A Virtual Tour

of

East Lincolnshire Railways

Part Three

The New Line & Horncastle Branch

was the point where the "New Line" (so called as it was opened on

July 1st, 1913, a relatively late addition to the Lincolnshire rail

network) diverged, known as Bellwater Junction. The section of line

between Boston and Burgh was once the second longest straight

in Britain, a fact that can be demonstrated by the photograph below

which shows 4472 heading north. The "New Line" branches off to

the right and heads due west. It is this route we shall follow as this

section of the ELR remains open as part of the Skegness to

Boston route. Bellwater Junction box is still in use.

(Photo: LEYTR Collection)

between Boston and Lincoln. With the exception of Coningsby,

the communities it seved en-route were very small, intermediate

stations being at Midville (illustrated below), Stickney, New

Bolingbroke and Tumby Woodside. It did provide a very useful

"short-cut" for excursion trains between the Lincolnshire coast and

Yorkshire, a function for which it was regularly used. The

closure of the section of the "Loop" between Boston and

Coningsby on June 17th, 1963, left the "New Line" effectively as

part of a long branch to Lincoln.

(Photo: A. Cartwright Collection)

(Photo & Caption: J. Jennison)

Skegness - Midlands excursion literally

hurtling through the station. A rare sight as

after 1964 all summer Saturday trains did not

run jun via Woodhall Junction and the "New

Line".

(Photo & Caption: J. Jennison)

Tumby Woodside was the next station on the route, a rather remote

location although, in its heyday, saw trainloads of potatoes being

despatched.

(Photo : G. Goslin)

Lincoln Central.

station is seen in the above view taken on

August 29th, 1965.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

At Coningsby Junction the "New Line" joined the Boston to Lincoln

route which was opened on October 17th, 1848 and, for a time, was

the Great Northern Railways's main route to the North. Between

Boston and Lincoln the line ran along the bank of the River Witham.

Woodhall Junction is our next calling point, the sign on the platform

says it all:

WOODHALL JUNCTION

CHANGE FOR

WOODHALL SPA & HORNCASTLE

& FOR CONINGSBY & MIDVILLE LINE

(Photo: A. Cartwright Collection)

the one above taken on August 29th, 1965,

with the 1720 Sundays only fishermen's train

departing for Sheffield Victoria. Note the

absence of the road bridge which is

featured in the 1969 view below.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

(Photo : H.D. Martineau)

(Photo : H.D. Martineau)

excursions to the Lincoln Races and many closed stations

including Langrick on the Boston - Lincoln line.

this old ticket.

were some early ambitious plans to cross the Wolds to provide a direct link to the Lincolnshire Coast, one of

which was to link the two termini at Horncastle and Spilsby. Not surprisingly, the costs of constructing such a

route which would require substantial engineering work, could not be justified and the scheme never went

ahead. Horncastle remained a terminus and lost its passenger service on September 13th, 1954. The extract

above is from the British Rail Eastern Region Timetable dated September 15th, 1952.

(LEYTR Collection)

4286 at the Horncastle terminus with a two carriage branch line train

for Woodhall Junction.

(Photo: A.J. Wickens)

open to goods until April 5th, 1971, and the station house at Horncastle,

pictured above, survived demolition until 1985. On a happier note, the

former trackbed between Woodhall Spa and Horncastle is now incorporated

into the Viking Way long distance footpath between Oakham and the River

Humber. The above photograph was taken on April 25th, 1964, when D5827

(later 31294) on the 1010 goods to Woodhall Junction on April 25th, 1964.

This service originally operated every weekday but had been reduced to run

on Saturdays. The locomotive, incidentally, survived and in September 1999

was show withdrawn and awaiting disposal at Crewe - after over 40 years of

service !

(Photo: J. Jennison)

(Photo: J. Jennison)

carries the Woodhall Spa to Horncastle road over the line.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

April 25th, 1964. Woodhall Spa was the only intermediate station on the

branch and, as its name suggests, once attracted bathers thus

providing useful passenger revenue for the railway. The station can just

be seen in the distance on the above view. Below shows the rare sight of

traffic being held up by a train on Coningsby Road crossing.

(Photos: J. Jennison)

April 25th, 1964.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

fishermen's trains from Wadsley Bridge and Sheffield Victoria (3) terminated

here. One also ran on summer Saturdays. The station yard was quite busy at

this time with all the parked trains - the other was parked at the bay (platform

one) which I believe was used for Horncastle branch trains.

(Photo & Caption: J. Jennison)

(LEYTR Collection)

Stixwould. These delightful views demonstrate a typical country station

which in 1965 had changed little from its inception. Oil lamps in abundance

and the station was staffed with box and signals fully in use.

1515 Sunday service from Coningsby to Lincoln Central is seen at the

station. The lower photograph shows Southrey signal box. The signals

had been removed but the box was fully manned to deal with the station

business and the ferry. The bottom view shows the chain ferry itself.

This was one of several (others being at Stixwould and Fiskerton, which

enabled vehicles to cross the Witham. It was an astonishing contraption

to have been found in 1965 - which is believed to have been the last year

of its operation.

(Photo: J. Jennison)

the junction for the branch to Louth mentioned earlier, the short

platform on the right being generally used by trains on this route.

Whilst the "New Line" route into Lincoln closed to passengers on

October 5th, 1970, a section to Horncastle via Woodhall Junction

remained open to freight, later being truncated so that Bardney

was the terminus until closed completely in 1981. The station

buildings were removed for reconstruction at Railworld some

years ago but have yet to be reassembled. Further information

about Bardney can be found in Bardney - a Retrospect on this site.

(Photo: A. Cartwright Collection)

factories in August 1965. I visited this area

twice in the summer of 1965 and felt that at

Southrey and Stixwould that the world had

stood still. It was, after all, part of the

original Great Northern line and not much

seemed to have changed - nostalgia

par excellence !

(Photo & Caption: J. Jennison)