What if the East Lincolnshire Line had reopened?

[Jorge Da Silva]

What if my local disused rail line had reopened between Grimsby and Louth, Mablethorpe and Boston? Who would have ran it (likely to be East Midlands Trains) and what stations would have reopened?

Using Wikipedia i was able to make a route diagram of what it may have looked like. What services would have operated, though? I assume:

• 1tph: Grimsby Town to Skegness calling at: Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, North Thoresby, Ludborough, Louth, Mablethorpe, Willoughby, Firsby and Skegness
• 1tph: Grimsby Town to Peterborough calling at: Waltham Holton-le-Clay, North Thoresby, Ludborough, Louth, Mablethorpe, Willoughby, Firsby, Boston, Sleaford, Grantham, and Peterborough

 

[gordonthemoron]

I would've thought Peterborough via Spalding would be a better idea

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

I would've thought Peterborough via Spalding would be a better idea

True.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Maybe:

• 1 train per hour between Grimsby Town and Skegness calling at all stations (reopened stations on the diagram) via Mablethorpe
• 1 train per hour between Cleethorpes and Peterborough calling at Louth, Mablethorpe, Firsby, Boston and Peterborough
• 1 train per hour between Grimsby Town and Peterborough calling at Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, Louth, Mablethorpe, Firsby, Boston, Spalding and Peterborough
• 4 trains per day between Cleethorpes and London Kings Cross calling at Boston, Louth and Cleethorpes
• 1 train per hour between Sleaford and Mablethorpe potentially extending in the peak hours to Cleethorpes via all stations

 

[backontrack]

Maybe:

• 1 train per hour between Grimsby Town and Skegness calling at all stations (reopened stations on the diagram) via Mablethorpe
• 1 train per hour between Cleethorpes and Peterborough calling at Louth, Mablethorpe, Firsby, Boston and Peterborough
• 1 train per hour between Grimsby Town and Peterborough calling at Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, Louth, Mablethorpe, Firsby, Boston, Spalding and Peterborough
• 4 trains per day between Cleethorpes and London Kings Cross calling at Boston, Louth and Cleethorpes
• 1 train per hour between Sleaford and Mablethorpe potentially extending in the peak hours to Cleethorpes via all stations

4tph seems pretty hopeful. I imagine it might have been 1tph Grimsby-Skegness (calling at all stations) and 1tph Grimsy-Peterborough (calling at Waltham, Louth, Mablethorpe, Firsby, Boston, Spalding, Pinchbeck and Peterborough), or something like that.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

4tph seems pretty hopeful. I imagine it might have been 1tph Grimsby-Skegness (calling at all stations) and 1tph Grimsy-Peterborough (calling at Waltham, Louth, Mablethorpe, Firsby, Boston, Spalding, Pinchbeck and Peterborough), or something like that.

I could imagine it being popular for those travelling from Mablethorpe or Louth to Grimsby

 

[backontrack]

I could imagine it being popular for those travelling from Mablethorpe or Louth to Grimsby

Very true. It's a tantalising thought that this line, if reopened, might have helped rejuvenate the Lincolnshire coast as a whole.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Very true. It's a tantalising thought that this line, if reopened, might have helped rejuvenate the Lincolnshire coast as a whole.

I am a student who lives in Grimsby but I know a lot of people who live in Waltham, Louth, Tetney (near Holton) who may have used the line. It could have made Grimsby and Cleethorpes much more popular for commuters.

Have a suggestion, could a Light Rail Line be possible from Louth heading up the old line as far Waltham on mostly original alignments with some diversions on to the street, where the line has been built on then run to Grimsby on new track to Peaks Lane then to Hainton Ave then run through Wintringham Rd then Ainslie Street to Garden Street Before a new terminus could be built on the car park. Call it the Grimsby and Louth Light Railway.

It would avoid the need to close Peaks Parkway or Cross the major road, avoids the busy Junction with Frederick Ward Way and provides Interchange with the Main Line station.

