Belgrave and Birstall station to Leicester North station

The original station of Belgrave and Birstall station in 1976, looking south, when the track was in the process of being taken up.  The track is still in place on the southbound line though a workman can be spotted on the track near the end of the platform who is in the process of preparing the removal of the rails.

The rails had already been removed on the northbound line and the chairs and screws deposited on the platform.

Brief summary of the story of Belgrave and Birstall station to Leicester North station

• Lying on the Great Central Railway (GCR) London Extension just north of Leicester, Belgrave and Birstall station was closed by British Railways (BR) in March 1963.
• BR trains continued to run through the station until the line here was closed on 3rd. May 1969.
• In the late 1960s Belgrave and Birstall Action Group (B-BAG) was formed to preserve the station, and the Main Line Preservation Group (MLPG) was founded to run steam trains over this section of the former GCR.
• In the early 1970s MLPG became the Main Line Steam Trust (MLST).  MLST had to pay British Rail monthly fees to keep the track in place on this section of line to Loughborough.
• Great Central Railway (1976) was set up to issue shares to purchase the line, with MLST as the charitable supporting body.
• Charnwood Borough Council agreed to purchase the land from BR and lease it to the GCR (1976) for 99 years.
• GCR (1976) only raised enough money to save a single track of rails from Loughborough to Quorn and so BR removed the remaining track including that to Belgrave and Birstall station.
• Repeated vandalism had left the Belgrave and Birstall station buildings in a dangerous state with the railway likely liable for any subsequent injuries and so the buildings were demolished.
• In 1984, with plans for the Leicester Western Bypass likely to cut through the track bed north of Birstall, the GCR forestalled this by starting to re-lay track from Rothley south to Belgrave and Birstall, which subsequently required the bypass to bridge the track.
• However, discussions with local councils revealed that there were objections to reopening the original station entrance at Birstall from Station Road due to the amount of traffic it would generate in a narrow road with houses all around.  At this time Leicester City Council were having the Leicester Western Distributor Road built, crossing the disused track bed to the south of the original station, and could provide a feeder road from it to a new terminus station slightly south of the original and wholly within the city boundary.
• The last remains of the old Belgrave and Birstall Station were removed and the new Leicester North Station was built.
• Original plans for a grand station entrance from the feeder road had to be dropped when it was discovered that a little known large diameter water main passed underground there.

By 1981 the remaining buildings at Belgrave and Birstall were showing severe effects of vandalism, and later had to be completely demolished for safety reasons.

Another view of the remaining derelict Belgrave and Birstall station buildings in 1981.

In mid-1980’s thoughts turned to relaying track to Birstall, which would forestall the cutting of the track bed by the proposed Leicester Western Bypass.  By 1988 a single track had been laid down south from Rothley station to the Belgrave & Birstall station site but further work was necessary before it could be brought into use.

View of the cleared Belgrave & Birstall station later in 1988 when the public footpath alongside was being relaid.

Towards the end of 1988 a new access road to the site was built northwards from the new Western Distributer Road, Red Hill Way. This access road followed the line of the original track but required excavating to the required level and was named ‘The Sidings’.  The footpath past the site on the left had newly been paved.

This is the site of the future Leicester North station to which the new access road, off the picture to the right, was laid.  The new road allowed delivery of ballast by lorry to the old Belgrave and Birstall platform, on the far left, where it was loaded into ballast wagons for use on the newly laid track.

Overall view of the site of Belgrave and Birstall station in December 1989 with the new track positioned on the left and the newly paved footpath on the right.

A further December 1989 view shows the cleared platform of Belgrave and Birstall station being used to receive ballast for the newly laid track.  The ballast was delivered by lorry using the new access road and transported northwards on the line in ballast wagons.

Ballasting of the track is well advanced, with some recently delivered by road remaining on the platform, April 1990.

In June 1990 manual trimming of the ballast was carried out on the track between Rothley and Belgrave and Birstall station, where the work train is standing.

The second passenger train to Belgrave and Birstall on the official opening of the extension from Rothley, 15th November 1990.  The train did not go under Station Road bridge since the remains of the old platform were not safe for alighting.

The view looking south towards Leicester over the Belgrave and Birstall platform strewn with the remains of the new ballast in January 1991.  The track bed around here was notorious for use by dog walkers.

After the official opening in January 1991 a regular train service was started over the Belgrave and Birstall extension, but still only as far as Station Road bridge.  Here the diesel multiple unit is just setting off heading north again to Rothley and beyond.  The sign applies to the track on the left which was installed off the main line but saw little, if any, use.

