Turveys Station and The Railways

The coming of the railways changed the little village of Turvey, like it did most villages and towns in Britain. Many new jobs were created and people were able to travel like they never had before.

Turvey railway station opened in 1872 and was part of the Bedford and Northampton Railway Company. The first train ran on June 10th 1872.The first timetables show that five trains ran in each direction every day. There were never any Sunday trains.

The population of the village rose to 1,117 with the coming of the railways.

In 1969, Quenby Price the grain merchants moved into the old station buildings and yard. They did not alter the beautiful station but did remove the platforms.

This is the lovely Turvey Station building as it was in December 2000.

By the 1950's there were four trains a day but they were hardly used.

Carr Bailey was the Station Master at this time.

The last passenger train left the station at 9.20 pm on March 3rd 1962.

The Working Men’s Room

When 200 'navvies' were sent to Turvey to construct the railway many wondered where the little village would find beds for them all. Mr Charles Longuet Higgins lept into action and had a row of cottages built in Baker's Close for their use. Colonel Higgins of Picts Hill built a working men's room in Bamford's Yard, which he supplied with magazines and newspapers. It was converted from a barn. This was a popular place for evening entertainments and somewhere they could meet of a Sunday. It later housed the Boy Scouts in 1928-35.

Signal Men

The three signal men worked shifts. One did 6am until 2pm, then there was 2pm until 10pm and finally 10 pm until 6 am again. It was important work and quite well paid.

The Midland Line

The railway line at Turvey was part of the Midland line that ran from Bedford to Northampton.

The stations on the line were (in order):

Bedford

Turvey

Olney

Piddington

Northampton

Here is a picture of a diesel DMU (diesel multiple unit) coming through Turvey Station. I can not see how many units it has but it is probably 2 or 4.

I will enlarge this picture as soon as I can find the original.

This picture was taken in March 1962 and show one of the very last trains to pass through Turvey Station.

There were regular competitions in the area to have the most beautiful station. Turvey was very proud of its flower beds and won quite a few of the prizes.

Find out more about Train Crashes at Turvey!

Turvey Train Crashes

The Stevington and Turvey Light Railway

Turvey still has a railway! It is a 2 ft narrow gauge one and runs for 1.2 km (3/4 of a mile) along the track bed of the old Bedford to Northampton line.

It was created by former members of The Surrey Light Railway of Hersham, Surrey in the early 1980s.

There is a signal box with a 31 lever Westinghouse ‘L’ frame inside, which was originally from Battersea Park Signal box.

The railway is privately owned but can be seen from the public right of way that runs down the old railway line.

Here is a link to some images of the Stevington and Turvey Light Railway.