 

[backontrack]

I am a student who lives in Grimsby but I know a lot of people who live in Waltham, Louth, Tetney (near Holton) who may have used the line. It could have made Grimsby and Cleethorpes much more popular for commuters.

Have a suggestion, could a Light Rail Line be possible from Louth heading up the old line as far Waltham on mostly original alignments with some diversions on to the street, where the line has been built on then run to Grimsby on new track to Peaks Lane then to Hainton Ave then run through Wintringham Rd then Ainslie Street to Garden Street Before a new terminus could be built on the car park. Call it the Grimsby and Louth Light Railway.

It's a nice idea certainly. I think Louth is one that comes up regularly on this forum, and there's population at places like Waltham and Humberston too.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

It's a nice idea certainly. I think Louth is one that comes up regularly on this forum, and there's population at places like Waltham and Humberston too.

Glad you like it. I think it is possible and doable and more feasible. It could provide a high frequency service

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Created a Separate thread my idea of a Light Railway.

 

[Grimsby town]

It was a massive shame that the east lincs line closed. I really believe it could have been run feasibly with some sensible rationalisation. Population south of Louth is fairly sparse but the route could have been singled with a service every 2 hours between Louth and Boston. North of Louth has some decent sized settelments now. The fastest trains from Grimsby to Louth took around 20 minutes in the 60s. The same journey takes over 30 minutes in the car now and 1 hour 5 minutes on the bus. Progress for you.

Unfortunately due to the council not safeguarding any of the route, those speeds won't be achieved again. I think there are two options for reinstatement. The first would be a normal rail line. This would run from Grimsby to west of Great Coates and then head south between Laceby and Bradley. It would then head west of Waltham with a station and then head towards Holton le Clay with another station possible. From here it would head south on the old alignment before diverting to the east of Louth with a new station. The line could rejoin the old alignment to the south. I wouldn't try to reinstate too many stations. I think a realistic stopping pattern would be a station near Laceby to serve planned new housing in that area, Waltham, Holton Le Clay, North Thoresby, Louth, Alford (with a bus link to Mablethorpe), Burgh le Marsh Parkway and Boston.

Frequency wise I would expect two trains per hour to Louth.

The first would be a fast service calling at North Thoresby, Louth, Alford, Burgh, Boston, Sleaford, Grantham.
A second service would run as a stopping service calling at Grest Coates, Laceby, Waltham, Holton Le Clay, North Thoresby, Louth.

Another option would a be tram service from Grimsby to Louth using the road where the alignment has been built on. This would be serve more local places.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

It was a massive shame that the east lincs line closed. I really believe it could have been run feasibly with some sensible rationalisation. Population south of Louth is fairly sparse but the route could have been singled with a service every 2 hours between Louth and Boston. North of Louth has some decent sized settelments now. The fastest trains from Grimsby to Louth took around 20 minutes in the 60s. The same journey takes over 30 minutes in the car now and 1 hour 5 minutes on the bus. Progress for you.

Unfortunately due to the council not safeguarding any of the route, those speeds won't be achieved again. I think there are two options for reinstatement. The first would be a normal rail line. This would run from Grimsby to west of Great Coates and then head south between Laceby and Bradley. It would then head west of Waltham with a station and then head towards Holton le Clay with another station possible. From here it would head south on the old alignment before diverting to the east of Louth with a new station. The line could rejoin the old alignment to the south. I wouldn't try to reinstate too many stations. I think a realistic stopping pattern would be a station near Laceby to serve planned new housing in that area, Waltham, Holton Le Clay, North Thoresby, Louth, Alford (with a bus link to Mablethorpe), Burgh le Marsh Parkway and Boston.

Frequency wise I would expect two trains per hour to Louth.

The first would be a fast service calling at North Thoresby, Louth, Alford, Burgh, Boston, Sleaford, Grantham.
A second service would run as a stopping service calling at Grest Coates, Laceby, Waltham, Holton Le Clay, North Thoresby, Louth.

