Sleaford railway station
Encyclopedia
Sleaford railway station is one of two stations serving the town of Sleaford
in Lincolnshire
, England
; the other station being Rauceby railway station
. The station is 21.25 miles (34 km) south of Lincoln Central
.
Sleaford is the last remaining market town in Lincolnshire to be served by both north-south and east-west lines.
on the Great Northern Railway
main line on 16 June 1857 and on to Boston
on 13 April 1859. This railway became part of the GNR in 1864.
This was followed by the GNR line from Bourne
which opened on 2 January 1872.
Next came the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
which opened from Spalding
through Sleaford to Ruskington
on 6 March 1882, and from there to Lincoln on 1 August of the same year.
Finally the branch line to RAF Cranwell
, then known as HMS Daedalus, opened in 1917.
Passenger services on the Bourne branch ceased on 22 September 1930, although the line remained open between Billingborough
and Bourne
for goods until 1964. The Cranwell branch closed in 1956.
The Grantham
to Boston
and Spalding
to Lincoln lines remain open.
It is still one of only a few places still to have signal boxes named 'North','South','West' & 'East' around the area. With the North and South boxes on the Peterborough to Lincoln line, and then the West and East boxes are at each end of the station on the Grantham to Boston line. So if travelling from Lincoln to Peterborough on the train you would pass all 4 boxes.
Sleaford
Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; the other station being Rauceby railway station
Rauceby railway station
Rauceby railway station can be found near the Town of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, lying close to the western border of the Parish of Old Sleaford and Quarrington just over half-a-mile south of the village of South Rauceby. Sleaford is the only town in Lincolnshire whose main railway station is...
. The station is 21.25 miles (34 km) south of Lincoln Central
Lincoln Central railway station
Lincoln Central railway station serves the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. The station is operated by East Midlands Trains, who provide services along with Northern Rail and East Coast....
.
Sleaford is the last remaining market town in Lincolnshire to be served by both north-south and east-west lines.
Services
As of December 2010 there is an approximately hourly service to via and .Overview
The first railway in Sleaford was the Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway which opened from Barkston Junction, north of GranthamGrantham railway station
Grantham railway station serves the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England and lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross.-Description:Junctions near the town also connect to branches to Nottingham, and to Sleaford and Skegness...
on the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
main line on 16 June 1857 and on to Boston
Boston railway station
Boston railway station serves the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Services are operated by East Midlands Trains.-History:The station has declined in importance since the 1960s. In its heyday the station employed over 50 staff and had two through tracks and cover over the platform tracks...
on 13 April 1859. This railway became part of the GNR in 1864.
This was followed by the GNR line from Bourne
Bourne railway station
Bourne was a railway station serving the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire which opened in 1860 and closed to passengers in 1959.-History:The station was on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway main line between the Midlands and the Norfolk Coast. it was finally closed in 1959 when the M&GN...
which opened on 2 January 1872.
Next came the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway was a joint railway owned by the Great Northern Railway and its rival, the Great Eastern Railway. It was established in the early 1880s, and the joint company built a new, primarily freight, route between Cambridge and Doncaster, a distance of...
which opened from Spalding
Spalding railway station
Spalding railway station serves the town of Spalding in Lincolnshire, England.Spalding is on the branch line to Lincoln operated by a roughly hourly service in both directions usually by Class 153 single car units...
through Sleaford to Ruskington
Ruskington railway station
Ruskington railway station serves the village of Ruskington in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1882 as part of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway between Sleaford and Lincoln. It closed in 1961 but was reopened in 1975.-External links:...
on 6 March 1882, and from there to Lincoln on 1 August of the same year.
Finally the branch line to RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
, then known as HMS Daedalus, opened in 1917.
Passenger services on the Bourne branch ceased on 22 September 1930, although the line remained open between Billingborough
Billingboro and Horbling railway station
Billingborough and Horbling railway station was a station serving the villages of Billingborough, Horbling and Threekingham, Lincolnshire on the Great Northern Railway Bourne and Sleaford railway. It opened in 1872 and closed to passengers in 1930. The section from Bourne to Billingborough remained...
and Bourne
Bourne railway station
Bourne was a railway station serving the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire which opened in 1860 and closed to passengers in 1959.-History:The station was on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway main line between the Midlands and the Norfolk Coast. it was finally closed in 1959 when the M&GN...
for goods until 1964. The Cranwell branch closed in 1956.
The Grantham
Grantham railway station
Grantham railway station serves the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England and lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross.-Description:Junctions near the town also connect to branches to Nottingham, and to Sleaford and Skegness...
to Boston
Boston railway station
Boston railway station serves the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Services are operated by East Midlands Trains.-History:The station has declined in importance since the 1960s. In its heyday the station employed over 50 staff and had two through tracks and cover over the platform tracks...
and Spalding
Spalding railway station
Spalding railway station serves the town of Spalding in Lincolnshire, England.Spalding is on the branch line to Lincoln operated by a roughly hourly service in both directions usually by Class 153 single car units...
to Lincoln lines remain open.
