Mortimer railway station
Mortimer  | |
|---|---|
|
Mortimer railway station, viewed from the footbridge. | |
| Location | |
| Place | Stratfield Mortimer |
| Local authority | West Berkshire |
| Grid reference | SU672641 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | MOR |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | E |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2009/10 |
 0.184 million |
| 2010/11 |
0.182 million |
| 2011/12 |
 0.191 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.190 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.178 million |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1 November 1848 |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Mortimer from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Mortimer railway station is a railway station in the village of Stratfield Mortimer in the county of Berkshire in England. The station is notable for its well-preserved Brunel-designed Great Western Railway (GWR) station buildings, which are still in use. The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway.
History
The station was opened in 1848, along with the Reading to Basingstoke railway line and both it, and the station buildings, have been in continuous use ever since. The line was promoted by the nominally independent Berks and Hants Railway, but this company was absorbed into the GWR two years before Mortimer station opened. The approval of the Duke of Wellington, who lived nearby at Stratfield Saye House was required for the station's construction.[1][2]
After railway nationalisation in 1948, operation of the Reading to Basingstoke line, and management of the station, was passed to the Southern Region of British Railways (BR). BR undertook major renovations of the station buildings in time for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the GWR, including removing the 1920s slates and replacing them with orange pantiles in the original style.[2]
Following the privatisation of British Railways, the station is again served by trains running under the Great Western name.[3]
Description
The station is on the double-track Reading to Basingstoke Line, and comprises two side platforms linked by a footbridge. Road access is to the north of the station, next to the up (Reading-bound) platform.
The brick-built single-storey main building has a ticket office and waiting room and is on the up platform. The down platform has a matching waiting shelter. Both buildings are Italianate, designed by Brunel for the GWR. They are the only substantially intact survivors of this, once common, design, although a much modified example exists at Chepstow. The buildings are listed Grade II*.[2][4][5][6]
Services
The station is served by Great Western Railway Reading — Basingstoke local trains. There are generally two trains per hour in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays, and one train per hour on Sundays. Trains take 11 minutes to reach Reading, and 13 minutes to reach Basingstoke.[3][7]
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading West | Great Western Railway Reading to Basingstoke Line |
Bramley | ||
Fast passenger trains on CrossCountry services linking Scotland, the North of England and the Midlands with Southampton Central and Bournemouth, pass through the station without stopping. A significant number of freight trains pass through the station, mostly container trains between the Port of Southampton and the West Midlands & points north.[8]
Culture
- The station appears briefly in the 1974 BBC Doctor Who serial Planet of the Spiders.[9]
- The buildings were used as the basis for a model station produced by Tri-ang Railways.
References
- ↑ Biddle, Gordon; Nock, O.S. (1983). The Railway Heritage of Britain. Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-2355-7.
- 1 2 3 Leigh, Chris (2010-11-03). "1835-2010: Brunel's GWR legacy". Rail Magazine (656). Bauer. p. 50.
- 1 2 "Train Times". First Great Western. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ↑ Historic England. "Mortimer Station (Grade II*) (1117145)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ↑ Historic England. "Waiting room at Mortimer Station (Grade II*) (1135802)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ↑ Historic England. "Details from image database (40007)". Images of England.
- ↑ Table 122 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ↑ "Southampton to Nuneaton freight upgrade". Network Rail. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ↑ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1996). Doctor Who The Handbook - The Third Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. pp. 163, 166. ISBN 0-426-20486-7.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mortimer railway station. |
Coordinates: 51°22′19.39″N 1°02′08.22″W / 51.3720528°N 1.0356167°W