Stations that were open for the shortest time?

[CentralTrainer]

Can anyone point me in the direction of stories or such about which stations on the National Network were open for the shortest time (I'm thinking a few around the times of the Axe in the 1960s).

 

[najaB]

Can anyone point me in the direction of stories or such about which stations on the National Network were open for the shortest time (I'm thinking a few around the times of the Axe in the 1960s).

Workington North must be in with a shout for the record at 11 months, surely?

 

[Deepgreen]

Can anyone point me in the direction of stories or such about which stations on the National Network were open for the shortest time (I'm thinking a few around the times of the Axe in the 1960s).

Actually I think most of the Beeching closures were of pretty old stations. A lot of very early stations had short lives, for example 'Kensington' (very close to the present Olympia) which lasted from 27 May 1844 to 30 November the same year - barely time for the paint to dry! 'New Wandsworth' also only lasted from March to November 1869. This map gives more examples:

http://carto.metro.free.fr/cartes/metro-london/

 

[RichmondCommu]

This has come up many times and there really should be a 'sticky' for this kind of thread. My suggestion would be Chee Dale Halt; opened in July 1987 and closed in September 1987.

 

[Julia]

Chettisham, between Ely and Manea, can't remember when it was open, early 1990s?, but it was only a temporary halt while the line through Ely North Jct was being electrified.

 

[nlogax]

Heathrow Junction just along from Hayes & Harlington springs to mind, probably from one of those previous threads here. Opened January 1998 and closed June 1998 once the tunnels to the new Heathrow Express stations were completed.

 

[swt_passenger]

This has come up many times and there really should be a 'sticky' for this kind of thread. My suggestion would be Chee Dale Halt; opened in July 1987 and closed in September 1987.

Remarkably, Workington North nearly always comes up fairly quickly - despite it probably not being what the original questioner is actually thinking about, being basically an unplanned reaction to a defect...

 

[Cakestall]

Rothwell and Robin Hood stations on the EWYUR?. They opened Jan 1904 and had closed by August.
Tramway competition and passengers being forced to change and walk at Stourton,if en route to Leeds did for them.
However in Passenger terms seasonal excursions continued into the sixties,whilst the line was continuing its main role as a major coal carrier.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Beeching fatalities include the new halts opened in 1959 on the Tetbury and Cirencester branches in Gloucestershire, operating only to line closure in 1964. Trouble House Halt was, of course, immortalised by Flanders and Swan in the 'Slow Train'. Boscarne Exchange Platform in Cornwall, for the railcar to Bodmin North, only operated for 2 years (1964-66). Scale Hall in Lancashire, on the Lancaster to Morecambe electrified line and built to serve a new housing estate operated only from 1957 to 1966.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Wasn't there a temporary halt just outside Preston on the Blackpool line during engineering work sometime in the eighties? There's been quite a few like that back in the day. There's also stations that stayed open officially for far longer than they were served by trains- Ramsline Halt for example.

 

[soil]

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=98817

 

[daodao]

Can anyone point me in the direction of stories or such about which stations on the National Network were open for the shortest time (I'm thinking a few around the times of the Axe in the 1960s).

Cefntilla Halt was a request stop on the former Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway. It was opened on 27 March 1954 and was open for less than two years, closing in 1955 when the railway closed.

 

[theageofthetra]

Wasn't there a station opened just for the day King George V or VI visited a place? -sorry can't remember where it was.

 

[Ianno87]

How long was Leeds Whitehall open for during the 2000 remodelling of Leeds?

 

[bramling]

Can anyone point me in the direction of stories or such about which stations on the National Network were open for the shortest time (I'm thinking a few around the times of the Axe in the 1960s).

Haven't got any specific examples to hand at the moment, however I'd suggest you're looking at four distinct groups:

1) Very early openings, especially on some of the earlier-built railways, which were quickly closed.

2) Temporary terminuses, where a permanent station was built soon after - for example because a bridge or viaduct wasn't ready in time.

3) Halts opened in the post-war years which were a last-ditch attempt to gain traffic on a floundering line.

