2. Railways

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/
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Fluorescent sign from Oakington.
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Fluorescent sign from Oakington.

OakingtonLamp

  • Original British Railways Eastern Region blue totem for Oakington. Photo with kind permission of Charles Ison.
  • 37097 arrives at Oakington with a Railway Development Society special to Liverpool Street. 12th April 1980.
  • Fluorescent sign from Oakington.
  • Oakington shelter on up platform 14th April 1980.
  • Oakington. Detail on the Down platform, a reminder of a time when you could travel places from here. The up platform was similarly marked " To Cambridge and south" 10th September 1979.
  • Oakington, Shelter on down platform. 10th September 1979.
  • Oakington. Interesting spandrel design on the down platform shelter.10th September 1979
  • G.E.R. original chair from Oakington. Photo with kind permission of Charles Ison.
  • Oakington Track Plan. Courtesy of Richard Pike.
  • Oakington Track Plan. Thanks to Richard Pike. Plan enhanced by Owen Stratford.
  • Longstanton to Swavesey
  • Longstanton facing Swavesey in April 1973
  • Longstanton facing Swavesey 12th March 1978. The BT microwave link tower at Windmill bridge can be seen on the skyline.
  • Long Stanton signal box and gates on 27th October 1973. The gates were operated by a wheel in the box.
  • Longstanton viewed from the brake van of a Fen Drayton bound sand train. 24th June 1975.
  • Long Stanton. Crossing Keepers hut.
  • A Railway Correspondence and Travel society special arrives at Longstanton on 7th May 1979 with Inspector Alec Stanley with the hat, to the right.
  • Longstanton viewed from the B1050 Wllingham Road on 7th May 1979. An RCTS special stands at the platform.
  • 37026 heads a rake of empty sand wagons over the crossing gates at Long Stanton on 24th April 1978.
  • Long Stanton trackplan. Courtesy of Richard Pike.<br /> Longstanton had an Up goods loop with a capacity of 95 standard wagons and a Down goods loop with a capacity of 100 standard wagons. The box had 48 levers.
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