Saturday 31 March 2018

One that got Away? Market Rasen Railway Station.

After WW2 Britain's railway network and rolling stock was in a poor condition.  The industry was operating tired old engines & rolling stock and the network needed updating.
British Rail employed Dr. Richard Beeching, a physicist and engineer to make a study of the railway industry and he subsequently presented his report, known as "The Beeching Report".  It recommended sweeping closures of railway lines & branch lines that were considered to be loss making and unproductive.  4,000 miles of lines were lost by 1966 and a further 2,000 lost by the end of the 1960's.

Steam powered locomotives were already being changed in favour of diesel power, but that's another story.

The Market town of Market Rasen in Lincolnshire kept it's line, and it's station buildings.  The main use for the line now is for the oil trains transporting oil away from the Humber Oil Refineries but it still carries passenger traffic.



Passengers were waiting for a train as I arrived, this is the relatively new Waiting Room.



A railcar commuter train arrives.

As passengers are getting onto the train another one is crossing the line to also get on.  Not 
seen here in my picture, a young woman with pushchair, who had just alighted off the train,
also crossed the line in the opposite direction, she was very lucky!!!
(See next image)


As I was taking the previous picture I was shocked to hear a deafening horn and turned to see
this oil train thundering through the station at 60 - 70 MPH! I only had time to take one frame, the horn had been sounded to warn the people who were crossing the line!  They had a very narrow
escape.

The oil train had, what seemed like, a hundred oil trucks & it was a couple of minutes before
it cleared the station but when it had passed the people had made it to safety.


On the opposite line to the Waiting Room is the old, original Station.
It's no longer in use and is being developed as residential housing.
The flag is the Lincolnshire County flag.

The town of Market Rasen is a well known Horse racing venue and this is shown here
on the display poster.


Market Rasen is in the farming county of Lincolnshire, my home county, so here is a poster
of the county's famous Lincoln Red Cattle" 
The interior of the waiting room is bright and welcoming.

Even if the fire is just a picture!

AS passengers leave the station the sign welcomes them to the town.
This chap didn't hear this train.

Olympus EM5ii with 12-60mm Leica zoom lens.


Thursday 29 March 2018

Legbourne, Lincolnshire.

Legbourne village is a couple of miles south of Louth in Lincolnshire.  Some nice walks and a ford that leads to the next village which is Little Cawthorpe.

You can see more of Little Cawthorpe, and the ford, on an earlier post at this link:-  https://lincolnshirecam.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Little+Cawthorpe


The old windmill at Legbourne.


This house has a stream running along the back of it.
It also has two birds, one on each brick gate pillars.

Wise Owl, one of the gate guardians.

The stream winds it's way through Legbourne.

This resident is planting up the banks of the stream for some summer colour.

The house with the guardian birds also has a security officer at the back door!!

Spring is finally here, Primroses growing along the roadside.

Olympus EM10ii With 9-18 MZuiko lens.


Sunday 25 March 2018

Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, progressing south.

It's been quite a while since my last post, a bout of flu followed by heavy snow plus gale force winds straight from the east (Siberia) in February stopped me venturing out.  A brief spell of milder weather which promised better things was soon pushed aside by another blast of easterly wind and heavy snow once more.
That was two weeks ago and today we enjoyed sunshine, a light breeze and temperatures reaching the heady heights of 12 degrees C!!  Spring might have arrived, but I'm not holding my breath just yet, snow is forecast for Easter!

Today we had a drive out onto the Lincolnshire Wolds and this set of pictures is from the intended railway line extension of the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway.  The present line runs from Ludborough, north to North Thoresby.  The volunteers are now clearing the old track bed south and eventually hope to reach Louth.
The pictures shown here were taken where the old track once crossed Covenham Road.


Looking south from Covenham Road there's still an old signal gantry alongside the old track bed.

Looking north is the gatehouse at the original road crossing.

The volunteers have already cleared the overgrown track bed and in the distance
the station at Ludborough can just be seen. 


The original crossing gatehouse, the two extensions to the left are relatively modern. 

What's left of the old crossing gate, now pointing in the direction of the new rails.

Olympus EM10ii with 9-18 MZuiko zoom lens.