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.
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Histon station house. 24th October 1978.
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Histon station house. 24th October 1978.

HistonStationHouse

  • Single line key token for the Swavesey to St Ives section. It was carried by the drivers of all trains as part of the electric token signalling system which allowed only one train in the section at a time. Photo with kind permission of David Holden.
  • The River Ouse bridge East of St Ives. Photo with kind permission of Steve Parker.
  • Girton Road crossing, Track removal for the guided busway. November 2006. Photo with kind permission of Peter Heath.
  • The final days of Girton Road Crossing. November 2006. Photo with kind permission of Peter Heath.
  • Histon. 28th July 2007. Station entrance and close up of the canopy.
  • Histon Station. Final days of the crossing gates although one has already disappeared after being hit by a truck.. 29th July 2007.
  • Fluorescent sign from Oakington.
  • 37026 heads a rake of empty sand wagons over the crossing gates at Long Stanton on 24th April 1978.
  • With Long Stanton station in the distance 37026 passes under Windmill Bridge with a sand working from Fen Drayton. 24th April 1978.
  • A far cry from the scene today at this location. 37075 (now preserved) traverses the crossing gates at Histon with 8L43, Fen Drayton to Kings Cross on 9th December 1978
  • 37052 passes the lakes at what is now Holiday Inn Histon, and is about to pass under the A14 Bridge on a rather murky 18th February 1980.The lakes are a result of excavations during the building of the A14
  • Taken from the top of the A14 Bridge with a 200mm lens. 31313 approaches with a return RDS special from Liverpoool Street to Swavesey on 12th April 1980. Kings Hedges Crossing is behind the rear carriage with Milton Road Crossing in the distance.
  • A Railway Development Society special arrives at Oakington. 11th April 1981.
  • Reminiscent of past days, 31313 catches the setting sun between Histon Station and Girton Road crossing. The working is a return RDS special from Liverpool Street to Swavesey. 12th April 1980.
  • 37097 waits to leave Oakington on 12th April 1980 with a Railway Development Society special to Liverpool Street. Not much of this scene survives today.
  • A sight never to be seen again. A packed Up platform at Histon with passengers awaiting a Railway Development Society special from Swavesey to Liverpool Street. 12th April 1980
  • Site of Needingworth Junction on 17th August 2008. Nature has nearly completely taken over. Photo with kind permission of Steve Parker.
  • Blink Bridge over Loundes Drove North of St Ives. Looking South. 13th August 2008. Photo with kind permission of Steve Parker
  • Histon station house. 24th October 1978.
  • 37026 departs Histon with sand from Fen Drayton on 24th April 1978. A piece of local history here. Between the right hand eave of the station house and the grey building on top of Chivers factory to the right is a barely perceptible small black protrusion. This was a steam powered whistle with a tone of around 800 Hz which apparently served as an "all clear" signal for enemy action during the second world war. Chivers used it after the war to announce the start and end of shifts. It went off at 0800, 1300,1345 and 1700 and could be heard all over the village. It was always interesting to watch the spurt of steam issuing from the building at these times. It was locally known as the buzzer. All long gone now of course.
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