The Grantham to Lincoln line 1935 to 1960

[Hatfield Shed]

I also have the WTT for 1951 and the route availability table notes that this line was RA8, but special authority for Pacific engines to work was given for "seasoning engines" and was restricted to occasional use for one round trip and a maximum speed of 50 MPH. It may be that the working was written in the 1952 WTT.

That is very interesting. How did they get around that for the ECML diversions?

I should think this was accomplished the usual way, by a significant speed restriction applicable to the RA9 locos. That's not a fudge, in that the dynamically imposed loads on the track will increase proportional to the square of the speed. (One would hope that the engineering department had checked the state of the diversionary route and rectified any defects ahead of the planned diversion.)

[strang steel]

To be slightly pedantic, the diesel units used from 1955 would not be the E50000/E56000 series because they only arrived about 3 years later. The first units were the Derby Lightweights which would be in the E79xxx series.

As for locos, I have seen a photo of an A5 on a passenger service on that line, and the Oakwood book (illustrated earlier) also mentions that L1s were used in the early 1950s along with B12s.

Some iron ore trains did use the route in the early 1950s but, because they had to reverse at Lincoln, they became something of a nuisance and were diverted via Sleaford and Boston by 1955.

[Pyewipe Junction]

I have a photo in one of my books of a B12 on a Grantham to Lincoln train, which isn't surprising as Grantham had four or five of them up to the mid-1950s and I've always assumed that they were used on on trains to Lincoln and Boston. Trains from Grantham to Nottingham and Derby for some reason seemed to use J6s, J39s and A5s. In early BR days the last D3 (62000) was also used. I would be sceptical about the use of L1s (except on isolated occasions) as the ER ones remained based in London until displaced by diesels or ex-LMS 4MT 2-6-4s (Neasden). They had percolated up to Grantham and Colwick by the end of the 1950s and were used on Nottingham and Derby trains for a while, but by that time, as has been already stated, Grantham to Lincoln trains had been dieselised. I can't remember seeing a Grantham to Lincoln train being steam-hauled from 1958 onwards.

[Pyewipe Junction]

Some iron ore trains did use the route in the early 1950s but, because they had to reverse at Lincoln, they became something of a nuisance and were diverted via Sleaford and Boston by 1955.

How many High Dyke to Frodingham iron ore trains were there per day? And when did they cease? I don't remember seeing any at all from 1958 onwards, so they were obviously using another route by that time. I believe they started to use the chord at Newark when it opened in 1965, but of course they would have been diesel-hauled by then. But they still would have had to have reversed at Barnetby.

[strang steel]

Some iron ore trains did use the route in the early 1950s but, because they had to reverse at Lincoln, they became something of a nuisance and were diverted via Sleaford and Boston by 1955.

How many High Dyke to Frodingham iron ore trains were there per day? And when did they cease? I don't remember seeing any at all from 1958 onwards, so they were obviously using another route by that time. I believe they started to use the chord at Newark when it opened in 1965, but of course they would have been diesel-hauled by then. But they still would have had to have reversed at Barnetby.

I don't have the relevant WTT to hand, but I believe the loaded trains ran from High Dyke every 2 to 3 hours. They ran overnight in the early 1960s but as diesels (Brush 2s initially) took over which could handle heavier loads, the frequency decreased overnight. In addition to the High Dyke trains, there was one a day (I believe) from Welham Junction, at least until the GN&LNWR closed. I used to like this train as it was often an 8F which I copped. There were two or three trains from Belvoir Junction hauled by Colwick O1/O4 variants. There may even have been an occasional train from Colwick yard at one stage but I am relying on a poor memory now.

Add the returning empties, and the line through Heckington was quite busy in the late 50s/early 60s.