Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway

The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as "the Joint Line"''Joint Line Joy'', in the Railway Magazine, June 2015 was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern counties of England. It was owned jointly by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER). It was formed by transferring certain route sections from the parent companies, and by the construction of a new route between Spalding and Lincoln, and a number of short spurs and connections. It was controlled by a Joint Committee, and the owning companies operated their own trains with their own rolling stock. The Joint Line amounted to nearly of route.

The motivation for its formation was chiefly the desire of the GER to get direct access to the coalfields of South Yorkshire and elsewhere, and the wish of the GNR to discourage more ambitious incursion by the GER into its own territory, as well as the provision of relief to its congested main line. The dominant traffic was coal, but a wide variety of manufactured and agricultural products was carried. There was some local passenger business, and some long-distance passenger trains used the route.

The route became a trunk artery for freight traffic, especially coal, and a large marshalling complex developed at Whitemoor, near March, for the sorting of wagons. In the 1920s a modern mechanised system was installed at Whitemoor, the most advanced such installation in Great Britain at the time.

Running largely through flat terrain, the line had numerous level crossings, especially in the southern section, and as wagon-load freight movements of coal declined after about 1960, the cost of operating the line became excessive compared to the use made of it. In 1982 the section from Spalding to Whitemoor was closed, trains being diverted via the Spalding to Peterborough line; in addition many intermediate stations on the remaining route section were closed. The nomenclature "the Joint Line" was transferred to mean the route via Peterborough.

In the 21st century congestion on the East Coast Main Line had again become a problem, and resignalling, loading gauge enhancements, and partial upgrade of the remaining route took place, to enable container freight trains from Felixstowe and elsewhere to use the line; the project was commissioned in 2015. Most of the line remains in use for that traffic and a local passenger service.

Early railways

In the 1830s the imagination of railway promoters led to proposed schemes to link the major centres of Great Britain. In 1834 a "Grand Northern and Eastern Railway" was proposed, and in 1835 a "Great Northern Railway" (nothing to do with the later Great Northern Railway of the 1850s) was projected. Both of these schemes were for a line from London to York through Cambridge. Many of the early schemes failed, and none was built north of Cambridge for many years.

In 1847, the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) opened its line from Ely to March and Peterborough. The ECR chairman was George Hudson, often referred to as ''the Railway King''. Hudson was determined that the group of railways he controlled would dominate the scene. His dubious methods were later exposed and he was disgraced, but in the meantime he sought to extend the ECR northwards, to get access to the huge flows of coal from South Yorkshire and elsewhere to London, and of merchandise. As well as the income from carrying a share of this traffic, the company would get better access to engine coal for their own business.

Great Northern Railway

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was authorised in 1846 to build a main line from London to York, with a loop line from Peterborough to Bawtry (a few miles south of Doncaster) by way of Boston and Lincoln.

In 1848 the GNR opened a line from near Peterborough through Spalding via Boston to Lincoln, and a section from Retford to Doncaster in 1849. The section from London to Peterborough was opened in 1850, and in 1852 Peterborough to Retford was opened, completing the main line from London to Doncaster, part of the present-day East Coast Main Line. An extension from Lincoln to Gainsborough was opened in 1849.

GNR trains arriving at Gainsborough joined the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and reversed into that railway's station (now ) there. The GNR wished to complete the loop from there to rejoin the main line at Doncaster and this was authorised in 1864, opening on 15 July 1867.

In 1863 a branch from Spalding to March was authorised; running powers over it were granted to the GER; it opened in 1867. March was an important junction on the GER system where traffic for much of East Anglia could be exchanged. The future Joint Line route was therefore in place between March and Spalding, and between Lincoln and Doncaster.

It was the GNR which provided the siding group at March that became the nucleus of the later Whitemoor Yard complex.Vic Mitchell, Keith Smith, Christopher Awdry and Alan Mott, ''Branch Lines Around March'', Middleton Press, Midhurst, 1993,

Great Eastern Railway

In 1862 the Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed by the amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway, the Eastern Union Railway, and other smaller concerns in East Anglia. The GER dominated the railway scene in its own area, but the sparse population density and the relatively undeveloped industrial activity limited the railway's commercial potential. Once again thoughts turned to the lucrative traffic in coal from South Yorkshire, and also in manufactures to and from London, and export traffic to the North Sea ports.

