Lincolnshire Loop Line

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Former station at Stixwould.
The trackbed here is part of the Water Rail Way
     Lincolnshire Loop Line
Locale Lincolnshire
Dates of operation 1848 – 1963
Predecessor Great Northern Railway
Successor London and North Eastern Railway
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Length 58 miles (93 km)
River Trent
Wharf
Sheffield to Lincoln Line
Gainsborough Lea Road
Lea
Stow Park
to Retford
Saxilby
Foss Dyke
Skellingthorpe
Chesterfield to Lincoln Line
Pyewipe Junction
Boultham & West Holmes Jns
Nottingham to Lincoln Line
Lincoln St. Marks
Lincoln Central
Sheffield & Lincs Jcn Rly
Sincil Junction
Lincoln to Grantham Line
Washingborough Junction
Peterborough to Lincoln Line
Washingborough
Five Mile House
River Witham
Louth to Bardney Line
Bardney
Southrey
Stixwould
Woodhall Junction
Horncastle Branch
Kirkstead and
Little Steeping Railway
Tattershall
Dogdyke
Langrick
East Lincolnshire Railway
Boston
Nottingham to Skegness Line
Docks
The Haven
Kirton
Algarkirk and Sutterton
Surfleet
GN and GE Joint Rly
Spalding
Midland and Great
Northern Joint Railway
Littleworth
St James Deeping
Peakirk
East Coast Main Line
GN and GE Joint Rly
Peterborough Crescent
Midland and Great
Northern Joint Railway
Peterborough North
East Coast Main Line

The Lincolnshire Loop Line was a 58-mile (93 km) double track railway built by the Great Northern Railway, that linked Peterborough to Lincoln via Spalding and Boston.

History

The Lincolnshire Loop Line was authorised on 26 June 1846 as part of the London and York Railway bill.[1] The then renamed Great Northern Railway purchased the Witham Navigation and all navigation rights the same year and began construction of the new line, partly beside the river, in 1847.[2] The line opened in 1848 and was for a short period the main route to the north and Scotland until the line from Peterborough to Retford was opened in August 1852. Closure came in sections: the first was Woodhall Junction to Boston which closed to passengers and goods on 17 June 1963.[3]

Route

The line from Lincoln to Boston was known as the Witham loop because it followed the course of the River Witham, passing through Washingborough, Five Mile House, Bardney, Southrey, Stixwould, Tattershall, Dogdyke, and Langrick. The line from Boston to Spalding passed through three intermediate stations, Kirton, Algarkirk and Sutterton, and Surfleet; much of this section is now under the A16 road. The final section to Peterborough also had three intermediate stations, Littleworth, St James Deeping, and Peakirk. This section is the only part of the line that remains in operation, although most of the stations have long been closed and disused.[3]

Six stations, Gainsborough Lea Road, Saxilby, Lincoln, Boston, Spalding and Peterborough North remain open, and are still part of the national network.[3]

List of railway stations

Water Rail Way

File:Geograph-3179876-by-Oliver-Dixon.jpg
There is a variety of art along the cycle route. Much is whimsical sculpture, but this mosaic commemorates a Bronze Age Craft site archaeologists discovered on the South Delph

The trackbed from Boston to Lincoln is now part of National Cycle Route 1, and is also known as Water Rail Way, a punning reference to the route and the bird.[4][5]

References

  1. The National Archives: Great Northern Railway Company: Records
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