Another option would a be tram service from Grimsby to Louth using the road where the alignment has been built on. This would be serve more local places.

I like that idea to and serving Laceby.

 

[Bevan Price]

Yes, a real shame that the lines were closed. As for a restored service - if such were possible - one has to distinguish between what we would like to see, and what "THEY" (DfT, etc.) would be likely to specify, given the mostly low population density, and the distances involved. ! suspect there would be 1tp2h between Grimsby & Peterborugh, supplemented to hourly at peak hours.

 

[Grimsby town]

Yes, a real shame that the lines were closed. As for a restored service - if such were possible - one has to distinguish between what we would like to see, and what "THEY" (DfT, etc.) would be likely to specify, given the mostly low population density, and the distances involved. ! suspect there would be 1tp2h between Grimsby & Peterborugh, supplemented to hourly at peak hours.

I think the line would be feasible to be rebuilt. It would have huge accessibility benefits for the whole of the Lincolnshire East Coast and would help reduce deprivation and stimulate economic development. At the same time though the lack of progress on cheaper and more beneficial rail reopening schemes in the UK makes the chances of this line reopening very low.

Despite this while I agree the demand for a service from Louth southward may be in short demand, the line between Grimsby and Louth would likely see significant demand amd should be able to support a half hourly service.

Louth has a population of around 20,000 people. To the south of Louth, the line would serve Alford (3.5k) and Burgh le marsh (2.5k) but also act as a rail head to many other places including Mablethorpe (10k) and Splilsby (3.5k) but population is still low. Its likely looking at Market Rasen that these stations could achieve patronage of 60k passengers per year with a service every 2 hours.

North of Louth population is far more dense. North Thoresby (1k), Holton le Clay (6k), Waltham (5k) and laceby (3k) all have the potential to generate large amounts od traffic due to their dependency on jobs and leisure in Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Louth also depends heavily on the Grimsby Urban Area and the A16 can get very busy and congested at times. The Grimsby western area also has a significant amount of housing development planned under North East Lincolnshire Councils Local Plan.

Sensible steps would be to identify and safeguard and alignment for now. This would mean that housing developments could develop around a possible aligment but built in such a way that constructing a railway line would not be precluded. A sensible second step would be to construct from Louth to Grimsby and seeing how successful this is before reopening further.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

I think the line would be feasible to be rebuilt. It would have huge accessibility benefits for the whole of the Lincolnshire East Coast and would help reduce deprivation and stimulate economic development. At the same time though the lack of progress on cheaper and more beneficial rail reopening schemes in the UK makes the chances of this line reopening very low.

Despite this while I agree the demand for a service from Louth southward may be in short demand, the line between Grimsby and Louth would likely see significant demand amd should be able to support a half hourly service.

Louth has a population of around 20,000 people. To the south of Louth, the line would serve Alford (3.5k) and Burgh le marsh (2.5k) but also act as a rail head to many other places including Mablethorpe (10k) and Splilsby (3.5k) but population is still low. Its likely looking at Market Rasen that these stations could achieve patronage of 60k passengers per year with a service every 2 hours.

North of Louth population is far more dense. North Thoresby (1k), Holton le Clay (6k), Waltham (5k) and laceby (3k) all have the potential to generate large amounts od traffic due to their dependency on jobs and leisure in Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Louth also depends heavily on the Grimsby Urban Area and the A16 can get very busy and congested at times. The Grimsby western area also has a significant amount of housing development planned under North East Lincolnshire Councils Local Plan.

Sensible steps would be to identify and safeguard and alignment for now. This would mean that housing developments could develop around a possible aligment but built in such a way that constructing a railway line would not be precluded. A sensible second step would be to construct from Louth to Grimsby and seeing how successful this is before reopening further.

Hasn’t the alignment been built on south of Louth and around Holton-le-Clay and Waltham?

