Polesworth Station

LMS Route: Trent Valley Line

Polesworth station was opened by the London and North-Western Railway at the same time as the Trent Valley line was opened in 1847. The line had been originally scheduled to be opened on 26th June 1847 but due to a faulty bridge design over the River Tame at Tamworth, followed by strengthening to a further five bridges along the route, the line was opened in stages. The line through Polesworth between Rugby and Stafford was opened 15th September 1847 with two local passenger services each way and through goods trains only. The Trent Valley line fully opened on 1st December 1847 which was the same day that Greenwich Mean Time was adopted throughout the LNWR. Located between Tamworth and Atherstone, Polesworth was originally built with two tracks passing through the station.

The main station building was located on the down line and was retained when the line through Polesworth station was quadrupled. The goods yard had both down and up facilities, with the main facility being initially on the up side of the station. Here the 1884 Ordnance Survey Map shows a goods yard with a goods shed. Access to the goods yard from the Up line was via one of two trailing crossovers, meaning the train had to reverse into the yard. One set of trailing set of points can be seen opposite the station buildings which were located on the down line. The other set of points are to the right of the road bridge. Access from the down line was more convoluted. A refuge siding used to hold good trains whilst the priority passenger services sped by was accessed from a trailing set points adjacent to the station and opposite the Signal Cabin. This trailing set of points also accessed the shorter siding which was adjacent to the refuge siding. Both sidings were accessed by a wagon turntable located next to Polesworth's down platform. A set of trailing crossovers are evident on the down line, to the left of Polesworth station. This set of points could be used to reverse down trains across the up line before being drawn forward into the yard. In addition, the use of wagon turntables was utilised to accommodate any single wagons that needed to be moved from either side of the lines. The latter would be be undertaken by horse, if available, or more likely manpower.

The original up line became the down fast line with two new lines, the up fast and the up slow, being built opposite. The original up platform was demolished being replaced by a new structure on the new up slow line. As can be seen from the photographs, the new station layout had been designed to accommodate an island platform at a later date. Why this was thought necessary is unknown as the population of Polesworth was always relatively low, the Census recording 5,619 in 1911; 6,277 in 1921 and 6,466 in 1931. The station became an unmanned halt in the early 1970s.

The Railway Clearing House's 1938 Official Handbook of Stations states that the station offered a full range of facilities indicated by the following codes:

G - Goods Station;
G* - Coal Class, Mineral and Sidings to Sidings in Truck Loads;
P - Passenger and Parcel station;
F - Furniture Vans, Carriages, Motor Cars, Portable Engines, and Machines on Wheels;
L - Live Stock;
H - Horse Boxes and Prize Cattle Vans;
C - Carriages and Motor Cars by Passenger Train

Ref: lnwr_pol1078 Anon Edwardian view of Polesworth station with members of staff, their families and passengers posing for the camera

Ref: lnwr_pol1206 Anon View of the station from the main access road showing little changed in the 100 years since it was first built

Ref: lnwr_pol1070 M Mensing A late BR external view of the station after electrification showing the station master's house separated by a fence

Ref: lnwr_pol1212 RS Carpenter Collection Looking towards Tamworth showing the post-1909 layout of Polesworth station with the signal box in the centre

Ref: lnwr_pol1212a RS Carpenter Collection Close up of the platform side of the original station and the down platform staircase of the passenger footbridge

Ref: lnwr_pol1212b RS Carpenter Collection Close up of Polesworth's 1909 LNWR Signal Box and the two signal gantries controlling the down slow line on the left

Ref: lnwr_pol1205 M Billington Looking towards the main 1847 station building still more or less as built but with the replacement signal box

Ref: lnwr_pol1205a M Billington Close up of Livock's building still retaining his distinctive style of canopy with columns close to the platform edge

Ref: lnwr_pol1205b M Billington Close up of Polesworth station's replacement signal box with passenger footbridge and barrow crossing

Ref: lnwr_pol1209 RS Carpenter Collection LNWR 2-4-0 Precedent class No 381 'Patterdale' is seen ready to depart at the head of an up local to Rugby

Ref: lnwr_pol1208 RS Carpenter Collection An unidentified LNWR 4-6-0 Claughton class locomotive passing through Polesworth on an up express service

Ref: lnwr_pol3107 Signalling Record Society A low resolution version of the Signalling Diagram for Polesworth Signal Box produced courtesy of the SRS

Railway Accident near Polesworth on 21st July 1947

Ref: lnwr_pol3104 Tamworth Herald LMS 4-6-2 7P Coronation Class No 6244 'King George VI' lies on its side at the head of the boat train to Liverpool

Ref: lnwr_pol3105 Tamworth Herald Elevated view of the rear portion of of the train showing the coaching stock jack-knifed along the track

Ref: lnwr_pol3106 Tamworth Herald An aerial view of the derailed boat train looking towards Euston with the locomotive nearest to the camera

Ref: lnwr_pol1207 Daily Mirror A newspaper photograph showing the derailed boat train, rescue workers and onlookers

Ref: MoT_Polesworth1947 Railway Archive Lieut. Colonel GRS Wilson's Ministry of Transport Report on the railway derailment at Polesworth on 21st July 1947

Railway Accident at Polesworth station on 19th November 1951

Ref: lnwr_pol1210 RS Carpenter Collection Ex-LMS 4-6-2 Coronation Scot No 46252 'City of Leicester' is seen lying on its side buried in to the embankment

Ref: lnwr_pol1211 RS Carpenter Collection Another view of ex-LMS 4-6-2 No 46252 'City of Leicester' showing the tender and coaches standing upright

Ref: MoT_Polesworth1951 Railway Archive Colonel D McMullen's Ministry of Transport Report on the derailment at Polesworth on 19th November 1951

Ref: lnwr_pol4432 National Library of Scotland An 1884 25 inch to the Mile OS Map of Polesworth station, two sidings goods yard and goods shed

Ref: lnwr_pol4433 National Library of Scotland A 1901 25 inch to the Mile Ordnance Survey Map of Polesworth station, goods yard and Pooley Hall Colliery

Ref: lnwr_pol4433a National Library of Scotland A 1901 25 inch to the Mile OS Map of Polesworth station and the relocated signal cabin and goods yard

Ref: lnwr_pol4435 National Library of Scotland A 1923 25 inch to the Mile OS Map of Polesworth station and the relocated signal cabin and goods yard

Ref: lnwr_pol4434 National Library of Scotland A 1939 25 inch to the Mile OS Map of Polesworth station and Pooley Hall Colliery and sidings

Ref: lnwr_pol4434a National Library of Scotland A 1939 25 inch to the Mile OS Map of Polesworth station and the relocated signal cabin and goods yard

Ref: lnwr_pol4436 Stations UK View looking northwards from the road bridge towards Tamworth with the original station building on the left

Ref: lnwr_pol4437 RS Carpenter An unidentified ex-LMS Ivatt 2-6-0 4F locomotive heads a three-coach local stopping service into Polesworth