Horncastle History and Heritage Society hopes to track down model for 50th anniversary

Full size stations are sometimes closed, demolished, replaced, rebuilt or moved to another location – model ones can be either rebuilt, sold, or incorporated in new layouts.

But the model of Horncastle station has, well .... just vanished!

The full size station was opened to passengers on August 11, 1855 and was the terminus of a line just under eight miles in length, from Kirkstead Junction (later renamed Woodhall Junction) on the Boston to Lincoln “Lincolnshire Loop” line.

Despite local opposition, British Railway stopped running its passenger trains on September 13, 1954, and ceased operating the freight service on April 6, 1971.

It is that 50th anniversary which the Horncastle History and Heritage Society is hoping to mark in 2021, though exactly how this significant event in the town’s history can be commemorated depends on what Covid-19 containment measures permit.

An initial appeal for ideas led to the discovery of this photograph of a model of the station, which was once exhibited in the erstwhile Horncastle Museum.

It had been built by a solicitor in Horncastle, Mr Tweed, at a time when both the railway and the station were still at the heart of the town’s economy.

It was complete with a model locomotive and carriages. It was, not surprisingly, very popular with visitors.

The Museum was located in the Trinity Centre.

It was thought that upon closure in 2002, the model of Horncastle station had gone to the Museum of Lincolnshire Life.

However, checks with them have shown they had not accepted it.

Chairman of the Horncastle History and Heritage Society, Dr Ian Marshman, said: “The big question now – is where is it?

“We would like to return it to Horncastle in 2021 to display in the town and perhaps offer to the Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum, with whom we’re working on anniversary commemorations.

“There is a suggestion it may have gone to a railway museum, which operated for a while at Burgh-le-Marsh until the death of its owner, when the collection seems to have been dispersed.

“We would really like to know where it is. We just hope it has not been broken up. “

Dr Marshman continued: “Horncastle station has always been popular with people making railway models as the buildings and track layouts were perfect for reproducing on a small scale.

“This one had special links with Horncastle and the railway played a significant part in the development of the town.

“There are still many in these days of traffic congestion and resultant pollution, who regret its loss and the ease of travel it offered to Boston, London and further afield.”

It was the terminus of a line just under eight miles in length, from Kirkstead Junction (later renamed Woodhall Junction) on the Boston to Lincoln “Lincolnshire Loop” line, running on single track to Woodhall Spa and then to a terminus in Horncastle.

In its heyday, even royalty travelled on its tracks to “take the waters” at Woodhall Spa and there was a through carriage each day to London; local services ran to Woodhall Junction and to Boston, with connections from both to the rest of the British Isles. Goods trains carried everything and anything the district needed or produced and its was especially busy when the Horncastle Horse Fair was being held.

The owners and builders were the Horncastle and Kirkstead Junction Railway Co. Ltd, formed by local citizens, but it was always operated (profitably) by the Great Northern Railway until the grouping of the railways in 1923. It then became part of the London & North Eastern Railway, playing a vital role in World War Two.

Anyone with information about the lost model is asked to contact Dr Ian Marshman, Chairman of the Horncastle History and Heritage Society.

Call 07709 684104 or email [email protected]