Wansford station is the headquarters of the Nene Valley Railway. The station brings together three forms of transport in one location, with the River Nene being separated from the railway by the "Old Great North Road". Check out our 360 tour before you visit - click the button below.
New Station Building
The new station building was officially opened in late 1995. The building houses the booking office, shop and café. The general office and conference room are on the first floor and can be booked for various functions.
Toilets, disabled and child facilities are also located within this building
Barnwell Station Building
The Barnwell Station building is to the forefront, with the level crossing gates to the left of it, controlled by the 1907 built signal box on the left. Just beyond the signal box is the River Nene and flood plains, which are spanned by a bridge and viaduct.
The waiting room on platform two is referred to as "The Barnwell Building" due to it having been moved from Barnwell station to the NVR on April 5th 1977. The building was built in 1884 for use by members of the Royal family when visiting Barnwell Manor, home of HRH Duke of Gloucester.
Old Wansford Station Building
Old station building on platform three was built in 1844/5 for the opening of the line. Built in a Jacobean style it features much ornate stone masonry. The NVR are currently trying to acquire this building for use by the NVR and local community. Read more about the Wansford Station Appeal here.
Wansford Signal Box
The signal box was built in 1907 by the London & North Western Railway to replace three smaller boxes. The signal box was originally built with 60 levers and is one of the largest preserved signal boxes in its original location.
The signalbox controls the level crossing gates over the "Great North Road" and until 1959, when the A1 bypass was built, all the traffic along the A1 would have had to pass over this crossing.
Picnic Area
The picnic area at Wansford is open all year round. Sitting at one of the picnic tables here you can watch the signalman operating the box at Wansford while the trains pass over the river, bridge and viaduct. It’s a great location for taking photographs, especially during one of the galas when there is a lot of shunting activity at Wansford. Ducks and swans make this area their home, so be sure to bring along some bread.
Jubilee Playground
Our children’s play area was opened in 2002 with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and is available all year round. The playground is located near to the car park entrance.
The Turntable
The turntable, located behind the new station building, was built by Ransomes & Rapier of Ipswich in 1933. Originally 60 foot long it was installed at Bourne in Lincolnshire for use on the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway. In 1959, Bourne shed closed and the turntable was moved to Peterborough East; its last duties being to turn Travelling Post Office (TPO) coaches for use on the East Anglian TPO.
In 1977 the turntable moved to Wansford where it was extended to 76 foot and was re-commissioned in September 1978. The turntable has been in use ever since to turn the locomotives and carriages at the NVR. Famous locomotives include:
- 60103 (4472) "Flying Scotsman"
- 60532 "Blue Peter"
- 60007 "Sir Nigel Gresley"
- 60009 "Union of South Africa"
- 60800 (4771) "Green Arrow"
- 6629 "Duchess of Hamilton"
- 70000 "Britannia"
The Model Railway Group Signal Box
NVR is home to an enthusiastic group of modelers who have transformed a BR Mk2e FO, ex`London's Burning' coach (W3227) over the last 7 years into a large model railway that can be found on platform 4.