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ALFRETON & DISTRICT HERITAGE TRUST OH MR. PORTER
Oh Mr. Porter, what shall I do? I want to go to Birmingham
But here I am at Crewe Take me back to Alfreton
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As quickly as you can Oh Mr. Porter what a silly boy I am.
I suppose really I should apologise to both singer Marie Lloyd and writers George and Thomas Le Brunn who in 1892 published the song ‘Oh Mr Porter’ for using a little poetic licence to introduce this month’s topic which is all about Alfreton Railway Station.
Alfreton Railway Station was opened some 30 years before ‘Oh Mr Porter’ graced the stages of the countries Music Halls, having been opened by the Midland Railway Company on the 1st of May 1862. On the 7th of November 1891 it was renamed Alfreton & South Normanton Station.
From its conception in 1859, the Erewash Valley line was planned as a goods line providing an outlet for the many collieries in the area. Eventually passenger services were established and these continued until the Station closed on the 2nd of January 1967 to passenger traffic.
The original line had required the construction of what was then known as Cotes Park Tunnel, but such was the volume of traffic a second tunnel was required and this was constructed between 1899 and 1901 requiring an army of labourers or navvies as they were known. The 1901 Census records a township identified as Tunnel Huts, between the railway and
Hunt’s Farm, Little America, with around 150 recorded inhabitants. There may have been many more unrecorded of course!
Following closure to passenger traffic the goods depot remained open, steel, containers and explosives being handled by the rail crane. One of the more unusual passengers were pigeons! Friday night was pigeon night in the Alfreton area. Local Clubs would take them to the station for transportation to some remote destination and released by the station staff.
Of course, there were many passenger excursions available to popular seaside resorts and to major sporting events. We were in an era when most people didn’t have a car don’t forget.
It was an era of steam for the most part and perhaps I’m not alone in thinking Steam really was King!
