Talk:Northampton loop

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The route diagram template for this article can be found in Template:Northampton loop line.

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Latest comment: 18 years ago3 comments2 people in discussion

From the article:

When in 1834 the route of the main line was being decided, Northampton objected[1] to having a railway station. This meant that the Kilsby Tunnel had to be built to bypass Northampton

According to my book Rugby's Railway Heritage the London and Birmingham Railway wasn't built through Northampton because the gradients were too steep. G-Man * 22:29, 9 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

That's credible too, but clearly (since the loop line manages the climb), it needs support. The "Northampton didn't want it" story has wide currency, but the citation I found is someone's personal website and doesn't cite its source. Yet another version I heard was that Northampton was too far off the direct line and it would be easier to pop a little tunnel under Kilsby, same as at Linslade. We really need a primary source - without it, I don't think we can say anything. Do you want to change it for now to something like "a variety of reasons for this have been proposed and contemporary evidence is needed to provide a definitative explanation"? --Concrete Cowboy 17:40, 10 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

I believe that the early locomotives of the 1830s weren't powerful enough to cope with anything but the slightest gradients. By the 1870s however locomotives had become a lot more powerful. To be more specific my book states: Northampton had been exceptionally unlucky as far as railway connections were concerned. The London & Birmingham could not, with gradients that had been set for the main line, pass via the town

G-Man * 20:49, 14 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

Location of southern end of loop line

Latest comment: 14 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The article states that the junction is at Hanslope Junction, while the info box lists Roade as one of the "termini".

If the former is correct, then the info box should also be edited to reflect the fact that Hanslope Junction is within Milton Keynes Unitary Authority or (ceremonially) Buckinghamshire. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.94.137.1 (talk) 14:03, 14 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Requested move 31 August 2025

Latest comment: 1 day ago1 comment1 person in discussion

It has been proposed in this section that Northampton loop be renamed and moved to Northampton loop lineNorthampton loop line. A bot will list this discussion on the requested moves current discussions subpage within an hour of this tag being placed. The discussion may be closed 7 days after being opened, if consensus has been reached (see the closing instructions). Please base arguments on article title policy, and keep discussion succinct and civil. Please use {{subst:requested move}}. Do not use {{requested move/dated}} directly. Links: current log • target log • direct move

Northampton loop → Northampton loop lineNorthampton loop line – Other articles for loop lines have both words: Catford loop line, Kingston loop line, Hounslow Loop line, Hertford Loop line; sources refer to both (NL: [1] [2], NLL: [3] [4]). Cross-article consistency and clarity of what it is should be prioritised over a mild preference of sources. JacobTheRox^{(talk | contributions)} 13:50, 31 August 2025 (UTC)Reply