The Lincolnshire loop line was a railway built by the Great Northern Railway, that linked

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

to Gainsborough via Spalding,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and Lincoln. It ran through the counties of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

(then the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

, now

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

)

History

The Lincolnshire loop line was authorised on 26 June 1846 as part of the London and York Railway bill. 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. 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 to which closed to passengers and goods on 17 June 1963. Followed by the section from Boston to Spalding and finally from Lincoln to Woodhall Junction as well as to Firsby and Horncastle.

Route

The line from to was known as the Witham loop because it followed the course of the River Witham, passing through , , , , , , , and . The line from to passed through three intermediate stations, , , and ; much of this section is now under the

A16 road This is a list of road designation, roads designated A16 (disambiguation), A16. Roads entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order. * Grand Junction Road, in South Australia connecting Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills * A16 motorway ...

. The final section to also had three intermediate stations, , , and . This section is the only part of the line that remains in operation, although most of the stations have long been closed and disused. Six stations, Gainsborough Lea Road, Saxilby, Lincoln, Boston, Spalding and Peterborough North remain open, and are still part of the national network.

List of railway stations

* Gainsborough – line and station open. ** Lea (opened 1 August 1849) – line open; station closed. ** Stow Park – line open; station closed. * Saxilby – line and station open. **

Skellingthorpe Skellingthorpe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 census was 3,465. It is situated west of Lincoln, England, Lincoln, southeast of Saxilby, north ...

(opened 1 January 1865) - line open; station closed. *

Lincoln Central Lincoln Central may refer to: * Lincoln railway station in England, formerly named Lincoln Central * Lincoln/1st Avenue and Lincoln/Central Avenue stations, in Phoenix, Arizona {{Disambiguation ...

– line and station open. ** Washingborough – closed and disused. ** Five Mile House – closed and disused. **

Bardney Bardney is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,643 at the 2001 census increasing to 1,848 (including Southrey) at the 2011 census. The village sits on the e ...

– closed and disused. ** Southrey – closed and disused. ** Stixwould – closed and disused. ** Woodhall Junction – closed and disused. ** Tattershall – closed and disused. ** Dogdyke (opened September 1849) – closed and disused. ** Langrick – closed and disused. *

(opened 2 October 1848) – line and station open. ** Kirton (opened 3 April 1849) – line and station site lost under bypass. ** Algarkirk and Sutterton – line lost under bypass, former station building still stands near A16/A17 Sutterton roundabout. ** Surfleet (opened 3 April 1849) – line and station site lost under bypass. * Spalding – line and station open. ** Littleworth – line open; station site closed. ** St. James Deeping (opened 1 August 1849) – line open; station site closed. ** Peakirk – line open; station site closed. *

(opened 7 August 1850) – line and station open. The stations between Lincoln (inclusive) and Peterborough mostly opened on 17 October 1848, and those between Gainsborough (inclusive) and Lincoln mostly opened on 9 April 1849, except where otherwise shown. Boston was opened before the other stations, since it was already in use as the southern terminus of the

East Lincolnshire Railway The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, Alford, Lincolnshire, Alford, Louth, Lincolnshire, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848. The ELR ''Company'' had l ...

, opened in stages between 1 March and 2 October 1848. At Peterborough, the GNR initially used the

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on the first at the London end. Co ...

's station, latterly known as , which was reached via a connection near to the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

, whose line between Stamford and Peterborough was opened on 2 October 1846. The GNR's own Peterborough station opened with the main line between Werrington Junction and London in August 1850.

Present day

The line from Lincoln to Woodhall Junction now forms part of

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal, Kent, Deal , Sandwich, Kent, Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, RCR 16, Kent, Regional route 16, and RCR 17, Kent, Regional r ...

, and is known as ''Water Rail Way''. From Woodhall Junction to Boston, the entire line is private and has no permissive paths or access. From Boston to Spalding, the line is occupied by the A16. At Spalding, the line is still open to Peterborough.

References

{{coord, 53.1424, N, 0.2419, W, source:wikidata, display=title Rail transport in Lincolnshire Closed railway lines in the East of England Railway lines opened in 1848 Railway lines closed in 1963