elra

A Virtual Tour

East Lincolnshire Railways

Part Two

The Mablethorpe Loop - Firsby

Having left Louth, we proceed south. Two

junctions follow, one for the line to Bardney

(Wragby Jn.) and a short distance on, another

for the Mablethorpe Branch known,

appropriately, as Mablethorpe Junction. The

box is seen above in this view looking south

towards LegbourneRoad on June 14th, 1964,

the line to Mablethorpe having closed four

years earlier on December 5th, 1960.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

Theddlethorpe was one of three stations on the Louth - Mablethorpe

line and it is featured in this very early view from the GNR era. It

also illustrates how even small stations like this would have at one time

been staffed.

(Photo : LEYTR Archives)

Three more views of Mablethorpe. The top one looking north shows the

platform filled with day trippers and, by contrast are two later views

taken at a much quieter time !

(All photos: A. Cartwright Collection)

]

Both views above and below were taken at Mablethorpe on August 15th,

1964. Above, a Brush Type 3 awaits departure on the 1453 Saturdays only

to Sheffield Victoria, usually the last locomotive hauled train to leave the

station on a summer Saturday. Sheffield Victoria was to close to passengers

the same year as Mablethorpe on January 5th, 1970. The lower view shows

the yard to north of the station.

(Photos: J. Jennison)

Sutton-on-Sea was the original terminus of the

line from Willoughby which opened on October

4th, 1886, the link to Mablethorpe (where it

joined up with the branch from Louth) being

opened on September 14th, 1888. B1 61248

"Geoffrey Gibbs" is seen on August 15th,

1964, departing for Mablethorpe on the

"Leicester".

(Photo: J. Jennison)

Tramway Crossing was the point where the

Alford and Sutton Steam Tramway crossed the

main railway line. The 2ft 6in guage tram

route followed the course of what is now the

A1111 road. It commenced running on April

2nd, 1884, but the opening of the Willoughby

and Sutton Railway brought about its demise

and it ceased in December 1889 although the

box remained up to closure of the Mablethorpe

line in 1970. After this it was in use as a shed

close to its original location and, more

recently, was restored as a feature at the

Legbourne Railway Museum which has since

closed.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

The following three views depict the small station of Mumby Road (actually

almost a mile and a half from the village of Mumby. In this part of East

Lincolnshire most roads crossed the railway on the level, however, Mumby

was one of the exceptions and the B1449 crossed the railway by a bridge.

Ironically, the bridge still continues in this capacity although now

traverses the former trackbed. The top and middle photgraphs were both

taken on August 15th, 1964, and depict a B1 at the head of the very late

running train from Derby Friargate to Mablethorpe. The branch was single

track and Mumby Road was the location of a passing loop and a class 114

dmu can just be seen beyond the carriages on the top photgraph. The bottom

photgraph depicts the station and signal box some years after closure having been

immortalised by inclusion in the Flanders & Swann song "Slow Train".

(Photos: J. Jennison)

Willoughby as viewed from the footbridge looking north. The dmu

on the left is en route from Peterborough North to Grimsby Town whilst

to the right can be seen the connecting dmu for Mablethorpe.

(Photo : G. Goslin)

Back at Willoughby, English Electric Type 4

diesel D393 hauls the 1420 Skegness to Leeds

on July 7th, 1965. It is believed that from 1964

onwards the Leeds - Skegness train ran via

Grimsby and not Woodhall Junction as

previously. this provided a wealth of motive

power including B1s, Class 5s, Class 20s and

Sulzers, Brush 3s and 4s.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

The next station along the route ELR was Burgh-le-Marsh which,

despite its title, was two miles away from the town of that name ! Prior

to the opening of the Skegness branch, a horse-drawn bus would meet

trains on the ELR. Another well kept station which once had a model

of the Burgh windmill on display on the platform:

More recently its goods shed served as a railway museum which, sadly,

closed several years ago. The above view shows LMS 2-6-0 43080 hauling

a goods and the below is B1 61248 also heading south whilst the bottom

photograph shows northbound 61088.

(Both photos: LEYTR Collection)

The next station along the route was Firsby. This was the junction for

the branch to Spilsby which closed to passengers as early as September

10th, 1939. More importantly, is the branch to Skegness. In later

years, passengers leaving the main line service would be greeted with

the cry "Over the bridge for Skeggy" from a member of staff. Sadly,

very little remains of this impressive building.

(Photo: A. Cartwright Collection)

Below is another view of Firsby taken on August 14th, 1965, which

shows the 1122 Grimsby to Spalding dmu and the 1218 Skegness

branch dmu on platform 3 on the right.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

A fascinating view of the junction at Firsby looking

south from the footbridge. A class 114 dmu arrives from

Peterborough North en route to Grimsby Town with a

parcels van in tow. The East Lincolnshire Main Line

heads straight off into the distance whilst the Skegness

branch can be seen diverging to the left and the remains

of the Spilsby branch to the right.

(Photo : H.D. Martineau)

The popularity of Skegness as a seaside resort in the

last century resulted in an increase in the number of

excursion trains. Reversing at congested Firsby was

an inconvenience and so the "south curve" was

installed which effectively by-passed the station. It is

this which survives as part of the Skegness branch.

Firsby south box was the point where the "south

curve" (seen above running behind the box) left the

East Lincolnshire line. During summer months this

would have been a very busy location, not only

dealing with main line traffic but a large number of

excursions to Skegness and Mablethorpe.

(Photo: LEYTR Collection)

Firsby was also the junction for the branch to Spilsby, the terminus

being illustrated in this view. The station lost its passenger services

on September 10th, 1939. It remained open to goods until December

1st, 1958.

(Photo : A. Ludlam Collection)

Another diversion from the ELR brings us to the Skegness terminus.

Despite his best efforts, Dr. Beeching did not succeed in closing this

line, however it is much changed since the view below. The goods

yard and platform one on the left were closed in 1966 and the site is

currently occupied by a supermarket and car park. The caravans

were a consignment sent by rail and destined for a nearby caravan

site - such was the diversity of goods traffic at one time.

(Photo: LEYTR Collection)