Welwyn North railway station - 3457-484950

Welwyn North railway station serves the villages of Digswell and Welwyn in Hertfordshire, England. The station is located approximately 22mi north of London Kings Cross, on the East Coast Main Line.LocationAlthough the station is north of Welwyn Garden City, there is the actual village of Welwyn about 1mi 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.HistoryThe 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. 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).

Tags: Train Station