The old Wansford station is a Grade 2 Listed Building which stands beside platform 3 of the Nene Valley Railway (NVR) but does not belong to the railway.
The building has been in private ownership since the 1960s and is gradually falling into disrepair. It is now in urgent need of restoration to save it becoming a ruin.
The Nene Valley Railway Heritage Centre Group was set up in 2003 to rescue the old Wansford station building and develop it as a restored Victorian railway station with displays and exhibits telling the story of the old Northampton to Peterborough line which would also begin to provide a home for the Nene Valley Railway's growing collection of historic objects and information.
Our aim is to raise enough money to purchase the old station building, and to restore it as a Victorian station open to all our visitors.
2003 Fund raising appeal launched.
2004 Grant received from the Heritage Lottery Fund to appoint a Project Planning Officer to develop plans for a Heritage Centre in the old station building; the report included a Conservation Management Plan, Audience Development Plan, Access Plan and design proposals.
2009 We submitted a major lottery bid to restore and develop the building but unfortunately as we were not able to secure written confirmation from the owners that they would be willing to sell us the building (at an agreed price) our bid failed
Our aim is still to purchase and restore the station building, which is now in a very sorry state, and we are hoping to launch a new fund raising initiative in summer 2011 with a new business plan to purchase and develop the whole of the old station yard including the old station building.
To purchase the old Wansford station yard and station building we need to raise a least £700,000.
Any donation that you can give will go towards our campaign to purchase the building and develop a Nene Valley Railway Heritage Centre.
All donations will be recorded in a book which will be on permanent display in our new Heritage Centre.
Because we have only a small group of Nene Valley Railway members working on the station building appeal we can only make slow progress as all our existing volunteers also have other commitments.
If you would be interested in helping our group to save the old station building and develop it as part of the railway please get in touch.
For further information about the project and how you can help please contact Brian White at the Nene Valley Railway on 01780 784444.
The Nene Valley Railway has been collecting items and information about the railway since 1977.
We now have over 2,000 items as well as hundreds of photographs and a wealth of written information about the station and the people who worked there.
We need a new building to enable us to tell the story of the railway and to explain the magic of steam to all our visitors.
If we were not able to purchase the Wansford Station Building we will use the money raised through donations to develop the Heritage Centre on another part of our site.
