Rugby Midland
Rugby Midland station entrance
The Grand Station which was Rugby Midland
Rugby station entrance ©Ian Robinson (Flickr)
Rugby Station re-modelled 2008
Stanier 'Coronation' Class Pacific 46240 'City Of Coventry' about to depart north from Rugbys fine old LNWR station c.1962. On the left is Rugby No.4 Signal Box. photo©rugd1022 (Flickr)
A view of Rugby Station before it was remodelled in 2008 and it lost all the iron work that once held the glass roof. photo©rugd1022 (Flickr)
"Mugby Junction, sir."
"A windy place!"
"Yes, it mostly is, sir."
"And looks comfortless indeed!"
"Yes, it generally does, sir."
"Is it a rainy night still?"
"Pours, sir."
In April 1866 Charles Dickens was travelling from London to Liverpool and as his train reached Rugby his carriage was found to be on fire. While a new one was attached Dickens went into the refreshment room for a cup of coffee where he was treated rudely by the female in charge and being a writer Dickens had his own revenge. He wrote a book called 'Mugby Junction' and in chapter three made a scathing attack on railway refreshment rooms and their staff.
It seems so relevant when reading this paragraph from the book that it describes Rugby station 150 years on, if you have ever been around Rugby station either late night or early morning it was an empty place and the wind and the rain tore through the open station and the 'Rugby' station signs would swing from side to side.
At one time Rugby had seven signal boxes located in the station area not including the signal boxes on the Great Central Railway.
The first Clifton Road Junction was sited above the Northampton lines, this was the only one not numbered.
No. 1 between Great Central bridge (Birdcage) and south end of station, controlled the 'Rugby Bedstead'
No. 2 middle of DOWN platform and controlled the scissor crossover,
No. 3 middle of UP platform and controlled the scissor crossover,
No. 4 North end of platform,
No. 5 on the junction of Midland line to Leicester,
No. 7 on the junction and controlled the Leamington Branch, lines to Coventry and Trent Valley.
The entire station area was vast with massive sidings including lines going in to the cattle market as much of the cattle was transported by rail, two engine sheds housing at one time at least 160 locomotives all carrying a plate with 2A on the front and the station having the longest platforms in Britain.
Both of the platforms had scissor crossovers which allowed 2 trains to be in the platform at one time and for the rear train to cross in front of the other.
Rugby South - the train is on the down fast line from London. The UP Peterborough line comes in from the left.
'The Bedstead' on approach to Rugby Station, operated by Rugby no.1 box
Reading it from left to right, the routes it controlled were:
Down London to:
Goods Loop, with fixed Distant
Through line, with Rugby No 2 Distant/ Rugby No 4 Outer Distant
Platform 1, with Rugby No 2 Distant
Down Northampton to:
Goods Loop, with fixed Distant
Through line, with Rugby No 2 Distant/ Rugby No 4 Outer Distant
Platform 1, with Rugby No 2 Distant
Bay 7
Bay 8
Up Peterborough to:
Goods Loop, with fixed Distant
Through line, with fixed Distract
Platform 1, with Rugby No 2 Distant/ Rugby No 4 Outer Distant
Bay 7
Bay 8
In 1955 British Railways announced that the line from London Euston to Glasgow was to be electrified, the section between Rugby and London was first to be completed in November 1965.
In 1964 a new phase of signalling began with the opening of Rugby Power Signal Box (PSB) . It was located east of the station, on the south (Down) side of the railway. The whole station area, together with part of the WCML stretching as far south as Castlethorpe, was controlled from this new box.
In 1991, Rugby Power Signal Box took over control of the Northampton area using Solid State Interlocking . Since the gradual commissioning of Rugby Signalling Control Centre, the PSB at Rugby only retained the Northampton Loop Line (south of Hillmorton Junction to Hunsbury Hill Tunnel).
Rugby Signalling Control Centre (SCC), located north-west of the station, opened in 2004. The current area of control is Kings Langley, Hertfordshire to Armitage in Staffordshire.
Both Bletchley and Rugby PSB closed 2012 and control has gone to Rugby SCC.
Rugby had become a huge bottle neck with the amount of traffic passing through and at ever increasing speeds with new technology and in 2006 - 2008 there was a vast development of Rugby station and an entire new track layout in the station area.
New junctions were installed North and South of the station along with a new signalling system, additional platforms and a new station entrance.
A lot of features relating to Rugby station and its history were lost in the name of progress.
The glass roof and supporting walls were removed opening up the station building and exposing a floor few people knew about.
The Buffet Girls used to live up on the top floor.
Also the 'Birdcage' had to be demolished to make way for a new UP line.
Rugby Power Signal Box (now demolished 2013)
Demolition of Rugby PSB
Rugby Ticket Barrier photo©Nigel Goddard
Rugby Traincrew Booking On Point photo©rugd1022 (Flickr)
Souvenir programme from Rugby open day, a day to allowed to climb on trains and walk on tracks with in a safety area. Sadly today because of Health and Safety, Depot Open Days are now very rare.
Rugby Booking On Point was a busy place when my dad William Bosworth was a British Rail guard in the 1970's and 80's. His work was very varied with ballast ,freight, wiring train, local and long distance passenger work.
Some of the drivers and guards he worked with were the Cowley brothers, Albert Hartwell, Colin Griffiths and Aubrey Wilson.
When my husband Paul Brown, joined in 1989 a lot had changed and he only had ballast and local passenger work, that was soon taken away from Rugby and the guards were made redundant. Many went to Birmingham New Street as Conductors. I was lucky enough to meet Paul at Birmingham in November 2004 and we got married December 1995.
Sadly Rugby B.O.P. closed down 24/12/2011
Crossing over the West coast Mainline with Rugby (Midland) in the
distance through the 'Birdcage' (Iron Girder Bridge) on the
Great Central Railway. photo©NigelTout
Demolition of the 'Birdcage'
©SJBrown