Ferry Meadows railway station
{{Short description|Former railway station in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Overton
| type = Station on heritage railway
| image = 24081 Ferry Meadows NVR.JPG
| caption = British Rail Class 24 no. 24081 prepares to depart the station with a westbound service.
| borough = Orton Waterville, City of Peterborough
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|52.5589|N|0.3023|W|type:railwaystation_region:GB_scale:2000|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name = Grid reference
| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|TL151970|25|TL151970}}
| operator = Nene Valley Railway
| platforms = 1
| original = London and Birmingham Railway
| pregroup = London and North Western Railway
| postgroup = London, Midland and Scottish Railway
| years = {{start date|1845|06|02|df=y}}
| events = Opened as Overton
| years1 = 1 August 1913
| events1 = Renamed Orton Waterville
| years2 = 5 October 1942
| events2 = Closed for regular passenger trains
| years3 = 28 December 1964
| events3 = closed for freight
| years4 = 1 June 1977
| events4 = Reopened
| years5 = 1 June 2017
| events5 = Renamed Overton for Ferry Meadows
}}
{{Nene Valley Railway map}}
Overton (for Ferry Meadows) is a station on the Nene Valley Railway between Wansford and Orton Mere. It was originally named Ferry Meadows, the name change being made in 2017. The current station has one platform, and has no car park of its own although proposals have been approved that will create a second platform. In 2004, a new station building was added. Previously at Fletton Junction on the East Coast Main Line, the building was dismantled, moved to Ferry Meadows and rebuilt brick-by-brick in its current location. In the Nene Park close by, there is a watersports centre as well as three children's play areas, three lakes and a miniature railway. The Park is open throughout the year, but most facilities such as the miniature railway and pedaloes only run from Easter to the end of October. Ferry Meadows station is on the site of the former Orton Waterville station.
On 1 June 2017, Ferry Meadows was renamed to its original name of Overton as part of the Nene Valley Railways 40th anniversary celebrations.{{Citation | title = Royal Scot stars at the Nene Valley Railway's 40th Anniversary | newspaper = Steam Railway | date = 2017-06-16 | quote = NVR General Manager Sarah Piggott unveils the Overton for Ferry Meadows running-in board at the renaming ceremony on June 1.}}
Ferry Meadows appears briefly in two James Bond films, GoldenEye and Octopussy.
History
Orton Waterville railway station served the villages of Orton Waterville and Orton Longueville in Cambridgeshire. It was on the London and North Western Railway Northampton to Peterborough line. The station was originally called Overton. The station was closed to regular passenger trains in 1942 but was used by railway staff until the Wansford to Peterborough section closed in 1966 and subsequently the station was demolished. A new station Ferry Meadows was constructed on the same site and was opened with the line in 1977 by the Nene Valley Railway. On 1 June 2017 it was renamed Overton for Ferry Meadows
Night Mail
Ferry Meadows Station will be the site of the Nene Valley's Travelling Post Office (TPO) Museum. 'Night Mail', The International Story of Mail by Rail,{{cite web |url=http://www.nightmail.org.uk/ |title=Home |website=nightmail.org.uk}} will be unique in telling the story of mail across the Continent thanks to the NVR's unique collection of Mail and European rail vehicles. The museum will house both British mail carriages, a number of road vehicles and Continental vehicles. This includes the last surviving coach from the Great Train Robbery.
The Project is being driven by 'The Friends of M30272M' and 'The International Railway Preservation Society'.{{cite web |url=http://www.irps-wl.org.uk/ |title=Home |website=irps-wl.org.uk}}
Overton Goods Yard Project
The board and management of the Nene Valley Railway have supported a proposal put forward to develop the Overton station site into a centre of non-passenger traffic, which will see a collaboration between the wagon and travelling post office (TPO) groups to create a 1950s/1960s operational goods yard and living/working museum space.
The Overton site has historically been dedicated to the TPO Nightmail Project, which sought to create a dedicated TPO museum over the whole site.
This new proposal will realise some of the Nightmail objectives on a much smaller scale, whilst leaving space for wagon group aims to create a working space in order to demonstrate goods movements from rail to road. The project seeks to tidy and open up the site to provide museum and educational opportunities, whilst providing space for events and working demonstrations.https://nvrwagons.co.uk/news-blog/
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.npemap.org.uk/tiles/map.html#515,296,1 Orton Waterville station on navigable 1946 O. S. map]
- [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/o/orton_waterville/index.shtml Orton Waterville station on Subterranea Britannica]
{{Heritage rail start}}
{{rail line|next=Orton Mere|previous=Wansford|route=Nene Valley Railway |col={{heritage rail colour|000000}} }}
{{Historical Rail Insert}}
{{Rail line|next=Peterborough East|previous=Castor|route=London and North Western Railway
Rugby to Peterborough East |col={{LNWR colour}} }}
{{Rail line|next=Peterborough East|previous=Castor|route=Northampton and Peterborough Railway
Northampton to Peterborough East |col={{LNWR colour}} }}
{{Rail line|next=Peterborough North|previous=Castor|route=Great Northern Railway
Leicester Belgrave Road to Peterborough North |col={{GNR colour}} }}
{{s-end}}
{{Closed stations Cambridgeshire}}
Category:Heritage railway stations in Cambridgeshire
Category:Former London and North Western Railway stations
Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1845
Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1942
Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1977
Category:Transport in Peterborough