Willoughby railway station
Encyclopedia
Willoughby was a railway station on the East Lincolnshire Railway
which served the village of Willoughby
in Lincolnshire
between 1848 and 1970. In 1886, a second larger station replaced the first following the opening of a junction with the Mablethorpe Loop Line to and later . The Mablethorpe line closed in 1960 and withdrawal of goods facilities at Willoughby took place in 1966, followed by passenger services in 1970. Both lines through the station are now closed.
. It was constructed by Peto
and Betts
civil engineer
ing contractors
who, in January 1848, had taken over the contract to construct the section of the East Lincolnshire Railway
between and from John Waring and Sons. This section was the last to be completed in September 1848 at an agreed cost of £123,000 (£ as of ). Two facing platforms were constructed to the south of a level crossing
, adjacent to the stationmaster's house which provided the only passenger facilities. A goods yard to the south of the station was served by two sidings
: one passing through a brick-built engine shed
and a loading dock, while the other served an end dock.
On 28 July 1884, the Sutton and Willoughby Railway was authorised to construct a line to Willoughby from on the Lincolnshire coast
. Opening of the line from the coast on 23 September 1886 resulted in the construction of a new station at Willoughby in 1886-7. A new station would be built to the north of the level crossing in order to facilitate the construction of a junction between the East Lincolnshire Railway and the new line. To this end, land to the north of the crossing was purchased from the estate of Baron Willoughby de Eresby
. The Great Northern Railway, which had absorbed the East Lincolnshire Railway, requested that the Sutton and Willoughby Railway pay their share of the construction costs, which amounted to £3,966 (£ as of ). The new station opened on 4 October 1886 and the old one closed two days later, with the stationhouse being retained. The Great Northern was later to take over the Sutton and Willoughby Railway in 1902, which by that time had extended to to join the Louth and East Coast Railway, the latter being absorbed by the Great Northern in 1908.
The new station was provided with three platform faces: a bay platform
with a run-round loop for the Sutton line, a single platform for down services on the main line and an island platform
for up services. A canopy covered both the bay and up platform. The main station buildings, consisting of a parcels office, stationmaster's office, ticket office, general waiting room, ladies' waiting room, porters' room and toilets, were situated on the up platform and branch platform. Another ladies' waiting room was located on the down platform. Two signal box
es were brought into service: one controlling the junction and bay and one controlling the crossing and goods yard movements. The second box was located behind the down platform, near a footbridge over the main line and the level crossing. The goods yard remained in its original position, but was provided with a goods shed
and four sidings (two on either side of the line): one set was for coal traffic and the other for milk traffic sent out daily by the Clover Dairy factory. In 1937, milk was dispatched to in a van picked up by the 4.19 pm to passenger working.
Two important passenger services called at Willoughby - the to buffet
expresses
which called at 7.52 am and 9.50 am, with the return service passing through at 7.05 pm and 9.35 pm. On Summer Saturdays the branch service to Mablethorpe started from the main line platform instead of the bay owing to the large amount of parcels and luggage associated with holiday traffic. Willoughby station was well-kept and regularly received British Rail
's "Best Kept Station" awards. In 1969 towards the end of its life, the station won the "second class" award in the annual competition which prompted the local press to recite the saying "we, who are about to die, salute you." The line to Sutton and Mablethorpe closed on 3 December 1960. This was followed by the withdrawal of goods facilities at Willoughby on 2 May 1966 and final closure to passengers on 5 October 1970.
. Approximately one mile of the former Mablethorpe branch line from the station site at Willoughby has been converted into a nature reserve and footpath.
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 and was closed to passengers in 1970.-History:...
which served the village of Willoughby
Willoughby, Lincolnshire
Willoughby is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. It lies within the civil parish of Willoughby with Sloothby, and south of the town of Alford...
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...
between 1848 and 1970. In 1886, a second larger station replaced the first following the opening of a junction with the Mablethorpe Loop Line to and later . The Mablethorpe line closed in 1960 and withdrawal of goods facilities at Willoughby took place in 1966, followed by passenger services in 1970. Both lines through the station are now closed.
History
The station was opened on 3 September 1848 to serve the village of WilloughbyWilloughby, Lincolnshire
Willoughby is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. It lies within the civil parish of Willoughby with Sloothby, and south of the town of Alford...
