Wikipedia

Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway

The Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway built in 1960 using equipment from the Nocton Potato Estate railway. It was originally located at Humberston, near Cleethorpes, and operated until 1985. The equipment was removed from storage and used to create a new railway at Skegness which opened on 3 May 2009.[citation needed]

Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway
Sheds of the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway in 1976
LocaleEngland
Coordinates53°10′44″N 0°19′59″E / 53.179°N 0.333°E / 53.179; 0.333
Commercial operations
Original gauge2 ft (610 mm)
Preserved operations
Preserved gauge2 ft (610 mm)
Commercial history
Opened27 August 1960
1966New alignment
Closed1985 (1985) (Abandoned)
Preservation history
2009Reopen at Skegness Water Park
HeadquartersHumberston

History

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The railway was built by a group of railway enthusiasts who wished to preserve the stock and atmosphere of the Lincolnshire area potato railways. The land for the railway was leased from Grimsby Rural District Council and opened on 27 August 1960 using a Motor Rail "Simplex" locomotive and a single open bogie carriage. In 1961, a second Motor Rail locomotive was added, and the railway's first steam locomotive Jurassic arrived. Additional equipment in the form of a passenger coach from the Sand Hutton Light Railway (closed to passengers in 1930) and two vehicles that had formerly run on the Ashover Light Railway were brought to the railway and restored, entering service in 1967 and 1962-3 respectively. Midweek carryings were adversely affected by the 1962 extension of Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport bus service to serve the Fitties holiday camp, but weekend and Bank Holiday traffic remained strong, and by 1964 the line was carrying 60,000 passengers a year.[1]

In 1966, the railway was rebuilt on a new alignment and extended. The line saw considerable success in the late 1960s, and another steam locomotive, Elin, arrived, although it was too heavy for the lightly laid track which limited axle loadings to approximately 2.5 tonnes. Trains operated push-pull for many years, but an accident resulted in the Railway Inspectorate requiring the installation of run-round loops, so that the locomotive would always be at the head of the train, and air brakes.[2]

The railway also became home to a number of ex-Great Northern Railway items including the somersault signals used to control movements at North Sea Lane station, railings, and other platform furniture from stations on the East Lincolnshire Railway many of whose minor stations were closed in 1963.[citation needed]

In the early 1980s, the railway carried heavy passenger traffic to and from a large car boot sale held at Humberston Fitties on Sundays. Traffic was so heavy that at times all three covered carriages were in use simultaneously. However, midweek traffic outside of the brief summer season had dwindled to almost nothing. Other issues arose that made it impractical to continue on the Humberston site. Firstly, the 1984 miners' strike considerably reduced the number of holiday makers using the Fitties holiday camp, further decreasing traffic on the line. Also, as a condition of renewing the lease on the site, the council insisted on the installation of 6-foot-high (1.8 m) fences on both sides of the railway, which would have created an unpleasant cage-like environment for passengers using the railway's low-slung coaches. In 1985, faced with a series of obstacles, the railway closed at the end of the summer season in September, and the track was lifted shortly afterwards.[citation needed]

The Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway Historic Vehicles Trust was formed in 1983 with the intention of restoring and preserving some of the ex-Nocton Great War era vehicles that were to be disposed of by the LCLR Company. Certain items, including a World War I Ambulance Van, were lent to the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley, until that ran into financial difficulties in the mid-1990s. The trusts' stock was moved to a private site until it was re-united with the rest of the railway at the Water Leisure Park.[citation needed]

After the line closed at the end of its 1985 season, Jurassic was still in ticket for a year, so it was taken to the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway to run in their gala, where it attracted much attention and reminded visitors that the LCLR was still in existence. After its return to Humberston, the track was lifted and all the rolling stock, rails and equipment went into storage on land adjacent to the site of the former Burgh-le-Marsh railway station (closed 1970). Eventually the LCLR was offered a new home in the early 1990s in the Skegness Water Leisure Park, then under development and was moved there, enabling volunteers to begin relaying the track. The line was reopened in 2009

