Peartree railway station

Peartree railway station is a railway station serving the areas of Pear Tree, Normanton and Osmaston in the city of Derby, England. It is one of three stations remaining open in the city (the others being the main Derby station and Spondon), and is situated about one mile south of Derby station on the main line to Birmingham New Street. For a short period, Derby - Birmingham local services called at Peartree, but it is now served by two trains each way on Mondays to Saturdays on the Crewe to Derby Line, a community rail line also known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.

Peartree
National Rail
Peartree railway station
General information
LocationPear Tree, City of Derby
England
Grid referenceSK356335
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePEA
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyMidland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
2 June 1890[1]Opened as Pear Tree and Normanton
4 March 1968Closed
4 October 1976Reopened as Peartree
Passengers
2017/18Decrease 4,110
2018/19Decrease 3,032
2019/20Increase 3,892
2020/21Decrease 1,728
2021/22Increase 4,052
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station was opened on 2 June 1890 and originally named Pear Tree and Normanton.[1] The opening of the station opened up the area between it and Normanton Barracks for development. The plots of 333 square yards were advertised as "suitable for workmen's dwellings or small villas".[2] The initial service provided by the Midland Railway was eleven trains each day to and from Derby.[3]

A branch line to Melbourne diverged from the main line at Melbourne Junction immediately south of the station. This branch had been wholly closed to passenger traffic by 1930, and the diminished importance of Pear Tree and Normanton station as a result contributed to its closure on 4 March 1968.

On 4 October 1976, the branch line was partially reopened as far as Sinfin in order to transport workers to and from the Rolls-Royce plant there. As a result, the station was reopened and renamed Peartree. Whereas Sinfin North was within Rolls-Royce's property and hence accessible only to employees, Peartree and Sinfin Central had public access. Although the Sinfin branch was closed to passengers in 1998, Peartee has remained open as a result of its location on the main line. Despite this, main line services rarely stop here and the station is little used by passengers.

Stationmasters
  • W. Williams 1890 - 1894[4] (formerly station master at Cray, afterwards station master at Bamford)
  • George Harvey 1894[4] - 1902[5]
  • J.W. Peach 1902 - 1905[5] (afterwards station master at Denby)
  • Thomas George William Groves 1905[5] - 1908[6] (afterwards station master at Peartree and Normanton)
  • Samuel Souter 1908 - 1912[7]
  • Sidney W. Varnam 1912 - 1914 (formerly station master at Barrow upon Soar, afterwards station master at Trowell)
  • W.F. Gardner from 1914[8]
  • Joshua Lomas 1920 - 1946[9]

Facilities

Access to the platforms is from Osmaston Park Road (part of the A5111 Derby ring road), which crosses the line immediately to the south of the station via locked gates which are opened for passengers who use the provided intercom. There are no station buildings or shelter, and the entrances were badly overgrown. In January 2007, the station had no signage denoting the location[10] and the platforms were in an exceedingly poor state of repair, but by April 2009 it had been refurbished with new lighting and new signs installed. As the station is unstaffed and with no ticket vending machines, passengers must purchase the ticket on board; the full range of tickets for travel are purchased from the guard on the train at no extra cost.

Services

All services at Peartree are operated by East Midlands Railway.

The station is currently served by two trains per weekday towards Crewe and three trains towards Newark Castle via Derby and Nottingham, as well as two trains per day in each direction on Saturdays.

There is no Sunday service.[11]

CrossCountry services between Derby and Birmingham New Street pass through the station but do not stop.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Tutbury and Hatton   East Midlands Railway
  Derby
Disused railways
Sinfin North   Central Trains
   Derby

References
  1. "Railway Jottings". Railway News. England. 7 June 1890. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Eligible building sites for workmen's dwellings". Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal. England. 20 June 1890. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "The new Peartree and Normanton Station". Derby Mercury. England. 4 June 1890. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 842. 1881. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. "1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1026". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 487. 1899. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. "Midland Railway Staff Changes". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 22 October 1908. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Funeral of a well-known Midland Railway official". Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal. England. 9 November 1912. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Midland Railway Notes". Railway News. England. 5 December 1914. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Ex-Stationmaster told to quit his L.M.S. Home". Derby Daily Telegraph. England. 5 November 1947. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Britain's most unwanted station?" - article and photos of Peartree at Railfoto Archived 4 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Table 50 National Rail timetable, May 2022

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2016). Derby to Stoke-on-Trent. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 8-10. ISBN 9781908174932. OCLC 954271104.
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