LOCAL HISTORY
The N & L Railway resident steam engine, a Hawthorne Leslie 0-4-0 Swanscombe No 4 Steam Locomotive
Travelling back in time
On the Northampton and Lamport Railway
M
y favourite heritage sites are those run by true enthusiasts who live and breathe their passion, and who want to share it with the public, writes Laura Malpas. This month I hit the motherlode at the Northampton and Lamport Railway. As I arrived at the station my nose caught a scent so reminiscent of my childhood daily train journey to school that my heart almost skipped a beat. I had only been there for a few minutes when I realised that I was grinning, and looking around I could see that 34
same grin reflected on the faces of visitors and volunteers alike. It’s official, I think that I have become a Railway Enthusiast! I am not alone; the country is filled with a network of railway lovers. There are more than 150 heritage railways in Britain, with 560 miles of track visiting 460 stations. There are so many ways to experience the joy of the tracks, and the engines that pass along them. For some visitors it is a first-time experience, for others it is a nostalgic revisiting of their past. And it’s so fun!
The railway network throughout Northamptonshire began in the 1830s and was quickly recognised as a key requirement for economic success in the new world of the Victorian Industrial Revolution. The population’s desire for speedy and safe travel plus the discovery of large deposits of iron ore in the county stimulated the desire for railways. By the middle of the 19th century, the London and North Western Railway network was becoming well established in the county with branch lines regularly being added. George R Stephenson,
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