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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37102 waits for the gates to be opened at Histon. 16th November 1979.
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37102 waits for the gates to be opened at Histon. 16th November 1979.

Histon37102

  • RCTS special st Histon 7th May 1979
  • RCTS Special at Histon 7th May 1979
  • RCTS special at Histon 7th May 1979
  • The photographer is standing on Histon's down platform as a St Ives bound dmu arrives. The year is around 1969, not long before closure of the service. Note the down home signal and the dome lamp at the pedestrian gates.<br /> <br /> Image with kind permission of Dave Gent.
  • The station house and Up platform in 1961. To the right is Chiver's factory and on the platform behind the flower border, boards probably advertising holidays by rail or special excursions to Clacton/Hunstanton. Next to the ticket office baskets of racing pigeons? await the next passenger train. Image thanks to Pete Driver.
  • 37097 waits to leave Histon with a Railway Development Society special to LIverpool Streeet. 12th April 1980.
  • 37097 passes Histon with empty coaching stock for a Railway Development Society special to Liverpool Street on 12th April 1980. The engine will haul the stock to Fen Drayton where it will run round its train and then travel back picking up its first passengers at Swavesey. It's early morning and cold, the steam heating and exhaust giving an excellent effect.
  • Early morning at Histon. 7am. 37097 eases over the crossing gates with empty coaching stock for a special to Liverpool Street on 12th April 1980. This was probably the first hauled passenger train over this route since 1967.
  • Histon on 12th April 1980. 37097 is at the head of empty coaching stock for a Railway Development Society special to Liverpool Street.
  • 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
  • A scene reminiscent of the early/mid sixties. 31313 eases across Histon level crosssing with a return Railway Development Society special from Liverpool Street on 12th April 1980. The Railway Vue [sic] pub is behind the loco. Before the local bypass opened in 1963 the passage of trains caused severe road traffic delays at this point, it being the only direct access to the village from Cambridge.
  • 37089 waits to load passengers on an excursion to Lowestoft. 21st June 1980.
  • 37089 loads passengers at Histon on an excursion to Lowestoft on 21st June 1980. The orange van belongs to the late Mr Steve Wilkinson who in conjunction with the Railway Development Society worked tirelessly to restore the passenger services on this line. Regrettably to no avail.
  • 37099 heads towards Cambridge in this scene on 23rd November 1979. The crossing keepers hut at least has been saved from the destruction caused by the guided busway. Local volunteers took it down brick by brick and rebuilt it the other side of the tracks.
  • 37102 arriving at Histon with 8L43 Fen Drayton to Kings Cross Yard. 16th November 1979.
  • 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.
  • 37102 waits for the gates to be opened at Histon. 16th November 1979.
  • Histon.
  • 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
  • A rare shot of five transfesa ferry vans, I think standing on the old up goods loop at Histon on 9th February 1980. The vans contain Seville oranges from Spain used in the production of marmalade at the nearby Chivers Factory. The deliveries were seasonal and ceased in 1983. The view is facing Histon Station. The signal box can just about be made out in the far distance. It looks like a recent delivery as the vans appear to be still loaded.
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