4) Temporary stations built for a specific purpose, e.g. engineering works.

 

[route:oxford]

Oxford Science Park? One day only. (So far).

Doesn't it depend on how you define "shortest time" though?

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club Station being open from the mid 1850s to around 1935 - but it was only open for specific events - so overall probably less than a day.

 

[30907]

A variant on 3 might be some shortlived halts introduced in the railmotor boom just before WW1. Afraid I can't instantly think of examples.

The Bluebell Railway operated from Bluebell Halt for a couple of years, but also opened an intermediate halt at Holywell which only lasted a year or so (Wikipedia article confirms this and also mentions a halt at Ketches Farm which is more recent and longer lived),

 

[steamybrian]

Ramsline Halt built in 1990 to serve Derby County Football ground was only served by four trains.
Dixter halt on the Kent & East Sussex Railway was built between Northiam and Bodiam in the 1990s and was closed/demolished before the year 2000. It was only served on a few gala days with a special service from Bodiam.

 

[fenman35]

Trumpington station long road cambridge open only from 4 - 8 July 1922. -to serve the Royal Show. Later Royal shows at the same venue had no station built.

 

[fenman35]

Balsham Road 4/4/1848 to 9/10/1851, Abington 1848-51, and Bourne Bridge 1848-51
All intermediate stations on the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway which was replaced by a new line to Newmarket via Cambridge.

 

[steamybrian]

Try this..

For the Prince of Wales investiture at Caernarfon on 1st July 1969 a special station was built at Griffiths Crossing just outside Caernarvon. It was only used by the Royal Train conveying the Prince of Wales and his guests.

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/caernarvon/index.shtml

 

[steamybrian]

deleted- (double posting)

 

[Derbyshire Gra]

Ramsline Halt built in 1990 to serve Derby County Football ground was only served by four trains.
[

Quite correct - but it may actually be reopened next year during the Derby station remodelling.

 

[MrTurbostar170]

Spinks Lane in Wymondham was open for just a few months in 1845.

 

[Cakestall]

If we discount temporary stations:

• that were opened for one off functions ,
• as a response to engineering problems or works,
• or as Temporary termini.
Then the stations on the EWYUR with a life of only 8 months for regular timetabled services must take some beating.
Rothwell and Robin Hood were substantial brick built affairs and I suspect that when they opened, that there was no intention that services would last for less than a year.

 

[vic-rijrode]

On the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester & Midland Junction Railway between Towcester and a junction with the Midland Railway branch from Bedford to Northampton, 2 stations had a passenger service for only 4 months from opening.

Stoke Bruerne and Salcey Forest stations were opened for passengers on December 1 1892 but the service from Towcester to Olney was withdrawn on March 31 1893 - never to be restored. Apparently it never made more than £5 per week in those 4 months.

Both stations were substantially built and survived for goods traffic until June 1952. The building at Stoke Bruerne survives as a private house.

The Towcester to Olney line closed in 1958.

 

[Cakestall]

Must be the winner?.

 

[iain-j]

Shortest one I can think of is the original Wallyford station. Opened in June 1886 and closed the October of 1887.

http://www.nbrstudygroup.co.uk/nbr/pdfs/station_list.pdf

Very little mention of it anywhere but apparently it was in the location of the current station.

 

[brompton rail]

Under the temporary stations category you could include RAF Finingley Station on the Joint line, a few miles south east of Doncaster.

A scaffolding and wood construction was built by BR to cater for the Battle of Britain Air Shows each September. As far as I recall it was removed after the Air Show and re-built the following year. It was a good ten to fifteen minutes walk down the lane to the Base. A DMU shuttle operated from Doncaster (platform 2, never used for any regular services) and was very popular. It certainly operated in the 1970s, 80s, but I can't find any references to it online. The Air Show ended in the early 90s I think with the end of the Cold War. Bus services would not have been able to cope as, even 40 years ago, road congestion was massive!

 

[sk688]

Watford stadium 1982-96

Heathrow Junction, was only open for a few months in 1998

Edit : someone else said it already