Rotherham Masborough railway station

Rotherham Masborough
Rotherham Masborough railway station on the last day of operation
Location
Place	Rotherham
Area	Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
Coordinates	53°25′51″N 1°22′18″W / 53.430963°N 1.371727°W / 53.430963; -1.371727Coordinates: 53°25′51″N 1°22′18″W / 53.430963°N 1.371727°W / 53.430963; -1.371727
Grid reference	SK418928
Operations
Original company	North Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	LMSR Eastern Region of British Railways
Platforms	4
History
11 May 1840	Opened (as Masbrough)
1896	Renamed Masbrough & Rotherham
1908	Renamed Rotherham Masborough
1969	Renamed Rotherham
1987	Renamed Rotherham Masborough
3 October 1988	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Rotherham Masborough railway station was the main railway station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England from the 1840s until 1987, when most trains were rerouted via Rotherham Central. It had four platforms, with a large sandstone station building on the eastern Platform Four, large iron and glass platform canopies, a fully enclosed footbridge and wooden waiting rooms on the other platforms. It closed in 1988, except for a few football specials.

The station, designed by Francis Thompson, was opened by the North Midland Railway between Derby and Leeds, and named simply 'Masbrough', without the 'o', since Rotherham had not yet grown to surround the village. The station was renamed 'Masbrough & Rotherham' in 1896, 'Rotherham Masborough' in 1908 (misspelt by the railway company: the name of the district has always been 'Masbrough'), then simply 'Rotherham' in 1969.

The line was the first main link between Yorkshire and London, via Birmingham or Rugby. In time, it became part of the main line to London St Pancras and the South West. Initially, it omitted Sheffield, the region's main settlement, by following a route along the Rother Valley, thus avoiding the difficult terrain on the prospective route south of Sheffield. At Masborough the line passed over the Sheffield & Rotherham Railway's Sheffield Wicker to Rotherham Westgate Station line and a large triangle junction was built allowing trains from the north and North Midland trains to travel into Sheffield from the north-east along the Don Valley. Immediately to the north of this junction stood Rotherham Masborough station.