It is still one of only a few places still to have signal boxes named 'North','South','West' & 'East' around the area. With the North and South boxes on the Peterborough to Lincoln line, and then the West and East boxes are at each end of the station on the Grantham to Boston line. So if travelling from Lincoln to Peterborough on the train you would pass all 4 boxes.
Sample train timetable for July 1922
The table below shows the train departures from Sleaford on weekdays in July 1922.| Departure | Going to | Calling at | Arrival | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07.00 | Boston | Heckington, Swineshead, Hubbert's Bridge | 07.32 | GNR |
| 08.16 | Lincoln | Ruskington, Digby, Scopwick & Timberland, Blankney & Metheringham, Nocton & Dunston, Potterhanworth, Branston & Heighington | 09.05 | GN&GE |
| 08.16 | March | Helpringham, Donington Road, Gosberton, Pinckbeck, Spalding, Cowbit, Postland, French Drove, Murrow, Guyhirne | 09.38 | GN&GE |
| 08.17 | Grantham | Rauceby, Ancaster, Barkston | 08.45 | GNR |
| 08.20 | Bourne | Aswarby & Scredington, Billingborough & Horbling, Rippingale, Morton Road | 09.00 | GNR |
| 09.50 | Grantham | Rauceby, Ancaster, Honington | 10.20 | GNR |
| 10.02 | Boston | Heckington, Swineshead, Hubbert's Bridge | 10.33 | GNR |
| 10.05 | Bourne | Aswarby & Scredington, Billingborough & Horbling, Rippingale, Morton Road | 10.41 | GNR |
| 10.48 | March | Helpringham, Donington Road, Gosberton, Pinckbeck, Spalding, Cowbit, Postland, French Drove, Murrow, Guyhirne | 12.12 | GN&GE |
| 11.01 | Skegness / Mablethorpe | Boston, Firsby: Part to Skegness. Part to Willoughby, Sutton-on-Sea, Mablethorpe | 12.08 / 12.20 | GNR |
| 11.34 | Boston | Heckington, Swineshead, Hubbert's Bridge | 12.07 | GNR |
| 11.34 | Grantham | Rauceby, Ancaster, Barkston, Honington | 12.05 | GNR |
| 11.37 | Doncaster | Ruskington, Digby, Scopwick & Timberland, Blankney & Metheringham, Nocton & Dunston, Potterhanworth, Branston & Heighington, Lincoln, Saxilby, Stow Park, Lea, Gainsborough, Beckingham, Walkeringham, Misterton, Haxey & Epworth, Park Drain, Finningley | 09.05 | GN&GE |
| 12.43 | Lowestoft | Spalding, March, Shippea Hill, Brandon, Thetford, Attleborough, Wymondham, Norwich, Oulton Broad | 16.10 | GN&GE |
| 13.48 | Bourne | Aswarby & Scredington, Billingborough & Horbling, Rippingale, Morton Road | 14.24 | GNR |
| 13.48 | Grantham | Rauceby, Ancaster, Honington | 14.21 | GNR |
| 13.49 | March | Helpringham, Donington Road, Gosberton, Pinckbeck, Spalding, Cowbit, Postland, French Drove, Murrow, Guyhirne | 15.23 | GN&GE |
| 14.00 | York | Lincoln, Gainsborough, Doncaster, Selby | 16.33 | GN&GE |
| 16.19 | Boston | Heckington, Swineshead, Hubbert's Bridge | 16.51 | GNR |
| 16.25 | Bourne | Aswarby & Scredington, Billingborough & Horbling, Rippingale, Morton Road | 17.00 | GNR |
| 16.48 | Lincoln | Ruskington, Digby, Scopwick & Timberland, Blankney & Metheringham, Nocton & Dunston, Potterhanworth, Branston & Heighington | 17.37 | GN&GE |
| 17.00 | March | Helpringham, Donington Road, Gosberton, Pinckbeck, Spalding, Cowbit, Postland, French Drove, Murrow, Guyhirne | 18.27 | GN&GE |
| 17.55 | Nottingham Victoria | 18.46 | GNR | |
| 18.51 | Grantham | Rauceby, Ancaster, Honington, Barkston | 19.28 | GNR |
| 18.58 | March | Helpringham, Donington Road, Gosberton, Pinckbeck, Spalding, Cowbit, Postland, French Drove, Murrow, Guyhirne | 20.20 | GN&GE |
| 19.22 | Boston | Heckington, Swineshead, Hubbert's Bridge | 19.55 | GNR |
| 19.46 | Doncaster | Blankney & Metheringham, Lincoln, Gainsborough | 21.22 | GN&GE |
| 21.54 | Doncaster | Ruskington, Digby, Blankney & Metheringham, Nocton & Dunston, Potterhanworth, Branston & Heighington, Lincoln, Saxilby, Gainsborough, Misterton | 23.45 | GN&GE |
| 22.04 | Grantham | 22.27 | GNR |