Fotherby Halt railway station

Fotherby Halt
Station site in 2007.
General information
LocationFotherby, East Lindsey
England
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyEast Lincolnshire Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Northern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Key dates
February 1853Opened as Fotherby Gate House
28 June 1872Closed
11 December 1905Reopened and renamed
11 September 1961Closed
December 1980Closure of line

Fotherby Halt was a railway halt on the East Lincolnshire Railway[1] which served the village of Fotherby in Lincolnshire between 1905 and 1961. The station was opened on the site of a previous station named Fotherby Gate House which had closed in 1872. The second station closed in 1961, but the line through it remained open for freight until December 1980. The line through the station could be reopened by the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway as part of its extension south from Ludborough to Louth.

History

The station was opened in February 1853 as Fotherby Gate House,[2] some five years after the East Lincolnshire Railway between Grimsby and Louth had opened on 1 March 1848.[3] The origins of the station's name lay in the gatehouse constructed in 1847 by contractor John Waring and Sons of Rotherham to control the crossing over Peppin Lane near Fotherby, to the south of which the station lay.[4] It was served by a twice-weekly passenger service restricted to market days.[5][6] This reduced its patronage to such an extent that it was closed on 28 June 1872,[2][7] but remained in public timetables until October 1872.[8]

The station was reopened on 11 December 1905 as Fotherby Halt[2] to coincide with the introduction of a motor train service by the Great Northern Railway.[6] It consisted of two low parallel halt platforms to the south of the level crossing; a crossing box (the block section being Ludborough-Louth North) was sited at the northern end of the up platform next to the crossing and opposite Fotherby gatehouse which served as the crossing keeper's cottage.[9][10] Passenger services called at the station upon request only.[11] The station closed on 11 September 1961,[8] the same day as Utterby Halt.[12]

Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Ludborough   Lincolnshire Wolds Railway
(Future Extension) 		  Louth North
Disused railways
Utterby Halt
Line and station closed 		  Great Northern Railway
East Lincolnshire Line 		  Louth
Line and station closed

Present day

Former Fotherby gate box, now at the East Anglian Railway Museum.

The halt was demolished by British Rail long before final closure of the line in December 1980 and little remains of it today.[13][14] The crossing keeper's cottage survives in good condition as a private residence, but the original windows have given way to upvc replacements.[7] The rails remain embedded in the tarmac over Peppin Lane and an old signal stands over the trackbed to the south towards Louth.[7] The gate box was moved to Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in 1985 as part of the East Anglian Railway Museum.[10]

On 28 September 1991, the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway obtained a Light Railway Order authorising the reinstatement of the East Lincolnshire Railway between Waltham and the former Keddington Road level crossing near Louth, which would include the line through Fotherby.[15]

References

  1. ^ Conolly 2004, p. 17, section A3.
  2. ^ a b c Butt 1995, p. 99.
  3. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 16.
  4. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 12-14.
  5. ^ Clinker 1978, p. 162, note 1362.
  6. ^ a b Ludlam 1991, p. 93.
  7. ^ a b c "Photo Gallery Group 39". Railway Ramblers. February 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  8. ^ a b Clinker 1978, p. 49.
  9. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 85.
  10. ^ a b "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
  11. ^ Ludlam 1991, pp. 111–112.
  12. ^ Butt 1995, p. 238.
  13. ^ Stennett 2007, p. 40.
  14. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 150.
  15. ^ "The Grimsby and Louth Light Railway Order 1991 (S.I. 1991 No. 2210)". Office of Public Sector Information. 28 September 1991. Retrieved 14 September 2010.

Sources

53°24′17″N 0°00′56″W / 53.4048°N 0.0156°W / 53.4048; -0.0156