In 1863, therefore, the GER submitted a bill to build a line from March to Spalding, and to get running powers over the GNR's line from there to Doncaster. The GNR naturally wished to fend this off, and it deposited a bill to build a line from Spalding to March; the GNR line was the one passed by Parliament (21 July 1863, described above), and the GER scheme was turned down. The GER was given running powers over this line, but only as far as Spalding and not further over the GNR lines.

In frustration, the GER presented another bill in 1864, to build an independent line from Longstanton, on its Cambridge to St Ives line, via Peterborough, Bourne, Sleaford, Lincoln and Gainsborough to a junction with the West Riding and Grimsby Railway at Askern, north of Doncaster. Once again the GER scheme was turned down in Parliament.Gordon, D I, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 5: the Eastern Counties'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1977, , pages 216 to 218

Early discussion of collaboration

The GNR was developing friendly relations with the GER over lines in Norfolk; moreover it sensed that sooner or later one of the GER attempts in Parliament must be successful, so it offered the GER running powers for coal traffic from Gainsborough to Spalding. This was considerably less than the GER was seeking, and the GER therefore suggested to the GNR that the two companies should be joint owners of the GNR loop line between Spalding and Gainsborough, and also of the GNR lines then under construction between Spalding and March, and Gainsborough and Doncaster. At this time running powers were granted to the GER over the lines of the West Riding and Grimsby Railway (jointly owned by the GNR and the MS&LR), and the MS&LR agreed to exchange traffic with the GER at Lincoln.

The Great Eastern decided to build on the mood of constructive cooperation, and in 1864 suggested to the GNR a new and direct joint line from Spalding to Lincoln through Sleaford. The GNR saw that this would shorten the route of its loop line through Boston, and agreed, and a bill was prepared for the 1867 session of Parliament for the scheme. However the GER was in serious financial difficulty at this time, and a new Board was elected as a result of shareholder disquiet; "the new ERboard had to face the hard facts that the kitty was empty, and there was not the remotest chance of finding the money which their predecessors had so rashly undertaken to pay the GN".Wrottesley, volume 1, page 162 In fact the GER had to find £1.5 million urgently to put its existing system in good order. The ensuing years were marked by a return to the old hostilities, and for the time being, joint railways were off the agenda.

The GER revived the proposal in 1872, but the GNR made demands that were far too high for the GER to agree, and once again the scheme lapsed, until discussions were reopened in May 1876. This time the GNR proposed amalgamation, but the GER declined. In 1878 the GER was seriously considering the revival of the plan to build its own line through Sleaford and Lincoln to Askern. Just as the GER sought northward access to the coalfields, the GNR was "desperate for an alternative route to relieve the main line", and the GNR countered by depositing a fresh bill for a direct line from Spalding to Lincoln via Sleaford.

This time it made more friendly advances to the GER in suggesting that the Huntingdon to Ely line should be included in the proposed joint system. Although the GER turned the proposal down, and in fact tried its own bill in Parliament, the GNR scheme won the day. The GNR was obliged by the Act to give the GER the running powers it desired; the two companies were to return to Parliament in the next session with a joint scheme. Thus were the origins of the Joint Line created.Wrottesley, J, ‘’The Great Northern Railway: volume 2: Expansion & Completion’’ B T Batsford, London, 1979, , page 51 onwards

The Joint Line authorised

The two companies did return to Parliament, and on 3 July 1879 the Parliamentary bill authorising the Joint Line was passed. The GNR lines from Black Carr Junction (south of Doncaster) to Lincoln, and Spalding to March, and the GER lines from Huntingdon to St Ives, and from Needingworth Junction (near St Ives) to March, were to be transferred to Joint ownership. A new line was to be built from Spalding to Lincoln; and the junctions at Huntingdon and St Ives were to be improved. A Joint Committee was to be established to manage the line, and the GER was to pay the GNR £415,000, the difference in value of the respective lines becoming joint.Leleux, Robin, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 9: the East Midlands'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1976, Anglo-Scot, ''The Railways of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Committee'', in the Railway Magazine, June 1906

