Railway Electrification and Leicester’s Clock

The electrification of the rail network is a massive undertaking by the current government and it is a major part of infrastructure changes announced in the last parliament.

With billions being invested in rail, it's just one of upgrades that will see Britain's rail network upgraded to meet the demands of a larger population and greater movement. It will also pave the way to the "Norther Powerhouse", an attempt to spread the wealth out of London.

But when investigating information for electrification specifically, I discovered that Leicester's station, while in line for electrification, and a huge investment to make sure the new trains will fit under existing bridges, had a bit of unique history.

It has, in fact, the only wind-up clock at a railway station in Britain!

Although the interior book hall was reconstructed in the 1970s, the outside of the building is well preserved late-Victorian, and still looks great today.

And the tower still houses a wind-up clock. Some back there used to be a web-cam on the clock, but appears that has now gone with the demise of blog.co.uk, however here's an old photo. If you have a more up to date one, send it in.

Let's hope that doesn't get upgraded when the line does.