Millbrook railway station (Bedfordshire)

Millbrook railway station serves the villages of Millbrook and Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the Marston Vale Line, between Stewartby and Lidlington. Millbrook is also the principal stop for the Marston Vale Millennium Country Park.

Millbrook
LocationMillbrook, Central Bedfordshire
England
Coordinates52.0538°N 0.5338°W / 52.0538; -0.5338
Grid referenceTL007405
Managed byLondon Northwestern Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeMLB
ClassificationDfT category F2
Key dates
17 November 1846Opened as Marston
March 1847Renamed Ampthill
January 1850Renamed Ampthill (Marston)
March 1877Renamed Millbrook for Ampthill
1 July 1910Renamed Millbrook[1]
3 August 1964Goods services withdrawn
15 July 1968Became unstaffed[2]
Passengers
2015/16 16,084
2016/17 13,654
2017/18 11,324
2018/19 12,504
2019/20 12,250
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Services

Millbrook station, in common with others on the Marston Vale Line, is covered by the Marston Vale Community rail Partnership,[3] which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.

The station should not be confused with Millbrook station (Hampshire).

An hourly service operates in each direction on weekdays & Saturdays, with no trains on Sundays.[4] Average journey times to Bedford are 17 mins and to Bletchley 25 mins. Services are operated with Class 230/1 multiple units.

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 village. The opening of a second and more conveniently-sited Ampthill station by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its Midland Main Line gave rise to confusion which was only resolved in 1877 when the original Ampthill station was renamed "Millbrook for Ampthill". The station is the fourth and final on the Marston Vale Line to be built in a 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.[5]

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 public house called the Morteyne Arms opened opposite the station. Traffic increased still further with the development of the brick industry in the area; 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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8]

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
London Northwestern Railway
Marston Vale Line
Mondays-Saturdays only
Disused railways
Lidlington   British Railways
Varsity Line		   Stewartby

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 160. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
  2. Clinker, C.R. (1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 96. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
  3. Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
  4. Table 64 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  5. Simpson 1981, p. 55.
  6. Simpson 1981, p. 65.
  7. Simpson 1981, p. 60.
  8. Simpson, Bill (2000). The Oxford to Cambridge Railway: Forty Years On 1960–2000. Witney: Lamplight Publications. pp. 72–73. ISBN 1-899246-05-3.

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