Five directors from each of the companies formed the Joint Committee; it first met on 11 August 1879. C. H. Parkes of the GER was in the chair.Wrottesley, volume 2, page 94 onwards The GN & GE Joint Railway was not a corporate body, and never had its own locomotives or rolling stock.Casserley, H C, ''Britain's Joint Lines'', Ian Allan, Shepperton, 1968, , pages 39 to 42''Illustrated Interviews: no. 27: Mr. John Crabtree, Manager of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway'', in the Railway Magazine, September 1899 Most of the track on the St Ives to March line and about of the St Ives to Huntingdon line needed to be renewed, and additionally the St Ives to Huntingdon line was to be doubled later. The March to Spalding line was to be resignalled.

The Joint Committee takes control

Part of the new Lincoln line, between Spalding and Ruskington, about , was opened on 6 March 1882. On the same day the GNR March to Spalding line and the GER Huntingdon to St Ives and Needingworth Junction to March lines were transferred to the Joint Committee. The new line bypassed the existing Sleaford station on the GNR's Grantham to Boston line, reflecting the primacy of mineral traffic, but spurs were constructed on both sides of Sleaford to enable passenger trains on the Joint Line to call there. The GER ran five passenger trains each way daily on the new section, and the GNR ran a daily goods train.

The section from Ruskington to Sincil Bank Junction, near Lincoln, was opened for goods traffic on 1 July 1882, and for passengers on 1 August 1882. This was in length; there was an avoiding line to pass Lincoln passenger station; it ran from Greetham Junction (just east of Sincil Bank Junction) to join the onward joint line at Pyewipe Junction. It opened for goods traffic on the same day; a spur turning back to Lincoln (from Boultham Junction to West Holmes Junction) enabled goods traffic to use the goods yard there without passing through the passenger station. Greetham Junction was the convergence of the new Joint Line with the GNR route from Boston, but to reduce congestion the 1879 Act authorised the construction of a duplicate line, from Washingborough Junction (as it became) to Greetwell East Junction; this enabled the GNR Boston line goods traffic to join the Joint Line and get access to the avoiding line. This line opened on 7 June 1883.Goode says 6 June (page 13).Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith, ''Eastern Main Lines: Lincoln to Doncaster featuring Gainsborough'', Middleton Press, Midhurst, 2017,

The next day the GNR transferred the Black Carr Junction to Pyewipe Junction line to the joint committee, and the GER paid over £383,760£31,330 had already been paid as a deposit, so that the agreed £415,000 had now been fully paid. for the value of the transferred railway. The GER wasted no time in diverting the southbound coal traffic over the route; up until that time it had received the traffic from the GNR at Peterborough.Wrottesley, pages 53, 95 and 96 The GNR diverted mineral traffic to the route, relieving the main line. The Lincoln avoiding line was a goods-only route at first but on 20 March 1883 the Board of Trade sanctioned its use for passenger trains if required. Lincoln passenger station improvements were carried out in 1883.

Further south a new connection was made at Huntingdon, where GNR mineral trains regained their own track. The old junctions there had long since fallen into disuse. The connection from the Joint Line faced south and converged with the GNR main line south of Huntingdon station: a new Joint station (independent of the GNR main line station) was built, to accommodate also the Midland Railway trains from Kettering. The station opened on 1 May 1883, and the GNR started an experimental passenger service from there to March, but it did not attract much business, and was withdrawn from 1 November 1883. On that day the GER had been running trains from its network to Godmanchester (still named "Huntingdon" until 1 July 1882) and on cessation of the GNR service extended its own trains to the Joint station at Huntingdon. The Midland Railway ran passenger trains over that part of the route to Cambridge. The GNR had been running goods trains to March but withdrew them also, now only running a limited goods service to St Ives.