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

It was a massive shame that the east lincs line closed. I really believe it could have been run feasibly with some sensible rationalisation. Population south of Louth is fairly sparse but the route could have been singled with a service every 2 hours between Louth and Boston. North of Louth has some decent sized settelments now. The fastest trains from Grimsby to Louth took around 20 minutes in the 60s. The same journey takes over 30 minutes in the car now and 1 hour 5 minutes on the bus. Progress for you.

Unfortunately due to the council not safeguarding any of the route, those speeds won't be achieved again. I think there are two options for reinstatement. The first would be a normal rail line. This would run from Grimsby to west of Great Coates and then head south between Laceby and Bradley. It would then head west of Waltham with a station and then head towards Holton le Clay with another station possible. From here it would head south on the old alignment before diverting to the east of Louth with a new station. The line could rejoin the old alignment to the south. I wouldn't try to reinstate too many stations. I think a realistic stopping pattern would be a station near Laceby to serve planned new housing in that area, Waltham, Holton Le Clay, North Thoresby, Louth, Alford (with a bus link to Mablethorpe), Burgh le Marsh Parkway and Boston.

Frequency wise I would expect two trains per hour to Louth.

The first would be a fast service calling at North Thoresby, Louth, Alford, Burgh, Boston, Sleaford, Grantham.
A second service would run as a stopping service calling at Grest Coates, Laceby, Waltham, Holton Le Clay, North Thoresby, Louth.

Another option would a be tram service from Grimsby to Louth using the road where the alignment has been built on. This would be serve more local places.

Putting a tram down Peaks Parkway would not go down well, a solution to that is to go with my suggestion and go down a new alignment to the east via Hainton Ave or go with your suggestion.

Looking at a map, a route via Laceby could work.

 

[Railwaysceptic]

In the extremely unlikely scenario of the line being re-opened, would there a case for extending it north of Grimsby to Immingham which has a population of about 12,000?

 

[Western Lord]

One of the reasons that this line closed is that it had level crossings about every hundred yards (OK I exaggerate...…. a bit).

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

In the extremely unlikely scenario of the line being re-opened, would there a case for extending it north of Grimsby to Immingham which has a population of about 12,000?

Immingham is served by Habrough station (hence why TPE stop there)and has a regular 20-minute service from Grimsby via Great Coates.

 

[backontrack]

Immingham is served by Habrough and has a regular 20-minute service from Grimsby via Great Coates.

I still think there's a good argument for Immingham reopening. It's some distance from Habrough and there is track near the town, serving the docks. Immingham has a large population and it could help regenerate the area if a station were reopened there.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

I still think there's a good argument for Immingham reopening. It's some distance from Habrough and there is track near the town, serving the docks. Immingham has a large population and it could help regenerate the area if a station were reopened there.

Potentially maybe from the Barton line on to the freight line to the docks, wait wasn’t there a station called Immingham Docks with services to Grimsby and New Holland Pier. It is important to note that Immingham was served by the Grimsby and Immingham Light Railway to Corporation Bridge. Back to ELR, ELR going via Laceby May be the only way it is reopened as it is able to serve both Grimsby and Cleethorpes on the same service without reversing.

 

[backontrack]

Potentially maybe from the Barton line on to the freight line to the docks, wait wasn’t there a station called Immingham Docks with services to Grimsby and New Holland Pier. It is important to note that Immingham was served by the Grimsby and Immingham Light Railway to Corporation Bridge.

I'd wonder about slotting a north-east curve in here. I'd also wonder about putting a new Immingham station in here, or maybe at a site closer to Pelham Road.

Reroute the Barton service via Immingham with a reversal at Ulceby and stop the 1tp2h Newark-Grimsby services (and Brigg Line services) at Great Coates, Healing and Stallingborough, extending these services to Cleethorpes once Grimsby-Cleethorpes is redoubled. Maintain a morning Cleethorpes-Barton service and evening return via the present route in order to allow Great Coates, Healing and Stallingborough passengers to use the service to get to Hull and back in a day.

