About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website
About Polesworth Station
Polesworth station was opened with the line in 1847 by the London and North Western Railway.
On 21 July 1947, an express train derailed around one mile from the station, resulting in five deaths.[1] Another derailment of a passenger train occurred at the station on 19 November 1951, which overturned the locomotive and caused minor injuries to two people.[2]
Since the 1980s services to the station have gradually reduced. In the 1980s the station had six northbound and six southbound trains per day running mainly between Rugby and Stafford. A few trains terminated at Nuneaton and Lichfield Trent Valley. Train services were largely operated using the Class 304 electric multiple units; at times the more modern Class 310 units were used instead, both of which have long since been withdrawn from service.
With the re-opening of the Coventry to Nuneaton line in 1987, services terminated at Coventry instead of Rugby. Train services were operated using the Class 153 diesel multiple units, yet these trains suffered from a low top speed and relatively poor acceleration on what is a very busy route.
In 2005, Polesworth received no train services due to the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line. Scheduled trains were replaced by a bus service contracted to Central Trains. The footbridge to platform 2 was removed by contractors and has not been replaced due to the cost being unjustified. Thus, the only service serving the station is the 06:35 London Northwestern Railway parliamentary service from Northampton to Crewe.[3] This service is operated by a Class 350 Desiro.
In 2005 the Strategic Rail Authority called for Polesworth station to be closed, in its "West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy", noting that each train that calls there receives on average fewer than one passenger