New Station Building

The new station building was officially opened in late 1995.

Inside the building the railway's booking office is the first facility that will greet you.

The shop and cafe are also located on the ground floor - opening times vary depending upon the season and operating requirements.

The railways general office is to be found on the first floor, along with a conference room that can be booked for various functions.

Toilets, disabled and child facilities are also located within this building.

Barnwell Building

The picture on the right shows a general view of Wansford station.

The Barnwell Station building is to the forefront, behind which can be seen the new station building. To the left of the station building can be seen the level crossing gates, which are controlled by the 1907 built signalbox on the left. Just beyond the signalbox 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 is of special interest, having been 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, to find out more take a look here or click on the picture.

Wansford Signalbox

The signalbox at Wansford was built in 1907 by the London & North Western Railway to replace three smaller boxes. The signalbox was originally built with 60 levers and is one of the largest preserved signalboxes 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.

Click on the image for more details about the signalbox.

Picnic Area

The picnic area at Wansford is open all year round, with picnic tables available for you to enjoy your picnic.

The view from this area allows you to watch the signalman operating the box at Wansford while the trains pass over the river bridge and viaduct. You will also on occasions see various boats and narrow boats pass on the River Nene.

The picnic area is also a good location for taking photographs, especially during one of the galas when there is a lot of shunting activity at Wansford.

The picnic area is often home to various ducks, so remember to bring along some bread to feed them with!

Jubilee Playground

Our childrens play area was opened in 2002 with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and is available all year round to allow the younger ones to let off some of their own steam.

The playground is located near to the car park entrance and is alongside the cafe platform.

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. It continued in use here until 1959 when 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 by 7 foot to make it 67 foot in length and was commissioned in September 1978. The turntable has been in use ever since to turn the locomotives and carriages at the NVR.

Over the years the turntable has been used to turn many famous locomotives, including; 60103 (4472) "Flying Scotsman", 60532 "Blue Peter", 60007 "Sir Nigel Gresley", 60009 "Union of South Africa", 60800 (4771) "Green Arrow", 46629 "Duchess of Hamilton" and 70000 "Britannia".

The Model Railway Groupnalbox

NVR is home to an enthusiastic group of modellers 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.

Click on the image for the Model Railway Group's page.