Millbrook railway station (Bedfordshire)

Coordinates: 52°03′14″N 0°32′02″W / 52.0538°N 0.5338°W / 52.0538; -0.5338
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Not to be confused with
London Northwestern RailwayPlatforms2Other informationStation codeMLBClassificationDfT category F2Key dates17 November 1846Opened as MarstonMarch 1847Renamed AmpthillJanuary 1850Renamed Ampthill (Marston)March 1877Renamed Millbrook for Ampthill1 July 1910Renamed Millbrook[1]3 August 1964Goods services withdrawn15 July 1968Became unstaffed[2]
Passengers2018/19Increase 12,5042019/20Decrease 12,2502020/21Decrease 1,0422021/22Increase 3,6182022/23Increase 6,566 LocationMapNotes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Millbrook railway station serves the villages of

Marston Vale Line, between Stewartby and Lidlington. Millbrook is also the principal stop for the Marston Vale Millennium Country Park
.

It was the least used station in Bedfordshire during the 2020/21 period.[3]

History

Millbrook station, January 1985

First opened in 1846 by the Bedford Railway, the station was originally named "Marston", but changed to "Ampthill (Marston)" in 1850 after the nearby

half-timbered Gothic Revival style that had been insisted upon by the 7th Duke of Bedford for stations situated in the vicinity of the Woburn Estate. The two station platforms are east of a level crossing.[4]

The station developed substantial coal traffic, as well as trade in cattle and goods with stables in its goods yard and a wagon repairers. A

siding was opened on 7 May 1928 to cater for the trade in bricks, the towers of the Millbrook Brick Company could be seen from the station.[5] The brick traffic peaked in the 1930s, with a second brickworks called "Marston Moretaine" being opened a mile from the station; although it was too far for a siding, bricks were transported by road to the station where they were loaded on to rail wagons.[6]

The station, whose name was changed to "Millbrook" in 1910, was reduced to an unstaffed halt in 1968, having lost its formerly substantial goods facilities four years previously.[2] The station building was restored in the early 1980s and converted into a private residence. In 1999, the low station platforms – the last of their type remaining on the line – were rebuilt to the standard height appropriate to modern trains.[7]

In 2021, a bench in memory of Captain Tom Moore was unveiled on the station platform.[8]

Services

All services at Millbrook are operated by London Northwestern Railway.

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Bletchley and Bedford which runs on weekdays and Saturdays only using Class 150 DMUs. There is no Sunday service.[9][10][11][12]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Lidlington   London Northwestern Railway
  Stewartby

References

  1. ISBN 1-85260-508-1
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-905466-19-5
    .
  3. ^ "Estimates of station usage". Office of Rail and Road. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. ^ Simpson 1981, p. 55.
  5. ^ Simpson 1981, p. 65.
  6. ^ Simpson 1981, p. 60.
  7. ISBN 1-899246-05-3
    .
  8. ^ Holden, Michael (2 June 2021). "Millbrook station welcomes memorial bench for Captain Sir Tom Moore". RailAdvent. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  9. ^ "GB eNRT December 2022 Edition, Table 63" (PDF). Network Rail.
  10. ^ "GB eNRT May 2023 Edition, Table 63" (PDF). Network Rail.
  11. ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Milbrook (Bedfordshire)". London Northwestern Railway.
  12. ^ "Marston Vale Line: Buses Replace Trains Until Autumn 2023". London Northwestern Railway. 15 June 2023.

Sources

  • Simpson, Bill (1981). Oxford to Cambridge Railway. Vol. 2. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co.
    ISBN 0-86093-121-8
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Millbrook (Bedfordshire) railway station.
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