Cambridge-St Ives-March
This collection is dedicated to the memory of the late Steve Wilkinson of Histon who fought tirelessly in conjunction with the Railway Development Society (Rail Future) to re open the Cambridge- St Ives line.
Timeline:-
Chesterton Junction to St Ives- opened 17th August 1847.
St Ives to March South Junction- opened 1st February 1848.
The fifteen and a half mile line from St Ives to March South Junction closed on 6th March 1967 when freight traffic declined. The passenger service was also recommended for closure in the Beeching Report of 1963. Little trace of this section of the line exists today. Long sections have been converted to road and the various cuttings to landfill. Many thanks to Stewart Ingram for permission to include some of his pictures from the last day of working. The passenger service from St Ives to Cambridge closed on 5th October 1970, but fortunately the line stayed open for freight traffic to Chivers at Histon until 1983 and a long term sand contract from ARC at Fen Drayton ensured the line stayed open until May 1992. This section of the line has been totally destroyed by the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway which opened on 7th August 2011. Here are a few photos to show how it looked in it's final operational days plus a few relics. The line was once a very busy freight route to March, Whitemoor Yard and the Yorkshire coalfields with over 70 workings a day, the line being open all night.
Maps used in this gallery. Ordnance survey- 1" to a mile. Sheet 135 Cambridge and Ely (1954) and Sheet 134 Huntingdon and Peterborough (1954)
Cast Iron http://www.castiron.org.uk/
Film of the line in 1968
http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-cambridge-st-ives-1968/
Cambridge- St Ives- March/ Death of a railway 1964.
http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-death-of-a-railway-1964/
Read MoreTimeline:-
Chesterton Junction to St Ives- opened 17th August 1847.
St Ives to March South Junction- opened 1st February 1848.
The fifteen and a half mile line from St Ives to March South Junction closed on 6th March 1967 when freight traffic declined. The passenger service was also recommended for closure in the Beeching Report of 1963. Little trace of this section of the line exists today. Long sections have been converted to road and the various cuttings to landfill. Many thanks to Stewart Ingram for permission to include some of his pictures from the last day of working. The passenger service from St Ives to Cambridge closed on 5th October 1970, but fortunately the line stayed open for freight traffic to Chivers at Histon until 1983 and a long term sand contract from ARC at Fen Drayton ensured the line stayed open until May 1992. This section of the line has been totally destroyed by the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway which opened on 7th August 2011. Here are a few photos to show how it looked in it's final operational days plus a few relics. The line was once a very busy freight route to March, Whitemoor Yard and the Yorkshire coalfields with over 70 workings a day, the line being open all night.
Maps used in this gallery. Ordnance survey- 1" to a mile. Sheet 135 Cambridge and Ely (1954) and Sheet 134 Huntingdon and Peterborough (1954)
Cast Iron http://www.castiron.org.uk/
Film of the line in 1968
http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-cambridge-st-ives-1968/
Cambridge- St Ives- March/ Death of a railway 1964.
http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-death-of-a-railway-1964/
37026 heads a rake of empty sand wagons over the crossing gates at Long Stanton on 24th April 1978.
charles ison
on May 16On the Willingham side of the Longstanton crossing was a public house . It closed in the early 70's and was sold ,the estate agents particulars stating the line was closed.The New owners moved in over one weekend,and then were rudely awoken at a very early hour on the Monday morning by the wagon buffers clashing as the empties came to a halt ,before the gates were opened. There then followed the sound of the roar of the 37 getting them moving ,followed by a further dawn chorus of clashing buffers as the train halted the other side of the crossing ,for the gates to be shut .