Great Northern Railway

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company, founded by the London & York Railway Act of 1846.

The main line ran from London via Hitchin, Peterborough, and Grantham, to York, with a loop line from Peterborough to Bawtry south of Doncaster via Boston and Lincoln, and branch lines to Sheffield and Wakefield. A good deal of it later became part of the East Coast Main Line.

A spur led from Marefield Junction on the main part of the railway, between John O'Gaunt and Tilton at Tilton on the Hill, to serve the city of Leicester to the west. This had the following stations

In 1865 a branch line was opened from Hatfield to St Albans, terminating at St Albans Abbey and with an intermediate stop at St Albans (London Road). The branch line was closed to passengers in 1951[2] and to freight in 1969.[3] The track was subsequently removed and the route turned into a 6.5 mile long cycle path called The Alban Way.