The Lincolnshire lines of the Great Northern Railway are the railways, past and present, in the English county built or operated by the Great Northern Railway.
The Great Northern Railway was authorised in 1846 and was to build from London to York via Newark and also a "Loop Line" via Lincoln. The GNR leased and operated the East Lincolnshire Railway. The construction proceeded in stages, and the line from Peterborough through Boston to Lincoln opened in 1848. The East Lincolnshire Railway from Boston to Grimsby opened in the same year.
Gradually the GNR filled in the space between the Loop Line and the coast. East-west connections were developed, and holiday and excursion traffic proved a huge development. The haulage of coal from the Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire coalfields to London and East Anglia was a lucrative traffic. There was relatively little competition from rival railways in the area, and the network as a whole was successful. However the rural character of many of the lines meant that commercially they were of limited success.
In 1879 the GNR had to concede the construction of a joint railway with the Great Eastern Railway, which abstracted considerable revenue from the mineral traffic income. After about 1965 many of the lines declined substantially, and in 1970 a widespread closure took place, leaving only key routes from the former GNR network.
Origins to authorisation After the commercial success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (opened 1830), a number of schemes were promoted for longer distance railways. The Railway Mania took hold, and a huge number of railway projects were promoted, in many cases with little care in design, and investors scrambled to subscribe to them, hoping to make a quick fortune. In 1844 the London and York Railway was proposed; it met with fierce opposition: from the railways controlled by George Hudson, which already provided a railway connection to the north of England, and from rival schemes.
The extent of the proposed London and York undertaking dwarfed that of any railway project in this country before or since: a "leviathan undertaking".Charles H Grinling, History of the Great Northern Railway, 1845 – 1895, Methuen and Co, London, 1898, page 21 The deposited plans consisted of:
The main line, London to York: 186 miles; A loop line off the main line, from Peterborough to Bawtry via Boston and Lincoln: 86 miles; A branch from Bawtry to Sheffield: miles; and A branch from Doncaster to Wakefield: miles.John Wrottesley, The Great Northern Railway: volume I: Origins and Development, B T Batsford Limited, London, 1979, , page 14
In the 1846 session of Parliament, the London and York Railway was successful in gaining authorisation, in the Great Northern Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. lxxi) passed on 26 June; it changed its title in the process to the Great Northern Railway.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 17 However the Bawtry to Sheffield branch was rejected, in favour of a rival scheme, the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 21 The Wakefield branch too was lost, but a line from Askern (north of Doncaster) to Methley (near Leeds) was authorised to the Great Northern's ally, the Manchester and Leeds Railway.Grinling, page 61
East Lincolnshire Railway The East Lincolnshire Railway was authorised on the same day as the Great Northern Railway in 1846. It was to be an independent railway from Boston to Grimsby via Louth. The directors of the GNR immediately arranged to lease the ELR; in doing so they secured nearly all of Lincolnshire into their control. "Somewhat improvidently" the ELR proprietors were guaranteed a permanent 6% lease rental.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 23 The lease of an unbuilt railway was feasible, because the lease payment was to be 6% of the paid-up capital, which was minimal at first. The promoters of the East Lincolnshire Railway had intended that their Boston terminus should be on the Haven bank at the end of Pulvertoft Lane but, under pressure from Boston Town Council during the passage of their bill through Parliament, they decided to use the GNR's station in the town.Neil R Wright, The Railways of Boston: Their Origins and Development, Richard Kay Publications, Boston, 1971, , page 17
Having taken control, the GNR now managed the construction of the East Lincolnshire Line. The East Lincolnshire Railway Company remained in existence, handling the lease charge and dividend payments, but now took a back seat. It was still in existence at the grouping of the railways in 1923 following the Railways Act 1921.David Wragg, LNER Handbook: the London & North Eastern Railway 1923 – 1947, Haynes Publishing, Yeovil, 2011, , page 12
Taking stock The board were elated to have secured authorisation of their line, and reviewed what should be done in the light of the loss of the Sheffield branch. The GNR's authorised line was from London to York, dividing into two routes between Peterborough and Bawtry: a direct line through Grantham, Newark and Retford, (which soon became known as the "Towns Line",) and a roundabout route via Spalding, Boston and Lincoln (which was called the "Loop Line"). They converged at Bawtry because the intended GNR Sheffield branch was to connect there, but that had been cut out of the authorisation, and the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway was authorised to make a similar line.
The board decided that the Loop Line should join the Towns Line further north, at Rossington, a few miles south of Doncaster. In 1847 a parliamentary bill was submitted to authorise the necessary line from Gainsborough to Rossington,Wrottesley, volume 1, page 25 but it was rejected in Parliament.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 27
Construction and first openings Faced with 319 miles of railwayLondon to York 186 miles; Loop Line 86 miles; East Lincolnshire Line 47 miles. to construct, the board decided to prioritise on construction of the Loop Line and the East Lincolnshire Line, as they presented easier technical challenges.
