Bourne was a railway station serving the town of
Bourne
Bourne may refer to:
Places UK
* Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town
** Bourne Abbey
** Bourne railway station
* Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex
* Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset
* Bourne ...
in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, which opened in 1860 and closed to passengers in 1959.
History
The station was on the
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...
main line between the Midlands and the
Norfolk Coast. It was finally closed in 1959 when the M&GN was closed. The line from
Spalding and also the
Sleaford
Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...
branch as far as
Billingborough
Billingborough is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north of Bourne and 10 miles south of Sleaford, and on the B1177 between Horbling and Pointon just south of ...
remained in use for goods until 1964. The remaining station buildings were demolished in 2005 to make way for new residential development.
The original station opened in 1860 as the terminus of the
Bourn and Essendine Railway, which provided connecting services to the Great Northern main line, and the local
Stamford and Essendine Railway
The Stamford and Essendine Railway was built to connect Stamford, Lincolnshire, in England, to the nearby Great Northern Railway. It was a short line, and it opened in 1856. It was not commercially successful, and the directors sought a means of co ...
. It was this company which took over the Red Hall rather than demolishing it. The line was operated by the GNR, and later owned by them. The line closed and was lifted in June 1951.
The next development was the opening of the
Bourne and Spalding Railway in 1866,
converting the site into a through station.
In 1870, the Great Northern exercised its powers to build the
Bourne and Sleaford Railway
The Bourne and Sleaford Railway was promoted as a branch of the Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), Great Northern Railway to fend off an expected incursion by the rival Great Eastern Railway. It was authorised by Parliament in 1865, but not ...
, opening in 1872. Although operated by the same company, this line was run separately from the Essendine line, and had its own goods yard.
This line closed to passengers in 1930 although a 'special' for the
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people:
...
ran in 1950.
The last line to open was the Saxby to Bourne line, which was part of the Midland & Great Northern project, which subsumed the Bourne & Spalding route. This connection opened in 1894 and was closed to passengers, along with the Spalding line, in 1959.
The original down platform remained outside the Red Hall, after conversion to a through layout, but was no longer used. A hedge was planted along the running line edge to prevent passengers approaching the line. From the Bourne & Spalding period, a single island platform was used by passengers, later reached by an iron lattice footbridge from the disused platform next to the Red Hall. The footbridge was a characteristic Midland Railway design, and is likely to have been provided when the M&GN arrived. All passenger trains used the two faces of the island platform.
[
With the site redeveloped in the 1970s as a light industrial estate, owned by ]Lincolnshire County Council
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, in 2014 Linden Homes started redevelopment of the site, into a residential development, which retains the original station building.
Summary of former services
Sample train timetable for July 1922
The table below shows the train departures from Bourne on weekdays in July 1922.
1873 accident
From the Grantham Journal
:The return excursion train which was due to leave London at ten minutes before twelve on Saturday night last arrived at Bourne between three and four o'clock on Sunday morning. When near the platform at Bourne station the engine came into violent collision with two empty carriages which were standing upon the line, driving them completely through two very strong gates at the South Street crossing, one of the gates being smashed to splinters, and the carriages considerably damaged. There were nine passengers (including two ladies) in the carriage attached to the engine and we have not heard of anyone sustaining greater injury than a severe shaking. One gentleman's hat was smashed to such an extent that he has put in a claim for a new one.
That would have the accident occurring on Sunday, 30 March 1873.
Mails
An interesting extract from the Stamford Mercury in 1860:
The day delivery of letters in Bourne, which previously took place shortly after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, now commences about 11.30 a m. The train, which heretofore was due at Bourne at 10.58 a m, is now timed so as to reach Bourne at 11.20. By this alteration, a letter posted in London early in the morning may be delivered at Bourne the same day about noon.
References
*
* An account of the building of the Bourne-Saxby line in 1890–1893.
External links
Bourne station on 1946 O. S. map
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120309111725/http://boar.org.uk/abiwxo3Bournedoc006.htm Opening timetable of the Bourne & Essendine Line
History of Red Hall. Interesting photos
{{Closed stations Lincolnshire
Disused railway stations in Lincolnshire
Former Great Northern Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1860
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1959
Bourne, Lincolnshire