Route of Chesterford to Newmarket Railway (EHER 4984)

The Chesterford and Newmarket Railway was opened in 1848. The section from Chesterford to Six Mile Bottom was closed in 1851 when the line from Six Mile Bottom to Cambridge was opened, and this section was dismantled in 1858.

Chesterford to Newmarket Railway. Built 1848, closed 1851, abandoned 1858. <1>- <3> In a watching brief in 1976 the truncated base of an old railway embankment was observed, in line with remains still visible on the ground to the north. To its east a trench filled with loosely-packed flints was thought to be a drainage channel connected with the railway. <4> <5> Was visible as a cropmark in 2008 <6> The Newmarket & Chesterford, a £350,000 incorporation of 1846, with Robert Stephenson and Braithwaite as its engineers. Initially it was for a 163/4 mile main line from Newmarket to Great Chesterford, with an 81/2 mile branch from Six Mile Bottom to Cambridge. The main line went ahead, opening to goods on 3 January 1848 and passengers on 4 April; through services to Shoreditch were offered, in times ranging from 140 to 170 minutes. On 28 May 1851 agreement was reached with the ECR whereby on completion of the Cambridge branch the whole line would be taken over by the ECR at a guaranteed 3 per cent rental on the £350,000 capital, subject to a maximum ECR subsidy of £5,000 in any one year. With ECR help and by taking a line of rails from the main line the branch was completed on 9 October 1851; on the same day the 111/2 mile section of main line from Six Mile Bottom to Great Chesterford was closed entirely. Powers to dismantle this section were obtained in 1858. <7> Information from NRHE import: 1977. Field survey. The deserted cuttings and embankments are still striking features of the landscape. Course visible as a raised embankment in the plough. <8>