RELICS OF A ‘LIVING MUSEUM’ CLOSED 50 YEARS AGO

Before the Second World War, East Lincolnshire had a rich extensive railway network that was well used. Every town and village was reasonably close to a station and freight such as vegetables, fruit, livestock, potatoes, fish, coal and timber could be seen all the time. Indeed, the freight on several lines was probably more profitable than passenger traffic.

Even though some lines struggled, they all survived to some satisfactory degree, partly due to the alternative poor road network, especially once the rural areas in the east of the county were reached – much like the situation today.

In the 1930s, freight was important because local passenger usage was occasional and inconsistent. However, the excursion traffic to Skegness, Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes was truly remarkable. August bank holiday in 1930 saw 40 excursion trains to Skegness, while in 1936 Mablethorpe had 166,000 visitors and on August bank holiday had 19 excursion trains. Handling this number of people and storing the carriages was a logistical nightmare.

With the outbreak of war in 1939, it all changed. The flat parts of the county saw airfield construction on what was the front line of Britain’s defence against Nazi Germany and stations at Coningsby, Tattershall, Doningtonon-Bain, Spilsby, Louth and Bardney all had