In fact the first part of the network to open was on the East Lincolnshire Line, from Louth to Grimsby; it opened on 1 March 1848. On the same day the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway opened its line from Brigg and New Holland to Grimsby. New Holland gave access by ferry to Kingston upon Hull. The Great Northern Railway worked the trains on the East Lincolnshire Line, and it was agreed with the MS&LR that each company's trains would operate throughout between New Holland and Louth. The East Lincolnshire Railway had originally planned a separate station, but it had been agreed that the GNR would use the MS&LR station.
This opening was followed by the section from Louth to FirsbyWrottesley says that Firsby was spelt Firstby at the time, but it is impossible to corroborate that. Ludlam repeats it, but that is merely derivative. Allen, writing a geographical history in 1834, consistently used Firsby, and it seems likely that the variant spelling is a transcription error by Wrottesley. on 3 September 1848. The final stage was opened on 2 October 1848Date from Wrottesley. Grinling and Ludlam say 1 October, but that was a Sunday. from Firsby to a temporary station at Boston.A J Ludlam, The East Lincolnshire Railway, Oakwood Press, Headington, 1991, , page 6Wrottesley, volume 1, pages 33 and 34Grinling, page 79Thomas Allen, The History of the County of Lincoln from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, published by John Saunders Junior, London, 1834, volume II, page 147
The East Lincolnshire Line was complete.
Construction of the Loop Line to Lincoln So far as the GNR's own network was concerned, the directors had decided to concentrate on construction of the Loop Line, as that was technically simpler than other areas. A large section of the GNR Loop Line was soon ready, and 58 miles from Walton Junction (near Peterborough) to Lincoln via Boston opened on 17 October 1848. GNR trains reached Peterborough over the Midland Railway's line, and passengers and goods could reach London from Peterborough over the Eastern Counties Railway or the London and North Western Railway.Grinling, pages 79 and 80 The GNR Lincolnshire Loop was alongside the Midland Railway at the present-day Werrington Junction. It is likely the temporary connection was made there. There was no community named Werrington at the time, and Walton was the nearest identifiable settlement. The GNR provided a temporary engine shed at "Walton" so evidently the Midland Railway hauled the GNR trains to and from Peterborough,Wrottesley, page 37
Near the Grand Sluice at Boston, the East Lincolnshire Line and the Loop Line converged, and passed awkwardly as a single line between Witham Town and the River Witham.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 34 The GNR obtained the Great Northern Railway Amendment Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c. lxxxiv) on 1 August 1849, for a deviation at Boston by-passing the single line section, and enlargement of the stations at Boston and Lincoln. The Boston deviation, consisting of 52 chains of double track including 13 chains on the East Lincolnshire Line was commissioned on Sunday 11 May 1850, making the Loop and East Lincolnshire Line double throughout.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 37
For a while the steam packets on the River Witham continued to operate between Boston and Lincoln, and the railway introduced a fourth class at a very low fare of a halfpenny a mile. The steam packets did not give up the fight until 1861.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 51
Lincoln northwards
The original intention had been to build from Lincoln to Bawtry, via Gainsborough. At Bawtry the Loop Line was to join the Towns Line, and there would also be a branch from Bawtry to Sheffield. However the Sheffield branch had been thrown out by Parliament in 1846. The Board had considered what to do and they decided that it would be better if the Loop Line continued from Gainsborough to join the Towns Line further north, at Rossington, a few miles south of Doncaster.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 31 This required a fresh act of Parliament, but this too was thrown out in 1847, and again the following year. With construction progressing, it was becoming urgent to find a way of connecting the north end of the Loop Line. The MS&LR had powers to build a line that would shorten the route between Lincoln and Retford. This had been authorised in the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Extension Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxix), which was then amalgamated with others to form the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. The GNR asked the MS&LR to commence construction of this line. Although the MS&LR had shelved the project, it proved very co-operative and ordered its construction. The line was 8 miles long, and became known as the "Leverton Branch".
Meanwhile the Lincoln to Gainsborough section of the Loop Line was ready. Captain Wynne of the Board of Trade inspected the line on 29 March 1849, but refused permission to open until signals were provided at the swing bridge at Brayford Mere (Lincoln). They were duly provided, and the line was opened on 9 April 1849. The route made a junction with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Gainsborough; GNR trains reversed at the junction and used the MS&LR station at Gainsborough. At this stage the MS&LR line did not yet cross the River Trent; the two routes converged and ended together at the river bank.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 41 From 17 July 1849 the MS&LR crossed the Trent and ran through to Sheffield via Retford and Worksop.Wrottesley, volume 1, page 42
Reaching Retford, Sheffield and Doncaster