Bygone Railways of East Lincolnshire

Yesterday marked 50th anniversary of the closure of the branch line to Horncastle. Opened on 11th August 1855 between Kirkstead (subsequently renamed Woodhall Junction), with one intermediate station at Woodhall Spa. Passenger trains ceased on 13th September 1954 after which the line continued to be served by goods trains only until 5th April 1971. The following cuttings are from 1978 issues of the Horncastle News , and their look back into earlier issues covering the opening of the line.

Kirkstead was one of the intermediate stations on the Great Northern Railway Loop Line between Boston and Lincoln. It was opened to both Passengers and Goods on 17th October 1848. At the time this was the main railway route to the North until the opening of the "Towns Line" through Grantham some four years later. Just to the south of the station, a branch line to Horncastle diverged from the main line, opening on 11th August 1855. As the junction faced away from the station, it meant trains would have to reverse a short distance, before accessing the branch.  Further south, the "New Line" from Bellwater Junction was opened to Coningsby Junction on 1st July 1913. From the 10th July 1922, the London & North Eastern Railway renamed the station Woodhall Junction. For one year only, in 1935, it was also one of three locations in Lincolnshire to be allocated a Camping Carriage. Just north of the station, the opposite bank of the River Witham could be reached by a ferr...