Platform History: Wolverton Station

As part of our bite sized station history blogs to celebrate Railway 200, we are looking back at the history of Wolverton. Located north-west of Milton Keynes and beside the Grand Union Canal, the River Great Ouse and the West Coast Main Line. Wolverton railway works was the home of the Royal Train and has been since 1842. Wolverton station is served by our Birmingham New Street to London Euston services that operates two trains per hour.

Early History:

Since the creation of the London & Birmingham railway in 1838, Wolverton has been one of its original calling points. Wolverton station was also developed alongside the huge Wolverton Railway Works. At one time, ‘the works’ became one of Britain’s largest carriage-building and maintenance complexes. In 1840, the railway purchased additional land and built a larger station with substantial amenities. In preparation for a Royal visit from Queen Victoria, the station was redecorated and repainted. In 1881, due to the main line being rerouted, a new station opened to accommodate the changes. This station was familiar to many. It that remained unchanged throughout the 20^th century. Consisting of a wooden ticket-office on a bridge above the line with steps down the platforms.

Modernisation:

Wolverton played a key role in wartime efforts. In the First World War, the works repurposed carriages converting railway coaches into ambulance trains for use both domestically and abroad. Additionally, a large portion of the facility was repurposed to support the Ministry of Munitions. In the Second World War, as the Blitz raged, Wolverton Works was camouflaged. Walls were painted green to evade enemy detection. Remarkably, the site avoided bombing. Within the works, efforts to support the war grew, including the building of Horsa Gliders for D-Day operations, repairing Whitley bombers, manufacturing wings for Hawker Typhoons and the converting of commercial vans into armoured vehicles.

Over the 20^th century, the scale of railway manufacturing and the works’ role evolved, later shrinking and being partly demolished in the late 20^th century. Some parts of the site survived, with it becoming a Grade II listed building. However, the old wooden station building, which stood for 100 years was demolished by British Rail in 1991. Just 3 years earlier the station was repainted and decorated by local residents.

Where we are today:

Following plans to replace the temporary station. In 2012, a purpose-built track-level station building was opened, breathing new life into the station that was in desperate need of modernisation. This massive upgrade introduced several passenger-focussed enhancements. A permanent booking hall and ticket office, seated sheltered waiting areas, a step free route to platforms and increased disabled parking. They also host a book club, where commuters can donate to charity and pickup a book to read on their journey with all proceeds going to charity. A new coffee shop is planned to open in the autumn of 2025. Passenger numbers have risen since the end of the pandemic, with an increase of 50,000 between 2022 and 2023. If you are heading through the station be sure to take a look a the 'Wolverton and its stations' board (seen in the picture above) which takes an even deeper look at the station and towns history.

For more information on Railway 200: Railway 200