Hainton Street Halt railway station

Hainton Street Halt was a railway halt on the East Lincolnshire Railway[1] which served the Welholme Road area of Grimsby in Lincolnshire between 1905 and 1961. The station was opened as part of a new motor train service between Grimsby and Louth. The station briefly closed in 1939 as a Second World War economy measure, but reopened in 1940. The line through Hainton Street remained open for freight until December 1980. The trackbed was later reused by Humberside County Council to construct the A16 Peaks Parkway which now runs through the site. Building of the road put an end to the aspirations of the Great Northern and East Lincolnshire Railway plc (now the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway) to reopen the line as a heritage railway.

Hainton Street Halt
General information
LocationGrimsby, North East Lincolnshire
England
Grid referenceTA274085
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Northern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Key dates
11 December 1905Opened
4 December 1939Temporary closure
1 March 1940Reopened
11 September 1961Closed
December 1980Closure of line

History edit

The station was opened on 11 December 1905[2] to coincide with the introduction of a motor train service on the East Lincolnshire Railway by the Great Northern Railway.[3] It was one of six halts opened at this time;[4] each had short low platforms reached from the steam railcars by a set of specially-fitted steps.[4] Hainton Street Halt consisted of two low facing halt platforms to the south of a level crossing over Welholme Road[5] within the Grimsby town boundary.[6] It took its name after Hainton Road, now the B1213 Hainton Avenue, which ran parallel to the east side of the line.[7] A timber waiting shelter was provided on the up platform,[7] adjacent to a signal box which controlled the level crossing.[5] A crossing keeper's cottage lay just beyond.[7]

To the north of the station lay Grimsby Goods Junction (154 mi 49.25 chains or 248.83 km from London King's Cross[8]), at which point the East Lincolnshire Line ended, forking left into Grimsby Town station via Garden Street Junction and right to Pasture Street signal box and the Cleethorpes line.[6]

The station, at which trains only called upon request,[9] closed as a temporary wartime measure on 4 December 1939, but was reopened on 1 March 1940.[10][11] Final closure came on 11 September 1961[12] with the withdrawal of the railmotor service.[10]

Present day edit

Tracklifting commenced in early 1981, with the section between Grimsby and Waltham - constructed of bullhead rail - being the last to be removed.[13] This section was designated by Humberside County Council for the building of the A16 Peaks Parkway.[14] The roadworks, which run directly through the site of Hainton Street Halt,[5] put an end to hopes by the Great Northern and East Lincolnshire Railway plc, a preservation society now known as the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, to reopen the line to Grimsby.[15] The Hainton Street signal box, which was the last of its kind to survive between Louth North crossing and Garden Street Junction, was set on fire by vandals in 1991 and destroyed.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ Conolly 2004, p. 22, section F2.
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 112.
  3. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 93.
  4. ^ a b Ludlam 1991, p. 120.
  5. ^ a b c "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
  6. ^ a b Goode 1985, p. 53.
  7. ^ a b c King & Hewins 1998, fig. 35.
  8. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 109.
  9. ^ Ludlam 1991, pp. 111–112.
  10. ^ a b Ludlam 1991, p. 122.
  11. ^ King & Hewins 1998, p. 33.
  12. ^ Clinker 1978, p. 57.
  13. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 151.
  14. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 150.
  15. ^ Stennett 2007, p. 39.
  16. ^ Ludlam 1991, p. 92.

Sources edit

External links edit

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Grimsby Town
Line closed, station open
  Great Northern Railway
East Lincolnshire Line
  Weelsby Road Halt
Line and station closed

53°33′31″N 0°04′40″W / 53.5585°N 0.0779°W / 53.5585; -0.0779