The Robin Hood Line
An Historic Railway
'On 13 April 1819 in Mansfield, church bells began ringing early, people flocked in from villages up to eight miles away and the first rail-borne coal from Pinxton colliery trundled into Mansfield at 9 am. Ten more arrived during the afternoon amid hearty celebrations and a good band of music from Sutton in Ashfield long provided for the occasion. Much ale and good beef was consumed at inns throughout the town and a pile of coal was ceremoniously set on fire in the market place where it burned away all night. The Mansfield and Pinxton Railway was in business.'
Mansfield's Railways - Paul Anderson and Jack Cupitt
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was formed in May 1844 and the Nottingham-Kirkby line opened on 2 Oct 1848 to coincide with the Nottingham Goose Fair. The Nottingham-Mansfield service opened a year later from the new Mansfield Central station.
The line between Mansfield and Southwell opened for all traffic on 3 April 1871. This line through Rainworth, Farnsfield and Kirklington can truly be called the Forest Line for this area was the heart of Sherwood Forest. Blidworth, just south of Rainworth was the home of Maid Marian and the burial place of Will Scarlett, while the fight between Robin Hood and Friar Tuck took place at nearby Fountain Dale. Farnsfield was originally founded on the edge of the forest.
 Kirklington station was closed to passenger traffic in 1929 and goods trains in 1964. The trackbed between Farnsfield and Southwell became a footpath known as the Southwell Trail |
 Farnsfield station also closed to passenger traffic in 1929 and goods in 1964. The station house was converted into a desirable residence and became the beginning of the Southwell Trail |
Passenger traffic over the Mansfield-Worksop line commenced on 1 June 1875 from the new Mansfield Town station and with new pits being sunk around the Mansfield area in the 1860's and 70's, Midland Railway built branch lines to serve them.
| 'Many
country stations had the telegraph installed as early as
1868. Rural stops handled milk, animals for market, farm
produce, beer, grain and a host of articles. With its own
buildings, including waiting rooms, booking hall, staff
rooms, toilets, sometimes even a refreshment room, with a
signal box, possibly an engine shed, with a yard for
goods deliveries, a well-kept garden, and staff houses,
country stations were often almost self-contained
communities.' Nottinghamshire Railway Stations - on old picture postcards - Brian Lund |
Passenger trains around Mansfield reached their peak in the twenty years prior to 1914 with 15 different services provided over 200 miles of track. After the First World War competition from lorries and buses began to make inroads on rail traffic and routes slowly closed down.
By 1939 Mansfield Central had 14 passenger trains to Nottingham Victoria station.
Loss-making services were scrutinised after the formation of British Railways in 1948 and services cut further.
Under the Modernisation Plan for British Rail in 1955 diesel locomotives would be introduced as well as electrification but it made little difference to Mansfield Railways. Mansfield Central station closed its doors at the end of 1955.
| Dr. Beeching In March 1963 Dr. Beeching, Chairman of British Rail, produced his infamous report The Reshaping of British Railways. The major recommendation was the withdrawal of loss-making passenger services. Many rural lines had to go where where roads could ably cope, but the destruction of lines through built-up areas was a lack of foresight. The Nottingham-Mansfield-Worksop passenger service was withdrawn in October 1964, closing a route that had existed for 115 years and leaving Mansfield as the largest town in Britain without a railway station. The track remained since it was required for coal traffic but goods yards were relentlessly closed along with some of the older collieries. The Annesley Tunnel and its approach cuttings were gradually filled with spoil and refuse. |
| Pit Closures Despite resistance from miners' trade unions, uneconomic pits were closed over the next two decades. Most of them were a century old and had exhausted their reserves. It was a severe blow to the Mansfield area. On 27th October 1982, a meeting took place between the Railway Development Society and Mansfield District Council about the possibility of reinstating passenger trains to Mansfield. Despite their enthusiasm there was a lack of funding and so remained a dream for the next six years. By 1988 future prospects for the Nottinghamshire coalfield looked bleak and road traffic congestion was becoming a problem so Notts. County Council commissioned two studies. One by Leeds University concluded that there was a considerable demand for a rail service within a catchment area of 300,000 people; and the other study by British Rail concluded that the 140 year old Kirkby Tunnel was in remarkably good condition. European money for the project looked promising and in July 1990 an Act for the Newstead-Kirkby link was acquired by British Rail. The name Robin Hood Line was adopted and a consortium of local authorities gave the final go-ahead a year later. |
Robin Hood Line
Stage 1
Nottingham-Newstead service opened on 17 May 1993 with a station at Hucknall. Bulwell station opened a year later (pictured right Nottingham Midland Station).
Stage 2
Passenger services were extended
from Newstead to Mansfield Woodhouse on 20 November 1995 with new
stations at Sutton Parkway, Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse.
Kirkby station was added a year later (pictured right Mansfield Central
Station).
Stage 3
Mansfield Woodhouse to Worksop re-opened for passengers on 25 May 1998 with new stations at Shirebrook, Langwith-Whaley Thorns, Creswell and Whitwell. The upgrading cost £5M compared to the £148,000 when the line was originally built in the 1870's.
As colliery closures continued, the service has provided people with a means of travelling to employment elsewhere - mining jobs in the Mansfield area had declined from 41,000 in 1983 to 1,230 in the year 2000.
Following privatisation of British Rail, engineering work was undertaken by Railtrack and the service operated by Central Trains.
The Robin Hood Line is truly an historic train ride where parts of the track date back almost two centuries.
Acknowledgement to Mansfield's Railways - Paul Anderson and Jack Cupitt