In March 1991 I volunteered with a few others to recover some of the large edging stones from Belgrave & Birstall platform before the site was cleared.  These edging stones would be valuable for use elsewhere on the railway.

One item of interest which was revealed in more detail at this time in Spring 1991 was what I believe were concrete blocks of WWII ‘tank traps’, or perhaps in this case ‘train traps’, under each arch of Station Road bridge.  Likely to have been installed early in WWII, during an invasion-emergency, lengths of rails could have been slotted vertically in the holes in the concrete to impede the progress of trains requisitioned by the enemy.  Just north of Rothley station, at the top of the cutting, is a Spigot Mortar base which was probably installed for  a similar purpose.

The WWII traps under the southbound arch of Station Road bridge had already been removed and laid on their sides, showing the extent of the depth they reached below track level.  These heavy objects remain stacked by the trackbed just north of Station Road bridge.

Preparing the site for Leicester North station in April 1991 with excavation for the new platform progressing in the distance.  In the foreground the remains of the old platform of Belgrave and Birstall Station are being excavated.

A few days later and the retaining wall of Leicester North Station is taking shape.  This is likely to have been a Saturday afternoon with interested members of the public having a look round too.

A detailed look at the construction of the retaining wall of Leicester North Station.

Here a bricklayer is building up the platform edge.

By the beginning of May 1991 the platform of the new Leicester North station was really taking shape.

A week or two later and the platform of Leicester North station is progressing well while more of platform of Belgrave and Birstall station is removed.

The platform of the old Belgrave and Birstall station was gradually disappearing.

Here the internal filling of the platform of Belgrave and Birstall was in the process of being excavated between the remains of the platform walls.

In June 1991 track laying over the leveled bed of ballast was under way at Leicester North station.

Track lying at Leicester North is well advanced in very dull weather a few days later.  The short platform on the west side can be seen beyond the yellow shovel.

Attention soon turned to preparing for the buffer stops at the south end of Leicester North station between the short platform on the left and the full-length platform on the right.

Concrete sections were delivered ready to be positioned to form the end retaining wall of the buffer stop area.

Here the shuttering is being assembled which was used for pouring the concrete to hold the end-of-line buffer stops.  The concrete sections seen in the previous photograph are being assembled behind the buffer stops to form a retaining wall for the end of the platform.

The reinforcing bars are in place within the shuttering which is nearing time for the concrete to be poured.

View northwards of the new trackwork nearing completion.

A telephoto shot from Station Road bridge shows the Leicester North track work and platform nearly ready for the first trains.

On 4th July 1991 preparations were progressing for the official opening Leicester North station which was on the following day.

One of the later trains arrives on the day of the official opening of Leicester North station on 5th July 1991, hauled by ex-Southern Railway 4-6-2 no. 35005 ‘Canadian Pacific’.

Part of the crowd at the end of the platform at Leicester North station watching the arrival of 35005 ‘Canadian Pacific’ on the first day of passenger trains here.  In the foreground the bolts are in place to secure the buffers at the end of the second, short platform.

When the station was first opened there were no buildings on the bare platforms so a ‘BG full brake’ coach was brought on the first train of each operating day and was placed in the short platform for use as a ticket office.  The coach was returned north on the last train of the day.

Leicester North station on a non-operating day in March 2001 showing the newly built station building on the left and the short platform on the right.

Ex-GCR 8K (LNER O4) 2-8-0 no. 63601 starts to run round its train at the smart looking Leicester North station in March 2002.

In January 2009 the ironwork for the canopy at Leicester North station was in the process of being erected.

The completed canopy at the very smart looking Leicester North station in August 2009.

In January 2010 BR 8P 4-6-2 no. 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ and LMS 5MT 4-6-0 no. 45231 ‘The Sherwood Forester’ arrive on a train with a crowd of passengers at Leicester North station.  There are probably a lot of enthusiasts hurrying round to photograph the locomotives moving forwards and running round the train.

Grateful thanks to Trevor Johnston for providing additional photographs of the construction of the Leicester North station site.

Much more detailed information about, and more photographs of, Belgrave and Birstall station and Leicester North station can be found in the highly recommended book "Belgrave and Birstall Remembered" by John Powdrill, published in 2020 by The 4 Buffers, ISBN 978-1-5272-6760-2.

Old Photographs Section