Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway
The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway was a pre-grouping railway company in the English Midlands. Construction began in 1869 and the railway was opened in 1873. The railway was built to serve the Leicestershire coalfield. It linked Moira and with.Ownership
Until the 1923 grouping the railway was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway. It then became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which withdrew passenger services in 1931. Nationalisation in 1948 made the railway part of British Railways, which closed the line to freight traffic in 1971. Although the section from Measham to Overseal and Moira remained open to serve Donisthorpe Colliery until 1981, when the line closed. The section from Ashby to Moira remains open to freight traffic on the Burton - Leicester Line.
Today, the stations and their sites are:
Moira-Shackerstone section:
- Donisthorpe - Filled in and landscaped but the trackbed towards Measham and Moira are now footpaths
- Measham - Is now in use as a museum and was to become part of the restoration of the Ashby Canal but plans have since been shelved
- Snarestone - Demolished but the engine shed and station master's house remain as private residences
Coalville-Shackerstone section:
Shackerstone-Nuneaton/Hinckley section:
Part of the line between and has been re-opened as the Battlefield Line Railway, a heritage railway.