. It was constructed by Peto
Samuel Morton Peto
Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet was an English entrepreneur and civil engineer in the 19th century. A partner in Grissell and Peto, he managed construction firms that built many major buildings and monuments in London...
and Betts
Edward Betts
Edward Ladd Betts was an English civil engineering contractor who was mainly involved in the building of railways.-Early life:...
civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
ing contractors
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
who, in January 1848, had taken over the contract to construct the section of the East Lincolnshire Railway
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 and was closed to passengers in 1970.-History:...
between and from John Waring and Sons. This section was the last to be completed in September 1848 at an agreed cost of £123,000 (£ as of ). Two facing platforms were constructed to the south of a level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
, adjacent to the stationmaster's house which provided the only passenger facilities. A goods yard to the south of the station was served by two sidings
Rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
: one passing through a brick-built engine shed
Engine shed
Engine shed may refer to:* Engine shed, also called a motive power depot or roundhouse, a structure used for the maintenance of railway locomotives.* Engine Shed , a music and entertainment venue on the University of Lincoln's campus....
and a loading dock, while the other served an end dock.
On 28 July 1884, the Sutton and Willoughby Railway was authorised to construct a line to Willoughby from on the Lincolnshire coast
Lincolnshire coast
The coast of Lincolnshire runs for more than down the North Sea coast of eastern England, from the estuary of the Humber to the marshlands of the Wash, where it meets Norfolk...
. Opening of the line from the coast on 23 September 1886 resulted in the construction of a new station at Willoughby in 1886-7. A new station would be built to the north of the level crossing in order to facilitate the construction of a junction between the East Lincolnshire Railway and the new line. To this end, land to the north of the crossing was purchased from the estate of Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster
Sir Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 6th Baronet, 1st Earl of Ancaster PC , known as 2nd Baron Aveland from 1867 to 1888 and as 25th Baron Willoughby de Eresby from 1888 to 1892, was a British Liberal politician and court official.Born Gilbert Henry Heathcote, he was the son of Gilbert...
. The Great Northern Railway, which had absorbed the East Lincolnshire Railway, requested that the Sutton and Willoughby Railway pay their share of the construction costs, which amounted to £3,966 (£ as of ). The new station opened on 4 October 1886 and the old one closed two days later, with the stationhouse being retained. The Great Northern was later to take over the Sutton and Willoughby Railway in 1902, which by that time had extended to to join the Louth and East Coast Railway, the latter being absorbed by the Great Northern in 1908.
The new station was provided with three platform faces: a bay platform
Bay platform
Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...
with a run-round loop for the Sutton line, a single platform for down services on the main line and an island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
for up services. A canopy covered both the bay and up platform. The main station buildings, consisting of a parcels office, stationmaster's office, ticket office, general waiting room, ladies' waiting room, porters' room and toilets, were situated on the up platform and branch platform. Another ladies' waiting room was located on the down platform. Two signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
es were brought into service: one controlling the junction and bay and one controlling the crossing and goods yard movements. The second box was located behind the down platform, near a footbridge over the main line and the level crossing. The goods yard remained in its original position, but was provided with a goods shed
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 alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
and four sidings (two on either side of the line): one set was for coal traffic and the other for milk traffic sent out daily by the Clover Dairy factory. In 1937, milk was dispatched to in a van picked up by the 4.19 pm to passenger working.
Two important passenger services called at Willoughby - the to buffet
Buffet car
A buffet car is a passenger car of a train, where snacks and beverages can be bought at a counter and consumed. Typically, passengers are not allowed to consume brought-along food and drinks in the car, and are therefore only able to eat in this area by buying their food in the car.- Further...
expresses
Express train
Express trains are a form of rail service. Express trains make only a small number of stops, instead of stopping at every single station...
which called at 7.52 am and 9.50 am, with the return service passing through at 7.05 pm and 9.35 pm. On Summer Saturdays the branch service to Mablethorpe started from the main line platform instead of the bay owing to the large amount of parcels and luggage associated with holiday traffic. Willoughby station was well-kept and regularly received British Rail
Eastern Region of British Railways
The Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
's "Best Kept Station" awards. In 1969 towards the end of its life, the station won the "second class" award in the annual competition which prompted the local press to recite the saying "we, who are about to die, salute you." The line to Sutton and Mablethorpe closed on 3 December 1960. This was followed by the withdrawal of goods facilities at Willoughby on 2 May 1966 and final closure to passengers on 5 October 1970.
Present day
The stationmaster's house from the original Willoughby station has survived, as have the brick goods shed and loading dock which are in industrial use. Very little remains of the second Willoughby station and the aid of a map is necessary to find it. The remains of the up main platform are visible from what is now a ploughed field; on the platform may be seen two concrete posts which supported the station running-in board. It is still possible to access the trackbed between the platforms and one gate from the level crossing survives on the south side of the line next to the stationmaster's house which is a private residence. The footbridge was dismantled and now spans a fishing pond at nearby Burgh Le MarshBurgh Le Marsh
Burgh-le-Marsh is a town to the west of Skegness in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The A158 used to run through from west to east but this was rerouted when a new bypass opened in late 2007. The village has a population of 2,016....
. Approximately one mile of the former Mablethorpe branch line from the station site at Willoughby has been converted into a nature reserve and footpath.