Blisworth
Towcester
Wappenham
Helmdon
Banbury

In 1833 Robert Stephenson was appointed chief engineer of the the first railway into London, the London & Birmingham line. One of the most difficult sections was to be at Blisworth. Stephenson had to cut his way through1.5 miles of rock. Underneath the top layer of stone was a layer of clay, under which was found large amounts of water. Steam engines were used to pump out the water While this was going on, 800 men were busy digging and blasting and by the time the cutting was finished, over 3,000 barrels of gunpowder had been used. It was calculated that over a million cubic yards of material was dug out at Blisworth Cutting.

The London and Birmingham Railway, under Robert Stephenson, bypassed Northamptonshire’s capital town, Northampton due to the limitations of the technology of the day over the counties inclines.

The company first opened a station at Blisworth in 1839. In 1842, a new "first class" station was planned. 'First Class' meant, ‘all trains would stop there’, Ford Lane, Blisworth became Station Road and the location of Blisworth station. Blisworth became a junction station when in 1845 a branch line on to Peterborough was completed via Northampton, and in 1866 a single-track, 4 mile branch line was built to Towcester with grand ideas to run onto South Wales. Starting as the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway, this short branch was to become the SMJ.

Blisworth station closed in January 1960 and today both branches lines have also long since gone. The ‘Walnut Tree Inn’, formerly the Blisworth Hotel, the station hotel remains and over-sees what once was Blisworth station.

The main railway line is now part of the West Coast Main Line, having been electrified in the 60s.

An 8F at Blisworth 1964

Click here to see more Blisworth photos

If you have any information or photos, sign up and leave us a comment