Gamlingay Railway Station - History

History

The first station after Potton, Gamlingay marked the start of the distinctly rural section of the Varsity Line, where industrial landscapes gave way to the rolling fields, tall trees and wide-open skies of Cambridgeshire. The station, slightly to the south-east of Gamlingay village, was situated just before a two-mile climb of 1 in 150 to Hayley Wood. The station was equipped with two platforms lit by old lamps right up until its closure, the substantial station buildings being situated on the Down platform, whilst a timber and slate waiting shelter was to be found on the Up side. A goods yard was located to the west of the station buildings, consisting of three sidings plus a cattle pen and a goods shed. The station layout changed little during its lifetime, yet the community which it served decreased from 1722 inhabitants in 1901 to 1622 in 1961.

Four years after the station's opening in 1862, a brick siding was opened just before the milepost 30 to the west of Gamlingay which was known as "Dennis's Brick Siding" and trailed from the Up line across the Down through a gate to a brickworks. By January 1909, the siding was known as "Belle Vue Brickworks Siding" and remained in service until 20 April 1936. The siding was controlled by a 19-lever signal box named "Belle Vue". The siding was used again during the Second World War for ammunition storage.