Thursday 6 April 2017

Curious hump bridge over old railway near Stoke Bruerne

On the road between Stoke Bruerne and Blisworth - that's the road for wheeled traffic I mean - there is a hump bridge.

Not that surprising, you might say. After all, there is a canal in the vicinity. But the canal here is in Blisworth Tunnel. I stopped to investigate.

Underneath the bridge, quite a long way down, is the bed of a dismantled railway.

I was surprised to see a flat underside to the bridge; I had been expecting a canal-style arch. On the OS map - image below from streetmap.co.uk - you can see the line of the former railway where the road crosses it, just above Stoke Plain.

The tunnel is a very short distance to the east. The railway is in a cutting here; its builders must have had to be careful not to break through into the roof of the tunnel.

The building marked on the map immediately to the west of the bridge is now a private house, but there is what looks like an old platform alongside. Was it Stoke Bruerne Station? I didn't take a photo, sorry.

Update: Consulting Wikipedia reveals that this was indeed a station, although it was misspelt "Stoke Bruern", without the final "e". The line was the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Railway; the station opened on 1st December 1892. It closed for passengers just four months later, 20 passengers per week not being enough to justify the cost.

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Nice car in the shot - presume it's yours?

Halfie said...

Yup.