Extent of Joint Committee control

The extent of the route directly controlled by the Joint Committee was from Black Carr Junction, south of Doncaster, to Huntingdon by way of the Lincoln avoiding line and St Ives (reverse); but there were discontinuities where the Joint Committee had running powers over other companies' lines:

* Crossing the River Trent at Gainsborough: South (or West Trent) Junction to North (or East Trent) Junction; (MS&LR, later Great Central Railway);
* Through Spalding station: Spalding North Junction to Spalding Joint Line Junction; (GNR);
* Passing Whitemoor and March station: Grassmoor Junction to March, St Ives Junction;That is, the junction near March where the southward line to St Ives left the southward line to Ely. (GER); the GNR yard at Whitemoor was to be transferred to the GER;
* Approaching and through St Ives station: Needingworth Junction to St Ives JunctionThat is, the junction at St Ives where the line from Huntingdon and the line from March converged. (GER).

Additional sections that were under Joint Committee control were:

* Boultham Junction to West Holmes Junction (Lincoln);
* Spur towards Sleaford GNR station: Sleaford North Junction to West Junction;
* Ramsey branch (from 1 January 1897).Wrottesley, John, ''The Great Northern Railway: volume 3: Twentieth Century to Grouping'', B T Batsford, London, 1981, , page 55

Supplementary issues

The GER provided additional siding accommodation at March (Whitemoor) and in November 1884 opened a north to west spur at March, making a triangle there, to enable trains from the Joint Line to reach Peterborough.

John Crabtree, formerly manager of the Colne Valley Railway, was appointed to be manager of the Joint Lines at a salary of £600 annually. Maintenance of the Joint Line south of the Sleaford–Boston line was to be the responsibility of the GER, and north of that line the task of the GNR. The GER had to pay tolls to pass the MS&LR bridge over the River Trent at Gainsborough, as the Joint Line was routed over the pre-existing MS&LR line there; an independent bridge had earlier been considered.

The Joint Line proved a huge advantage to the GER, which gained direct and indirect access to a large area of colliery working at a time when the demand for domestic, industrial and export coal was very considerable. By contrast the GNR suffered a loss of income, £81,000 in the first year, chiefly due to the loss of haulage of coal that was now in the hands of the GER. Anderson comments: "Ironically the Joint line actually hurt the GN. Its value as relief for the congested main line was less than expected, and the GE soon became established as a major competitor."Anderson, Paul, ''Railways of Lincolnshire'', Irwell Press, Oldham, 1992,

Ramsey

The Ramsey and Somersham Junction Railway had been opened in September 1889; Somersham Junction was on the Joint Line a short distance north of St Ives. It was a single line in length, with a terminus in Ramsey and an intermediate station at Warboys. It was worked from the outset by the GER. There was already a Ramsey branch from the west, joining the Huntingdon to Peterborough main line at Holme, and it had originally been under the control of the GER, although it only connected to the GNR at Holme, and it was alter leased to the GNR. The two branches had separate, unconnected stations at Ramsey. The GER had contemplated connecting them, as a means of getting a through connection to the GNR main line, but the Joint Line reduced the projected benefit of that scheme.Wrottesley, volume 2, page 25Rhodes, John, ''Branch Lines to Ramsey'', Oakwood press, Headington 1986,

In October 1895 the GN and GE decided to make the branch part of the Joint Line; the GER was to work it for 30% of receipts, the balance being divided between the two owners. An Act of 29 July 1896 authorised this and it became effective from 1 January 1897. The GNR ran only very occasional goods trains on the line.

St Ives

The route from March to Huntingdon involved a reversal at St Ives. The track layout at St Ives included three long sidings from the point of junction stretching towards Fenstanton. GNR goods trains reversing there must have used the sidings for the purpose. Reversal at St Ives for the GNR mineral trains from Yorkshire to London would have been inconvenient, and it appears that they generally used the Spalding to Peterborough line to join the main line instead. The St Ives route was chiefly used for access to March for general and local goods trains.Mitchell, Vic, Smith, Keith, Awdry, Christopher and Mott, Allan, ''Branch Lines Around Huntingdon'', Middleton Press, Midhurst, 1991, D I Gordon, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 5: the Eastern Counties'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1977,

GER alliances in the north

Although the Joint Line gave the GER access to Doncaster, the company was still anxious to get direct access to coal mines, and this led it to give considerable financial support to a proposed railway that became the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway. It was to run from both Manchester and Warrington, through Buxton

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