Engine of the LCLR switching ends, in Skegness Water Leisure Park 2024

In 2014, a bid was made by the trust to re-build the open coach, converted in 1962 from one of the ex Nocton Class D wagons, into a disabled-friendly passenger vehicle. After winning a vote in the 'Peoples Millions' competition run by ITV, the Trust was awarded £43,400 to do the work, and the project was completed by the end of 2015. The 'D' class bogie wagon has been returned to its original appearance, apart from the addition of a safety rail above the sides and ends of the vehicle and the inclusion of a small door in one of the drop sides of the wagon for the loading and unloading of passengers and wheelchairs. Seating is provided in the form of boxes resembling World War I ammunition boxes secured around the sides of the vehicle. The platform at Wall's Lane (former Lakeview) station has been extended and upgraded to accommodate a two-coach train and provide disabled access to the trains. A water tank has been installed to cater for the return of Jurassic to traffic.[citation needed]

The Trust restored the Peckett Jurassic with a "Back to Steam" appeal, with the locomotive tested "in steam" (minus air brakes) in August 2017. It entered service, fully equipped with air brakes, in September 2017.[3][4]

Locomotives

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LCLR No Name Builder Type Date Works number Notes
2 Jurassic[5][6] Peckett & Sons 0-6-0ST 1903 1008 ex-Southam Limeworks railway
Elin[7][8] Hunslet 0-4-0ST 1899 705 ex-Penrhyn Quarry, went to Yaxham Light Railway now at the Richmond Light Railway
3 Ruston & Hornsby 4wDM 1933 168439 Scrapped in 1968
1 Paul[9] Motor Rail 4wDM 1926 3995 ex-Nocton Estate Light Railway
4 Wilton[10] Motor Rail 4wDM 1940 7481 ex-Humberston Brickworks
7 Nocton[11][12] Motor Rail 4wDM 1920 1935 ex-Nocton Estate Light Railway
5 Major[13] Motor Rail 4wDM 1944 8622
6 Major J.A. Robins R.E.[14] Motor Rail 4wDM 1944 8874
8[15] Motor Rail 4wDM 1947 9264 Ex-Skegness brickworks. Nicknamed Fred[16]
9 Sark[17] Motor Rail 4wDM 1943 8825 Ex Sinclair, Bolton Fell
n/a Peter W.G. Bagnall 0-4-0ST 1917 2067 ex-Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway. Briefly at the LCLR in 1965, before being moved to the Brockham Railway Museum.[18]

References

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  1. ^ From Potatoes to Passengers Narrow Gauge World issue 148 June 2020 pages 39-41
  2. ^ The Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway Passengers Railway World Vol 44 issue 519 July 1983 pages pages 355-358
  3. ^ "Welcome To Our Railway". The Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway. 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  4. ^ Bowler 2018, p. 25.
  5. ^ "Jurassic in Southam and LCLR days". Southam Heritage. 12 July 2016.
  6. ^ "No.2 Jurassic at the LCLR". Trip Advisor.
  7. ^ "Elin at the LCLR in 1974". Daves Rail Pics.
  8. ^ "Elin at Yaxham". My Train Space. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017.
  9. ^ "France to Skeggy (via Nocton) in 100 yrs". macla. 6 March 2011.
  10. ^ "Wilton at the LCLR". Trip Advisor.
  11. ^ "Nocton at the LCLR in 1969". Daves Rail Pics.
  12. ^ "Nocton at the modern LCLR". Trip Advisor.
  13. ^ "Major at the LCLR before 1985". Daves Rail Pics.
  14. ^ "No.6 at the LCLR". Daves Rail Pics.
  15. ^ "ex-Skegness Brickworks loco awaiting restoration in 2011". Bravehost.
  16. ^ "Loco has been withdrawn from East Coast Flood memorial events in Sutton-on-Sea". RailAdvent. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Sark (in red) at the LCLR". Trip Advisor.
  18. ^ Winding, Peter (December 1966). "Preserving the past: part two". The Railway Magazine. pp. 711–713.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Scott, Peter (2015). A History of the Cleethorpes Miniature Railway: The Story of the Seaside Miniature Railway, from Opening in 1948 to the Present Day Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, Including the Railways at Wonderland & Pleasure Island. Reading, Berkshire: P Scott. ISBN 978-1902368412. Minor Railway Histories No.7.
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