 

[6Gman]

Louth, the largest town on this proposed reopening, has a population (according to Wiki) of under 16,000.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

A new ‘East Lincolnshire Line’ could run from Great Coates station run past the bridge with the A1136 heading south past Great Coates Road head to Aylesby Road before heading South East and halfway between Aylesby Road and Grimsby Road a new 2 platformed station called ‘Laceby’ then head over the A46 Grimsby Road before heading to Bradley Road then heading to a new Waltham & Scartho station with a bus service to New Waltham from the station (potentially extending service 12 and increasing to half-hourly) and potential for regular half-hourly bus services to Scartho. The line then heads past Grimsby Road (a different one) past station Road west of New Waltham then heads over Louth Road before joining the former line north of Holton-le-Clay then reinstating the line all the way to Louth North. The station could have a half-hourly service operated by East Midlands Railway. Holton-le-Clay could have buses to Tetney (every 30-minutes to connect with the rail services) and Louth could have bus services every 30 minutes to Mablethorpe (as at present)

 

[Railwaysceptic]

Louth, the largest town on this proposed reopening, has a population (according to Wiki) of under 16,000.

Grimsby has a population of about 88,000. Boston itself has 35,000 with another 32,000 in the larger Boston area.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

https://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/ELR_Proposals/VICS2zBY66#

Map showing the Heavy Rail Proposal by Grimsby town and my proposal for a light rail service.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

I have made below an ‘alternative history’ assuming closure in 1970 happened as planned.

An alternative history:

In 1980 the line from Grimsby Town to Louth was mothballed with the last freight train running in December that year. Grimsby and Louth Railway Society began a campaign to reopen the line to Louth as part of the regeneration of the east coast of Lincolnshire. Humberside County Council took this option up and construction began in 1989 and the line finally reopenedin December 1991 the line reopened to passenger traffic as far as Louth where a new interchange was built (with a bus station next to the new railway station). Stations were built at Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, North Thoresby and Ludborough as well as a new interchange at Louth on site of the former railway station.
The line was reopened as double track and two platforms per station with an hourly service under the Regional Railway brand.
In 1994 following privatisation line ownership passed to RailTrack (later Network Rail) and the train operator was Arriva Trains Northern until 2004 when this passed to Northern Rail. Northern used 2 car Sprinters for the service.
In the early 2000’s with new housing developments around Louth, Holton-le-Clay and Waltham the line see significant growth between 2004 and 2010 so the line began suffering with overcrowding issues so trains were lengthened to 3 cars from 2011.

In May 2010 construction began to extend the line to a terminus station at Mablethorpe (single platform, single track from Louth) which opened in August 2012.

Further extension to Skegness and Spalding began construction in 2017 and the line’s operator passing to East Midlands Trains from August 2017. The line extension opened in October 2018 with the service pattern then became as follows:

• 1tph between Grimsby Town and Mablethorpe Calling at: Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, North Thoresby, Ludborough, Louth and Mablethorpe
• 1tph between Grimsby Town and Skegness calling at: Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, Louth, Alford and Skegness
• 0.5tph between Cleethorpes and Peterborough calling at: Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, Louth, Boston, Spalding and Peterborough

Anyone thinking any different for an Alternative History of the Line.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

If it had reopened as mentioned in a previous thread, it would have likely been.

• 1tph: Grimsby Town to Skegness: Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, North Thoresby, Louth, Alford, Willoughby, Burgh-le-Marsh, Skegness
• 1tph: Grimsby Town to Peterborough: Waltham, Holton-le-Clay, North Thoresby, Louth, Alford, Willoughby, Burgh-le-Marsh, Boston, Sleaford and Peterborough

 

[yorksrob]

I remember reading an article in a 1970's edition of The Railway Magazine in which the author travelled on the one remaining freight train on the line. There was a lot of opening and closing of gates.