North Thoresby is a heritage railway station in North Thoresby,

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 ...

. 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 1970, but has since been reopened by 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 first services to the station from , to the south, ran in August 2009, the first in 47 years. The LWR aims to extend the line further in both directions, northwards as far as Holton-Le-Clay and southwards to

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 1 March 1848 to serve the

village of North Thoresby. 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. The station 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 down to the north. The stationmaster's house, similar to that at , was adjacent to the down platform and comprised the booking office and passenger waiting room. A signal box which contained 25 levers was situated on the north side of the level crossing and 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 a siding on each side of the line. The siding on the down side ran into a loading dock behind the down platform. Unlike Ludborough, the station had no goods shed. The goods yard closed on 30 December 1963, but the station remained open to passengers until 5 October 1970. In 1956–57, around a dozen passenger trains bound for Grimsby called at the station on weekdays, with the first two being local workings from Louth, save for a Mondays only service which called only to set down passengers. In the other direction, fewer services ran through to , but the up/down passenger workings balanced once services to Louth were taken into account. North Thoresby was the only intermediate station between Grimsby and Louth to remain open until October 1970.After 1970 the down line was removed and only the up line through the station remained. The line finally closed in December 1980.

Preservation and reopening

On 28 September 1991, 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 ...

was granted authorising the reinstatement of the East Lincolnshire Railway between and the former Keddington Road level crossing near

, which would include the line through North Thoresby. Tracklaying by the

reached North Thoresby in 2008 and the first train for 47 years between the two stations ran on 26 August 2009. The south (up) platform has been restored and a waiting shelter erected. The level crossing to the north has been tarmaced over, but the north crossing gate has survived. The stationmaster's house remains in private occupation. The LWR plans to extend the line northwards beyond North Thoresby to as far as Holton-Le-Clay, which will involve reinstating the adjacent level crossing at the station.

References

Sources

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External links

North Thoresby on navigable O. S. map

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Thoresby Railway Station Heritage railway stations in Lincolnshire Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1970 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Former Great Northern Railway stations Beeching closures in England John Grey Weightman railway stations Matthew Ellison Hadfield railway stations