Ludborough is a heritage railway station in

Ludborough Ludborough is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north from Louth, and at the eastern end of the A18 road. Ludborough has a population of 191 people. The Prime Merid ...

Lincolnshire 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 ...

, England, which is the base of the

Lincolnshire Wolds Railway The Lincolnshire Wolds Railway (LWR) is a heritage railway based at Ludborough station, near Louth, Lincolnshire, England and the only standard gauge steam railway in Lincolnshire open to the public. The line is part of the original Great Nor ...

. The station, which was previously part of the

East Lincolnshire Railway The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848. The ELR ''Company'' had leased the line to the Great Northern Railway, and it was the latter whic ...

, closed in 1961 to passengers and 1964 to freight, but was taken over by the preservation society in 1984. The first trains from the station to , to the north, ran in August 2009, the first for 47 years. There are proposals to extend the line further in both directions towards and

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

History

The station was opened on 28 March 1848 and was originally named ''Ludborough for Fulstow'' although the ''for Fulstow'' was later dropped. Although its name is taken from the

village of

, the station is in fact situated halfway between that village and Fulstow. It was constructed by contractor John Waring and Sons of

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

who, in December 1846, had agreed to construct the line between and for the sum of £46,102 (). The architects of the station buildings were

John Grey Weightman John Grey Weightman (29 March 1809 – 9 December 1872) was a British architect based in Sheffield. Career He was born on 29 March 1809 in Bawtry, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Robert Weightman and Mary Gray. He trained in the offices of ...

and

Matthew Ellison Hadfield Matthew Ellison Hadfield (8 September 1812 – 9 March 1885) was an English architect of the Victorian Gothic revival. He is chiefly known for his work on Roman Catholic churches, including the cathedral churches of Salford and Sheffield. Trai ...

of Sheffield. Ludborough, some from

, was provided with staggered platforms either side of a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

; the up platform to the south of the crossing and the up to the north. A third lower platform was later added in connection with the

rail motor Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it. Steam railcars Overview In th ...

service introduced from 1905. Situated opposite the up platform, the rail motor platform is adjacent to a brick stationmaster's house which also comprised the booking office and passenger waiting room. The architectural style of the house and the station layout is similar to the stations at , and . A signal box on the up platform which contained a 20 lever frame controlled the crossing gates as well as access to the small

goods yard A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...

with two sidings on the opposite side. Ludborough had the most comprehensive goods facilities on the line between Louth and Grimsby, having cattle pens and a large brick

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

; one siding ran into a loading dock behind the down platform. The design of the shed is based on the warehouse built by the

Louth Navigation The Louth Navigation was a canalisation of the River Lud. It ran for from Louth in Lincolnshire, England, to Tetney Haven, at the mouth of the Humber. It was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1763 and completed in 1770, under the superv ...

at Austen Fen. The station closed to passengers on 11 September 1961, the same day as and to the south and and to the north. This made the only intermediate station open between Louth and Grimsby . It closed completely on 25 May 1964 when goods facilities were withdrawn.After the closure of the line to passengers in 1970, the down line was removed between Louth and Hainton Street leaving only the up line through Ludborough to remain open until December 1980.

Preservation and reopening

In 1978, the Grimsby-Louth Rail Group was formed with the aim of reintroducing a service between Grimsby and Louth. They were unsuccessful in saving the line intact. After BR ripped up the track and destroyed all the buildings the group decided to rename themselves the Grimsby-Louth Railway preservation society. The society focussed their efforts into restoring the two sole remaining signalboxes on the line: Hainton street in Grimsby and Louth North. Both these boxes were left behind by BR as they had gate wheels in them which made it easier to operate the crossing gates for the last few years. Both the boxes suffered severe vandalism. In 1984, the Society took a lease from British Rail of Ludborough station site which became its base. A new company was formed with the intention of buying the remains of the track bed as BR would not sell to a society at that time. The new company was called the Great Northern and East Lincolnshire railway company plc. On 28 September 1991, the company Great Northern and East Lincolnshire Railway co plc obtained a

Light Railway Order The Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c.48) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the Act each new railway line built in the country required a specific Act of Parliament to be ob ...

authorising the reinstatement of the East Lincolnshire Railway between and the former Keddington Road level crossing near Louth, which would include the line through Ludborough. The signal box at Hainton street was destroyed by fire in the early 1990s. The frame and the gate wheel were removed and placed into storage at Ludborough ready for re-use. The frame is now in use as Ludborough's frame. The wheel is also in Ludborough box but will never be used in this location. Louth North was restored by the society but suffered continual vandalism. The box is a grade II listed structure and has been converted into a house but still retains its signal box look. With the order in place, this allowed the company to acquire track, locos and rolling stock with the society supporting the company as much as it can. The company (now trading as the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway) have had to rebuild all of the station's facilities, including a replica Great Northern signal box in its original position, a two-road

locomotive shed The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine she ...

and a passenger waiting room which houses a museum and shop. In 1997 the level crossing was relaid and allowed access over the road for the railway to bring rolling stock that had been stored on the north side of the crossing. Between 2001 and 2004, the north (down) platform was developed with a toilet block, garden and

running in board A running in board is a large sign showing the name of the railway station on which it is found. The signs are intended to inform passengers of their location when on a train entering the station, possibly while still moving at speed. Some signs ...

. By this point, the track extended north for a distance of ¾ of a mile. A major step for the LWR came in 2004 when HMRI approved the signalling for use. This then enabled the railway to run trains in the dark for the first time at Hallow'een. Tracklaying reached North Thoresby in 2008 and the first train for 47 years between the two stations ran on 26 August 2009. The Lincolnshire Wolds Railway plans to extend the line in both directions to Louth via Utterby and Fotherby and via Grainsby to the former Holton-le-Clay station, recreating 8 miles between Holton Le Clay and Louth. The trackbed through to Waltham has been built over at Waltham and Holton Village halt and thus making it impossible to rebuild the railway to Waltham. The stationmaster's house has survived and is available as a holiday let. The goods shed also remains, but is in private ownership.

References

Sources

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External links

Ludborough on navigable O. S. map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludborough Railway Station Heritage railway stations in Lincolnshire Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Former Great Northern Railway stations John Grey Weightman railway stations Matthew Ellison Hadfield railway stations