Welwyn North railway station

Welwyn North
Platform 1
Location
Place	Digswell
Local authority	Borough of Welwyn Hatfield
Grid reference	TL247154
Operations
Station code	WLW
Managed by	Great Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	0.369 million
2004/05	0.406 million
2005/06	0.395 million
2006/07	0.428 million
2007/08	0.455 million
2008/09	0.468 million
2009/10	0.454 million
2010/11	0.486 million
2011/12	0.509 million
2012/13	0.525 million
2013/14	0.548 million
2014/15	0.566 million
History
1850	Station opened by GNR as "Welwyn Station"
1923	Station renamed "Welwyn North"
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Welwyn North from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Welwyn North railway station serves the villages of Digswell and Welwyn in Hertfordshire, England. The station is located approximately 22 miles (35 km) north of London Kings Cross, on the East Coast Main Line.

Location

Although the station is north of Welwyn Garden City, there is the actual village of Welwyn about 1 mile (1.6 km) west. Furthermore, the station is actually located in the district of Digswell. Also, just to the south the line passes over the Welwyn Viaduct and to the north through two tunnels. This section (between Digswell and Woolmer Green Junctions) is a significant capacity bottleneck, being the only double track portion on what is otherwise a four track main line all the way from London to Hitchin & beyond.

History

Welwyn North Station, with Up freight train in 1951

The Station was opened in 1850 as part of the Great Northern Railway. It was called Welwyn Station until 1926 when it was renamed following the opening of Welwyn Garden City. It was built by contractor Thomas Brassey out of locally produced red brick.

The Welwyn Tunnel rail crash occurred in the tunnels to the north of the station in 1866.

In its heyday the station served local agriculture as well as passenger traffic. There was a goods yard and goods shed on the west side and sidings to the north and south. These included an impressive set of coal drops and, from 1884, a private siding for the adjacent beehive works (E. H. Taylor Ltd. from 1900). The complex included three railway worker's cottages on the west (down) side and two on the east (up). Much of the land to build the station was purchased from local landowner George Augustus 6th Earl Cowper, who built the Cowper Arms Hotel on land adjoining to the west. This is contemporary with the station and built in the same red brick, reputedly by the same navvies (who went on to frequent it).

Welwyn North Station's Platform 1, 2015

Today the goods yard has made way for a car park but the main station building, the worker's cottages and the Cowper Arms remain.

The station is a rare survival of architecture from the early days of the GNR and this is now recognised with listed building status. The main station building, the footbridge, the tunnel portal to the north and Welwyn Viaduct to the south are all Grade 2 listed.

Services

Great Northern Route

Legend King's Lynn Watlington Downham Market Peterborough Littleport Ely Huntingdon Waterbeach Cambridge St Neots Foxton Shepreth Sandy Meldreth Royston Biggleswade Ashwell & Morden Baldock Arlesey Letchworth Gdn City Hitchin Stevenage Knebworth Watton-at-Stone Welwyn North Hertford North Welwyn Gdn City Bayford Hatfield Cuffley Welham Green Crews Hill Brookmans Park Gordon Hill Potters Bar Enfield Chase Hadley Wood Grange Park New Barnet Winchmore Hill Oakleigh Park Palmers Green New Southgate Bowes Park Alexandra Palace Hornsey Harringay Finsbury Park King's Cross Drayton Park Highbury & Islington Essex Road Old Street x20px Moorgate

Welwyn North station is served by a half-hourly service southbound to London Kings Cross and northbound to Peterborough or Cambridge Mondays to Saturdays, respectively. There is an hourly service in each direction on Sundays, although there are no services direct to Peterborough, only Cambridge.

Route

Below are the routes that Welwyn North is, or has been on since it was built.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Welwyn Garden City		Great Northern East Coast Main Line		Knebworth

References

Welwyn's Railways: A History of the Great Northern Line, 1850-1986, Tom W. Gladwin, Peter W. Neville, Douglas E. White, The Book Castle (November 1986)

External links

• Train times and station information for Welwyn North railway station from National Rail