: lnwrhiaj705 Lens of Sutton Looking to Birmingham, showing the LNWR signal cabin on left and on the right the former B&DJR station

Ref: lnwrhiaj705a Lens of Sutton Close up showing on the left the replacement LNWR signal cabin and the two turnouts to the Whitacre branch

Ref: lnwrhiaj705b Lens of Sutton Close up of the B&DJR station building which housed a booking hall, waiting rooms and parcels office

Ref: lnwrhiaj706 Anon Looking towards the original Hampton station with J Allport's & Matthew Kirtley's house in the background

Ref: lnwrhiaj4157 Postcard The front of the B&DJR station as seen from Old Station Road with the remains of the cattle dock on the left

Ref: lnwrhiaj2986 NRM A 1931 view of Hampton Station looking West with the station's landing dock seen on the right

Ref: lnwrhiaj2987 L Ellis A 1951 view of the now out of use Midland Railway ground frame which replaced the earlier MR Signal Box

Ref: lnwrhiaj2993 C Gorton An unidentified ex-LMS 2-8-0 8F locomotive runs tender, first wrong line, with an electrification train

Hampton Midland Goods Yard

Ref: lnwrhiaj2984 RS Carpenter A side view of the ex-B&DJR shed located between the up and down lines of the branch on 20th May 1954

Ref: lnwrhiaj2990 NRM A 1931 view of the former engine shed with a number of open five plank wagons being loaded with timber planking

Ref: lnwrhiaj2985 WD Butler Wyckham Blackwell's Saw Mill which occupied the site of the former B&DJR station goods yard and shed in 1932

Ref: lnwrhiaj703 JM Ryan View of the former B&DJR locomotive shed now being used as a store for a timber merchant

Trains seen at or near Hampton

Ref: lnwrhiaj392 PE Butler An unidentified Midland Railway 2F 0-6-0 locomotive is seen arriving at Hampton station in 1916

Ref: lnwrhiaj704 WL Good LNWR 3P 4-4-0 George V class No 226 'Colwyn Bay' is passes Hampton signal cabin on an up two-hour express

Ref: lnwrhiaj2983 L Ellis View of a Contractor's diesel locomotive stabled in the sidings at Hampton's former B&DJR goods yard in 1951

Ref: lnwrhiaj2989 Dr A Smith Ex-LMS 4-6-0 5MT No 45058 stands on former B&DJR metals with an engineers train of dismantled track

Ref: lnwrhiaj2963 C Gorton An unidentified ex-LMS 2-8-0 8F locomotive is seen working wrong line on a ballast train on 1st February 1965

Ref: lnwrhia2964 C Gorton Ex-LMS 4-6-0 5MT No 45442 passes Hampton in Arden's old goods yard with 18:10pm working from New Street

Ref: lnwrhiaj2965 C Gorton Unidentified ex-LMS 5MT 4-6-0 locomotive passes Hampton Signal Cabin next to the former B&DJR station

Ordnance Survey Map of Hampton Midland Station

Ref: lnwrhiaj2991 National Library of Scotland A 1902 25 inches to the mile OS map of the MR's Hampton station located on the London to Birmingham line

Ref: lnwrhiaj2991 National Library of Scotland Close up of the 1902 25 inches to the mile OS map of the MR's Hampton station located on the L&BR line

Ref: lnwrhiaj3744 National Library of Scotland A 1937 25 inches to the mile OS map of the MR's Hampton Station located on the London to Birmingham line

Ref: lnwrhiaj4483 Binns & Clifford and Woods An updated 1841 map showing part of Hampton station and the Stonebridge branch junction to Whitacre

Hampton Midland Station Personnel

Ref: lnwrhiaj2988 Dr JW Bland Hampton Midland station's last station master and his wife, Alfred and Harriet Lee circa 1920