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Industrial & Private Lines: Bedfordshire

Signal Fact 41

The London & South Western Railway resignalled Grateley with an electro-pneumatic system by the British Pneumatic Signal Company in 1901.

Later that year, automatic operation of signals controlled by track circuits was introduced between Grateley and Andover Junction.

This page should be regarded as “Work in Progress”. The webmaster will welcome additional information for this page.

County pages contain details of Industrial and other Private lines that do not form part of any of the principally listed companies on this web site. RailRefs generally remain un-numbered in the county lists.

In the list below the information is set out in tabular form, spread over four columns. The column entries are -

RailRef	The Line Code used in RailRef system.
Line Detail	The principal locations included within the Line Code. They are arranged in 'down' direction order. Locations shown are primarily stations and junctions to allow easy cross check against published atlases. Signal box names appear in italics where these are 'intermediate' to stations or have been shown to facilitate links from other pages on this web site. The inclusion of a station or junction name does not imply that there was always a signal box of that same name!
SBR	The section reference used in the relevant Signal Box Register published by the Society.
ELR	The corresponding Engineer's Line Reference(s). This will be blank for railways that never came within British Railways terms of reference. It will also be blank where British Railways had no surviving responsibility for infrastructure at the time the ELR system came into use.

RailRef	Line Detail	SBR	ELR
Luton Corporation
Off GN032	Sidings southward off GN032 Luton Power Station TL 096 212
Laporte Industries Ltd, Luton
Off GN032	Sidings northward off GN032 about 1 mile west of Luton station Luton Chemical Works TL 069 221
British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd, Caddington
Off GN032	Sidings off GN032 Blows Down Lime Works TL 039 220. 1895-1949. Also narrow gauge internal.
Associated Portland Cement, Houghton Regis
Off GN032	Triangular connection northwards off GN032 Dunstable Cement Works TL 015 233, TL 016 232
Vauxhall Motors Ltd, Dunstable
Off	Connection north-eastwards off GN032 Bedford Truck Plant TL 024 224. 1955-1981.
London Brick Co Ltd, Arlesey
Off GN040	Connection westward off GN040 Arlesey Brickworks TL 186 352. Previously Beart's Patent Brick Co. Standard gauge ceased c1948. Also narrow gauge system.
Edmundsons Electricity Corporation, Little Barford
Off GN040	Connection off GN040 Little Barford Power Station TL 183 576 c1940-1980. A new gas fired power station now occupies the site.
Vauxhall Motors Ltd, Luton
Off	Connection eastward off MR070 1.5 miles south of Luton station. Luton Works TL 105 205. 1912-1982. Vauxhall started in Wandsworth Road, South London (Vauxhall), hence the name.
London Brick Co, Kempston Hardwick
Off MR070	Connection westward off MR070 Coronation Brickworks TL 034 440. Also narrow gauge internal.
London Brick Co, Elstow
Off MR070	Connection eastward off MR070 Elstow Brickworks TL 042 455. Also narrow gauge internal.
Bedford District Gas Co, Bedford
Off MR070	Connection off MR070 Ford End Road TL 041 493. c1895-1970.
W H Allen, Sons & Co Ltd, Bedford
Off MR070	Connection off MR070 Queen's Engineering Works, Ford End Road TL 041 497. c1904-1971.
MoD Army Department, Elstow
Off MR074	Connection eastward of MR070, off MR074 Royal Ordnance Factory No.16, later Elstow Storage Depot TL 040 438. 1941-1964.
Air Ministry, Henlow
Off MR075	Connection off MR075 north of Henlow Standard gauge TL 167 362; Narrow gauge TL 168 363. 1917-1964
MoD Airforce Department, Cardington
Off MR075	Connection south-west off MR075 Royal Airship Works TL 077 471. Previously Short Bros. 1917-1969.
Britannia Iron & Steel Works Ltd, Bedford
Off MR075	Connection off MR075 Previously J & F Howard. Britannia Iron Works TL 045 490. c1895-1970.
Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
Off NW110	Narrow gauge but ran into Leighton Buzzard Goods Yard. Served Joseph Arnold & Sons Ltd and George Garside (Sand) Ltd who took over in 1958. Sand traffic ceased 1981 and majority of line sold to Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway Society.
Leighton Buzzard Sand Co Ltd, Leighton Buzzard
Off NW113	Connection off NW113 near Grovebury Crossing Firbank Sand Pits SP 924 240. 1897-c1949.
British Portland Cement Manufacturers, Dunstable
Off NW113	Connection off NW113 at Forders Sidings Previously B J Forder & Son Ltd. Sewell Limeworks SP 995 226. Also a narrow gauge tramway.
Sewell Limestone Quarry, Dunstable
Near NW113	Sewell Limestone Quarry SP 996 224. South of NW113 but not connected to LNWR.
Rugby Portland Cement Co Ltd, Dunstable
Off NW113	Exchange Sidings off NW113 Totternhoe Quarries SP 979 224. 1895-1965. Also narrow gauge internal system. Site previously operated by Totternhoe Lime & Stone Co Ltd.
Ridgmont Fletton Brick Co, Ridgmont
Off NW140	Sidings west side of NW140 Lidlington Brickworks SP 967 378. Also narrow gauge internal.
Marston Valley Brick Co Ltd, Lidlington
Off NW140	Sidings west side of NW140 Lidlington Brickworks SP 996 396. Also narrow gauge internal.
London Brick Co, Stewartby
Off NW140	Sidings both sides of NW140 Stewartby Brickworks TL 016 426. Also narrow gauge internal.
London Brick Co, Kempston Hardwick
Off NW140	Connection eastward off NW140 Kempston Hardwick Brickworks TL 027 448. 1928-1966. Also narrow gauge internal.
Bedford Corporation Public Works Department
Off NW140	Connection off NW140 Goldington Depot TL 066 495. Connected at point that later became west end of Goldington Loop. Former railway bridge over the River Ouse remained as footpath and cycleway.
British Electricity Authority, Bedford
Off NW140	Connection off NW140 Goldington Power Station TL 075 498. 1955-1980. Connected with Bedford Corporation line to form Goldington Loop.
Shell-Mex & B P Ltd, Potton
Off NW143	Connection off NW143 Potton Depot TL 201 482. Aviation fuel depot during WWII.

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