Leicester - Swannington Railway

The 1856 timetable shows departure from West Bridge 06:45; Braunstone 06:58; Desford 07:03 thence timings for eight other stations to Burton arriving 08:15. Would appreciate any information as to Braunstone's inclusion, whether being a station location or timing-point location, bearing in mind the line was quite distant from Braunstone. If the latter. was it usual to publish timing-points where no station existed?

 

1922 Bradshaw shows two passenger trains each way on weekdays between Leicester West Bridge & Desford. The 1.00 pm train from West Bridge stooped at stations at Glenfield 1.08, Ratby 1.14 and Desford 1.19.

I am not familiar with Leicester, but hazard a guess that a station changed name from Braunstone to Ratby some time betewwn 1856 and 1922.

 

Would seem so, thanks. The contract to build an early section of the line was defaulted in 1831 and a later report outlining this referred to the West Bridge-Ratby section, probably unaware of original designations. Your Bradshaw timings solve that. Coincidentally, Clement Winstanley, Chairman of the line's Board of Directors was from Braunstone.

 

Ratby station was built new by the Midland in 1876, it was then that the first platforms were provided anywhere on the line, Braunstone was probably a nearby lane stop.