The Newmarket & Chesterford Railway

The most notable closure in the early years of the railway age took place in 1851, three years after the line in question opened to traffic. There had been sections of lines closed to passenger traffic on the embryonic system prior to this, most notably at the two termini of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. But the closure of the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway involved a 17 mile stretch of railway rather than a short, obsolete stub, incorporating two stations. Even more unusual was that the line closed outright, in an era where freight services were rarely withdrawn along with passenger services.

Like many railways in the 19th Century, the Newmarket and Chesterford was conceived as a self-contained local line rather than part of an expanding network. The Eastern Counties Railway had reached Cambridge in 1847, and the Newmarket line formed a junction with the larger company at the settlement of Great Chesterford, south of Cambridge. The line headed northeast through rural country, passing through stations at Bourne Bridge, Balsham Road, Six Miles Bottom and Dullington before reaching the terminus. The line was double track, indicating the confidence felt in the new line, and it soon found itself courted by two larger companies - the Eastern Counties, and the Norfolk Railway. The latter was soon absorbed by the former however, and by October 1848 the Eastern Counties was running the Newmarket line.

This came at a heavy price to the Newmarket and Chesterford - quite literally as the fees charged by the Eastern Counties for operating the line eclipsed the revenue raised, and the line closed for the first time in 1850, leaving a branch line from Newmarket to Cambridge unfinished, with no money to complete the work. The obvious solution would have been to sell the line to the ECR, which was presumably the outcome the larger company hoped for, but instead the decision was made to single the Chesterford line, and use the lifted rails to provide the permanent way for the new branch.

The line from Newmarket to Cambridge was opened in October 1851, and on the same day services ceased on the original line south of Six Mile Bottom, where the two routes diverged. This made great economic sense - the new line gave both the people of Newmarket and the railway company a direct line into Cambridge, which increased revenue, and still allowed for a fairly direct route for travellers heading south. The communities in the vicinity of the stations at Bourne Bridge and Balsham Road were the biggest losers, as these were both located on the closed section of line, but a decade later a station called Abington, later known as Pampisford was opened close to the site of Bourne Bridge station, easing the situation somewhat.

Despite the sacrifice of the Chesterford route, the railway did not stay independent for long, being absorbed into the Eastern Counties in 1852, who extended the line north of Newmarket in 1854. The Cambridge - Newmarket line remains open today, forming part of the route from Cambridge - Ipswich.

Today, much of the route of the Chesterford section is readily traceable from the air, which is perhaps surpising considering how long the route has been abandoned for. The junction point of the two routes is clearly evident west of the point where the railway is crossed by the A11 road, and the disused trackbed can be seen curving down to run parallel to the north of the road all the way until close to the junction with the London line, although at points ploughing and road alterations have obliterated the old route. The site of the station at Balsham Road has long been returned to agricultural use, whilst it is believed the Bourne Bridge station building was incorporated into the Railway Inn, which operated for many years before the site was buried under a road junction on the upgraded A11.

The saddest loss on this route was the original station at Newmarket. Bypassed when the railway was extended north, it was kept in use with a new platform on the through lines, but superseded by a new station to the south in 1902. It did remain in railway use until 1967, but was unexpectedly demolished in 1980.

Disused Stations website on Newmarket first station