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The Bread and Onion Line was the local name for the Stamford to Sibson Branch Line via Wansford
A New Home for Wansford Road
A fine example of Victorian Railway history being saved.
The station at Wansford Road was built in 1867as part of an independent branch line from Stamford to the Peterborough-Northampton line of the London and North Western Railway at Wansford. Later taken over by the Great Northern Railway, the line was never well used and was closed in the late 1920’s .In private ownership the site has remained relatively intact over the intervening 90 years. The property is currently owned by National Highways who have plans for improvements to the A47 trunk road between Sutton and the A1 near Wansford which would mean demolishing the station. This is where the Nene Valley Railway have stepped in and they have great plans to dismantle the station and move it to the Peterborough end of the Nene Valley line.
National Highways have committed £200,000 from their funding program to support work of this nature. Further funding will be sought for the completion of the project.
National Highways are dealing with the environmental side such as removing the asbestos and finding new homes for the bats who have taken up residence there.
NVR are engaging with architects and historical building surveyors who can record the buildings in such a way that they can be transported away and rebuilt at a new location. The rebuild is not intended to be a perfect replica – rather the new building will have the character and style of the original.
Despite enthusiastic maintenance, the area where the station is being moved to is very unwelcoming, and has no feeling of railway heritage. Wansford Road will most certainly change this and will create a powerful evocation of times past, and it is thought likely to be attractive to film and TV companies seeking to include period scenarios in their work.
A very Happy Story. I have visited the site and it is a very lovely building complete with goods shed and you can still see the platform. However I did get a bit nervous when I approached the building and an alarm went off!!
Let us all wish the Nene Valley Railway good luck in their awe-inspiring project.
Rachel Roffe November 2022
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