Trains and Lines

is seen at Spalding with 4MT 43060 wearing a "That's Yer Lot" poster.

(Photo : Lincolnshire Free Press)

the Lincolnshire portion), an enthusiasts special traversed part of the

route (then freight only) to Sutton Bridge and Bourne on May 27th,

1961. 43151 worked the special and is seen at Spalding before hauling

the train to Bourne.

(Photo : Lincolnshire Free Press)

64260 departing from Spalding

(Photo : L&EYTR Collection)

were numerous rail excursions from all over the country converging on

the station on the day of the event. This in turn attracted a large number

of rail enthusiasts many, who like myself, travelled to see the trains rather

than the Parade itself !To illustrate this, in 1980 there were no less than 19

excursions from such diverse locations as Bristol, Cardiff, Chorley,

Congleton, Coventry, Hull, Kings Cross, Manchester, Moreton-in-the-

Marsh, Newcastle, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Runcorn, Shenfield,

Strood, Swansea, Weston-super-Mare and Wokingham. Most of these

would have been locomotive hauled as the examples illustrated here.

Sadly, the excursion traffic has declined significantly to the point

that only one operated to Spalding for the 1999 parade. That being said,

the rationalisation of track at Spalding would not be condusive to running

as many excursions as in previous years.

excursion to the Tulip Parade in

1983. (Courtesy: P.J. Hobart)

every available siding was used including those on the front of the

station. Ironically, the forecourt also provided capacity for coaches and

above we see a very unusual view of a dmu and coaches parked side

by side - truly integrated transport !

hauled by 55009 "Alycidon" departs from Spalding and takes

the March route whilst hauling a railtour from King's Cross -

Grantham - Spalding - March - Norwich - Liverpool Street.

train from the sidings gaining access to the GN & GE Joint. At the time

of writing, the locomotive still exists, but is u/s and being dissected for

spares for the operational class 37 fleet. (Below) 31134 and 37703

stand in the sidings after hauling an engineering train. The 31 has long

since been withdrawn, but the 37 is still actively employed by EWS and

allocated to Toton.

winter's day !

Transfesa van illustrates.

power stations and was used for the landfill of former brick pits in Peterborough. A class

45 is seen in sub zero conditions on December 19th, 1981, heading with the fly ash empties

north approaching Spalding. The metals of the March line can clearly be seen on the right.

(Photo Scanned by P. Wright)

departs from Spalding. The main line to Peterborough can be seen in

the foreground.

evident in this view - where wagons from an engineering train are

stored. They were also used by Tulip Parade Specials. They have

long since been swept away and a new road now runs in fron of the

station whilst the nearest the photographer is now occupied by a

supermarket and car park.

Spalding could use the M & GN avoiding line south of the town.

Even after many years of closure, sections of this still remained as

the town's last reminder of this route. Below is the view looking west

from the trackbed of the M & GN avoiding line at the point where it

crossed the defunct Spalding - March route. Sadly, much of the

avoiding line has been removed over the years but some sections are

still visible.

Green Lane and St John's Road. Hopefully this superb relic will be

preserved as it still serves its original function although, as its length

suggests, now spans more trackbed than it does actual track ! The

top view shows the eastern end of the bridge and just behind the

"Private Property" sign is the course of the M & GN link from Spalding

to King's Lynn. The above view shows the bridge itself whilst the lower

one is taken from the bridge looking towards the station. Immediately

beneath is the then closed and partially lifted route to March and the

M & GN link to king's Lynn was on the extreme right - now a ploughed

field. The other line to the left is the line to Peterborough which remains

in use. The middle picture is taken in the opposite direction and

clearly shows the former March route partially lifted. The bottom photo

was taken in 1999 and shows the trackbed still clearly visible.

1st,1982. On leaving Spalding, the line headed sout east and

crossed the River Welland. The above view shows the signal box

at this location. Since then the box has been removed and

reassembles at the Peterboroughstation on the Nene Valley Railway

although, st present, it is not yet in use. (Many thanks to Graham

Floyd for this information)The middle view taken from the

bridge over the Welland towards Spalding also shows the box whilst

the bottom picture is taken from the same position looking towards

March - the trackbed having since been built upon.

Not far from Spalding station, the route crossed the A16 from where

where this photograph, looking towards Boston, was taken. The line to

the latter had closed to passengers ten years previously (1970) and was

now reduced to a single track branch to serve the nearby British Sugar

factory. This traffic ceased that very year (coinciding with the Bardney

line which was also retained to serve the British Sugar factory there).

It was also used to accommodate a special on the Tulip Parade day.

The track has long since been lifted.

Part One