Bid to extend heritage steam railway to Louth takes 'big step forward'

The Lincolnshire Wolds Railway (LWR), which is operated entirely by dedicated volunteers, currently runs steam trains between the East Lindsey villages of Ludborough and North Thoresby using the push-pull method.

Over Christmas, it again underlined its success by running Santa Specials for families, with trains “beautifully decorated for magical journeys through the winter countryside”.

But LWR’s long-term plan is to extend the line in stages, as funds become available, southwards towards Louth.

And its efforts have been boosted by the first use of a new piece of track in a momentous milestone achieved on New Year’s Day, described by the preservation group as “a big step forward”.

Steam locomotives, working a public service train, took to a new ‘run-round loop’ at North Thoresby station. This is a layout that allows a loco to detach from one end of the train and re-attach at the other end to pull in the opposite direction.

Work on the ‘run-round loop’, which includes an 85-metre platform extension at the station to accommodate the new layout, was completed last autumn.

And on Thursday, January 1, the two steam locos, number 1351 Lion and number 1919 Cranford, used the loop to run round the train at North Thoresby after they had ‘double-headed’ the service at Ludborough.

A second ‘run-round loop’, which is still to be constructed at Pear Tree Lane, three-quarters of a mile south of Ludborough station, will allow locomotives to head the train in both directions.

The aspiration is then to extend the line a further five miles to Louth, where a large area of land has been set aside for a new terminus station on the outskirts of town.

The former East Lincolnshire Line, which ran from Grimsby to Boston, closed to passengers in 1970. The northern section from Grimsby to Louth continued to be used for freight until its closure by the former British Rail ten years later.

The award-winning LWR has run heritage steam trains on the line since 2009 and proudly declares it is “keeping the age of steam alive”.

Its website proclaims: “Our heritage railway, steeped in nostalgia, is a captivating journey into the past, offering a unique and memorable experience for visitors of all ages.”

Described as “a living history”, it is the only standard gauge heritage steam railway in Lincolnshire, and the volunteers have put in a remarkable amount of hard work into it over the last 17 years.

An ongoing fundraising campaign offers supporters the chance to be part of the restoration.

The LWR group says it costs nearly £280,000 to lay just a mile of track and has appealed for help in generating funds to buy materials such as ballast, rails and sleepers.

The railway also runs steam-running days throughout the year, as well as dining specials and other rail experiences.

The group is always looking for volunteers too, particularly to carry out maintenance and engineering tasks on working days (usually Tuesdays and Saturdays) and to help on running days in the buffet, the shop, the museum, the ticket office and on the platform.

Various other jobs, including guards, ticket inspectors, signalmen and train crew, are also available after training.