Talk:Brackley Central railway station

Northampton branch
Information about this branch online is VERY patchy. I'm still looking out for something more substantial, and when I find something, and can provide a source, in it goes!

I can distinctly remember once seeing a map showing its proposed route, with intermediate stations (Towcester Central plus at least two others, one of which was Silverstone, while another could have been Syresham), and I even saw a plan of the route through Towcester superimposed on a modern-day street map of the town showing exactly where it would have been. Strangely, I didn't see the same for Northampton itself. And would the line have been a mere branch, or would it have been built to main line standards, possibly even with through services from Northampton Central to Marylebone? Given the lofty ambitions of the Great Central (and the MS&L before them), I would have to plump for the latter.

If anyone can shed light on any of this I'd be very grateful. Tonythepixel (talk) 23:48, 26 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I popped back to Didcot yesterday. I cannot find anything in Dow; whilst in Mitchell & Smith
 * there is similarly no mention. However, in the latter, there is an OS large-scale map showing a double-sided platform (island with a track each side), and a footbridge over the northbound track. The footbridge is wide enough for two tracks, even though only one passes below. There is the dotted outline of what could have been the alleged third platform on the western side of the station, and the footbridge comes down onto the northern end of that.
 * I find the idea of a line to Northampton or even Towcester somewhat speculative; it would have duplicated the SMJ's line, and the associated Northampton & Banbury Junction line, very closely (see this map).
 * We must be wary of adding WP:OR. --Redrose64 (talk) 12:20, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
 * We must be wary of adding WP:OR. --Redrose64 (talk) 12:20, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

I see your point here. Very tenuous. On the one hand I remember the map I once saw and can't imagine anyone simply making it up, but on the other hand it does look like an over-provision of lines in what was then (and really still is) a highly rural area. Helmdon-Towcester-Blisworth-Northampton (SMJ/LNWR) versus Brackley-Silverstone-Towcester-Blisworth-Northampton (GCR). Nowhere would these two lines have been more than about three miles apart, possibly just a field or two separating them east of Towcester. Perhaps the "Northampton branch - fact or myth" section ought to come out until we find out something more useful (if that's ever going to happen). Besides, that's not a very Wikipedia-ish title for a section, thinking about it now.

Regards Tonythepixel (talk) 00:01, 4 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I made a mistake last week: the footbridge doesn't come down on the "third platform"; the rudiments of that only have the supporting pier. The footbridge comes out inside the main station building, which is on that (western) side; there are no steps, because the tracks and platforms are in cutting: the footbridge deck is essentially at ground level. If you can locate a copy of Mitchell & Smith (it's still in print, details are on the publisher's website), the relevant map is Figure XX, and photos of the western end of the footbridge are at Figures 78 & 81 (Mitchell & Smith don't use page numbers in the vast majority of their 400+ books).
 * I have however found from Dow (vol. 2, chapter XIV "Engineering Features of the London Extension") that during construction, the contractors made a number of temporary connections to various lines which crossed the GCR, in order to aid the delivery of materials and machinery. These connections were often quite steep and lightly built; all were removed prior to opening of the London Extension. These included one at Helmdon (with the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway) and two to the south of Brackley (with the LNWR Banbury branch). -- Red rose64 (talk) 12:48, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for this. I knew of the existence of some of these curves, but wasn't sure where they all were. A while ago I looked at Google Earth to see if any physical remnants are still visible, but nothing can be seen from the air except at one location - and that's presumably because the curve was reinstated sometime later (World War 1?) The route of the Whetstone - Blaby curve south west of Leicester is still partly visible. Some years ago I walked it, though it's not that easy to make out on the ground.Tonythepixel (talk) 14:01, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

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