Manton railway station or Manton Junction is a former railway station which served the villages of Manton and Wing in the county of Rutland.

History

Opened in 1848 by the Syston and Peterborough Railway, the station was situated off the road connecting the two villages and was just over 1 mi from each, or just over 1/2 mi by the public footpaths that were soon established. It was one of only a handful of stations in the small county of Rutland; only Oakham is still open. It served as the railhead for Uppingham, just over 3+1/2 mi away, and remained so for many journeys even after Uppingham gained its own station in the form of the LNWR branch line from Seaton. In 1879 Manton became a junction when the Nottingham direct line of the Midland Railway was opened. This provided the Midland Railway with a new main line to Nottingham. Post-World War II, Manton was the sole calling point between Nottingham Midland and Kettering for "The Robin Hood", a named express service which operated from 1959 to 1962 between Nottingham and London St Pancras. The station closed in 1966 and the station buildings are now used as a small industrial area. The signal box controlling the nearby junction is still operational. The Oakham–Kettering line closed to passengers in 1967 but reopened in 2009 with currently two trains in each direction. The line remains important for freight and is occasionally used as a diversionary route for main-line passenger trains.

Accidents

On 1 February 1853 a late running goods train detached a wagon at Manton. A passenger train collided with it in dense fog. On 28 January 1889, Thomas Shillcock was cleaning a set of points near the tunnel mouth. To avoid a passing train he stepped onto the other line where he was struck by another train emerging from the tunnel. He was killed immediately. On 24 May 1924, an explosion at the tunnel mouth led to the deaths of John Cockerill and William Hibbert, and injured Richard Shillaker, George Buckby and Thomas Shillcock (grandson of Thomas Shillcock, killed in 1889). A full account of the accident has been research and published. The centenary was marked with a ceremony at Manton Junction signal box and a plaque is being erected on the tunnel.

Stationmasters