Chaul End railway station

Chaul End was a temporary railway halt on the Great Northern Railway's branch line from Welwyn which served a munitions factory near Luton during the First World War. The station site has been reused as part of the Luton to Dunstable Busway.

Chaul End
Near the station site in 2006.
General information
LocationChaul End, Luton
England
Grid referenceTL063222
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Northern Railway
Key dates
1914/1915Opened
1919/1920Closed

History

On 12 June 1861, the Great Northern Railway acquired the Hertford, Luton and Dunstable Railway's line from Dunstable Church Street station to Luton Bute Street station,[1][2] which had opened to goods traffic on 5 April 1858 and to passengers on 3 May.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

From Luton Bute Street station, the line headed westwards through Luton passing Kenilworth Road stadium and Laporte's chemical works before reaching a level crossing at Chaul End.[10] A small timber 10-lever signal box was located here on the Up side of the line with a gatekeeper's house standing opposite.[11][12] The crossing was protected by a home and distant signal in each direction; the distant being an upper quadrant signal while the home was a somersault signal.[13]

As part of the First World War war effort, a factory at Chaul End was taken over for the manufacture of shells.[13] A temporary halt to serve the factory was opened in 1914[14][15][16] or 1915[17][18][19] The station is believed to have been situated to the east of the level crossing.[20] Munitions workers using the station could be easily recognised by the orange-yellow dust from the powder with which shells were filled.[17][18] London and North Western Railway trains also called at the station from 28 February 1916;[17][18] tickets to the station showed it as "Luton (Chaul End)".[14] The factory itself was served by a siding capable of accommodating five wagons, which was taken out of use on 20 April 1916.[17][18]

The station closed in either 1919[14][15][16] or 1920,[17][18] and was demolished soon afterwards.[18]

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Dunstable Town   Great Northern Railway
Dunstable Branch Line		   Luton Bute Street

Present day

The signal box at Chaul End remained in use until 1 November 1969,[12] following which it was boarded up and the gatekeeper's house opposite demolished.[21] The level crossing remained in use until the 1980s when it was replaced by a bridge carrying the road over the line.[20]

The line remained open until oil traffic on the line ceased on 30 April 1989 when it was mothballed and then officially closed on 28 March 1991.[22]

The Luton to Dunstable Busway passes through the site.[20]

References

Notes
  1. Awdry 1990, p. 146.
  2. Simpson 1998, p. 14.
  3. Awdry 1990, pp. 145–146.
  4. Davies & Grant 1984, p. 64.
  5. Oppitz 2000, p. 110.
  6. Simpson 1998, p. 12.
  7. Leleux 1984, p. 30.
  8. Cockman 1974, p. 32.
  9. Woodward & Woodward 1994, p. 14.
  10. Woodward & Woodward 1994, p. 53.
  11. Woodward & Woodward 1994, pp. 53, 61.
  12. Woodward & Woodward 2008, fig. 49.
  13. Woodward & Woodward 1994, p. 61.
  14. Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 58.
  15. Quick 2009, p. 121.
  16. Butt 1995, p. 58.
  17. Woodward & Woodward 1994, p. 99.
  18. Woodward & Woodward 2008, fig. 48.
  19. Davies & Grant 1984, p. 67.
  20. "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
  21. Woodward & Woodward 1994, p. 130.
  22. Shannon 1996, p. 90.

Sources
  • Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Cockman, F.G. (1974). The Railway Age in Bedfordshire. Bedford: Bedfordshire Historical Record Society. ISBN 0-85155-035-5.
  • Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, R.W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations. Salisbury: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-281-1.
  • Davies, R.; Grant, M.D. (1984) [1975]. Forgotten Railways: Chilterns and Cotswolds. Newton Abbot, Devon: David St John Thomas. ISBN 0-946537-07-0.
  • Leleux, Robin (1984) [1976]. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The East Midlands (Volume 9). Newton Abbot, Devon: David St. John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-06-8.
  • Oppitz, Leslie (2000). Lost Railways of the Chilterns. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-108-1.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
  • Shannon, Paul (1996) [1995]. British Railways Past and Present: Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and West Hertfordshire. Wadenhoe, Peterborough: Past & Present Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85895-073-0. No. 24.
  • Simpson, Bill (1998). The Dunstable Branch. Witney, Oxon: Lamplight Publications. ISBN 978-1-899246-03-8.
  • Woodward, Sue; Woodward, Geoff (May 2008). Branch Line to Dunstable from Leighton Buzzard to Hatfield. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-27-7.
  • Woodward, Sue; Woodward, Geoff (1994). The Hatfield, Luton and Dunstable Railway. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-458-6. LP44.

51.8880°N 0.4564°W / 51.8880; -0.4564

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