Kettering, Thrapston and Huntingdon Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Kettering, Thrapston and Huntingdon Railway was an English railway line opened throughout in 1866. It connected the Midland Railway main line at Kettering to ironstone deposits to the south-east of the town, as well as opening up the agricultural district around Thrapston and reaching the regional centre of Huntingdon. The hoped-for expansion of agricultural was limited and local traffic did not develop; at the same time the difficult alignment and gradients of the line discouraged heavy use as a through line. A basic passenger service operated through from Kettering to Cambridge, by using running powers east of Huntingdon via St Ives.
Although some munitions traffic during World War II enhanced the value of the line temporarily, it declined steeply after 1945 and passenger services were withdrawn in 1959. When the iron ore workings diminished too, the line was cut back in 1963 to serve only the remaining Twywell site. That activity too finished in 1971, resulting in total closure.