Woodhall Junction railway station

Woodhall Junction
Woodhall Junction station building and platforms
General information
LocationKirkstead, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
England
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingGNR
Post-groupingLNER
Eastern Region of British Railways
Key dates
1848Opened
1970Closed for passengers
1971closed completely

Woodhall Junction railway station (previously Kirkstead railway station) is a former station in Woodhall, Lincolnshire. It served as a junction where several different lines met, none of which are still open.[1][2]

The station opened as Kirkstead (Kirkstead and Horncastle according to the notice in "The Times") on 17 October 1848 as part of the "Lincolnshire Loop Line" between Lincoln and Boston which largely followed the course of the River Witham.[3][4][5]

A branch line was opened from Kirkstead to Horncastle via Woodhall Spa by the Horncastle Railway on 11 August 1855 by which time the station was known as Kirkstead.[4][6]

The Kirkstead and Little Steeping Railway, known locally as the "New Line", opened in 1913 leaving the Loop Line just south of Woodhall Junction and cut across the fens to Midville allowing faster journey times to Skegness.[7]

The renaming of the station from Kirkstead to Woodhall Junction in 1922[4] was an attempt to increase the profile of Woodhall Spa as a holiday destination.[citation needed]

The station was host to a LNER camping coach for the 1935 season.[8]

The lines through the station closed at different times:

  • The branch line to Horncastle closed to passengers on 13 September 1954.[9]
  • The Lincolnshire Loop Line route from Lincoln to Boston via Tattershall closed to passengers on 17 June 1963.[10]
  • The station closed to passengers on 5 October 1970 when the Lincoln Central to Firsby via Midville was closed to passengers.[11]
  • On 5 April 1971 the Goods Service between Lincoln - Bardney - Woodhall Junction and Horncastle was withdrawn - the last line to stay open through the station.[12]

It is now a private residence, but the platforms and former goods yard are clearly still visible[13]

Former Services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Stixwould   Great Northern Railway
Lincolnshire Loop Line 		  Tattershall
Terminus   Great Northern Railway
Kirkstead and Little Steeping Railway 		  Coningsby
Terminus   Great Northern Railway
Horncastle Railway 		  Woodhall Spa
  1. ^ Historic England. "Woodhall Junction railway station (507110)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  2. ^ British Railways Atlas. 1947. p. 17.
  3. ^ Historic England. "Lincolnshire Loop Line (1365390)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 489. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
  5. ^ "The Great Northern Railway - Opening in Lincolnshire". The Times. 16 October 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive. – via The Times Digital Archive (subscription required)
  6. ^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
  7. ^ "Town and County Gossip". Derby Daily Telegraph. 2 July 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2020. – via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (subscription required)
  8. ^ McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 10. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  9. ^ Hurst (1992), p. 9 (ref 0416).
  10. ^ Hurst (1992), p. 22 (ref 1078).
  11. ^ Hurst (1992), p. 62 (ref 2801).
  12. ^ Hurst (1992), p. 64 (ref 2828).
  13. ^ Atterbury, Paul (2006). Branch Line Britain. David & Charles. pp. 146 & 147. ISBN 978-0-7153-2416-5.