Month: January 2017

It's time to look out your boots once more, check the weather forecast and head out into the countryside to explore a line which left the Woolsthorpe Branch at Casthorpe Junction to serve the ironstone quarries at Harlaxton .  It had a life of less than 36 years (1941-77) supplying the raw material for the iron and steel industry but today, more than 40 years after the tracks were removed, there's still a surprising amount to see.

The Woolsthorpe Branch Rediscovered - Part 3: Casthorpe Junction to Harlaxton Quarries

The current issue of Steam Days (February 2017) has a 10-page article by David Martin titled A Day Trip to Grantham: 1961, which starts on page 43.

David's description of his trip includes the journey by bus and train from his home in Clifton, Nottingham.  This section of the article is illustrated by a highly evocative selection of images from the Rail Archive Stephenson collection (mostly taken by T.G. Hepburn), along with others from Tom Boustead, most depicting seldom-photographed locations.

Arriving at Grantham, many of the accompanying photographs are in colour by Keith Pirt, and two more of his pictures feature across the cover and the contents pages of the issue.

We've just added some new photographs to Sam Whitaker's page, including a picture taken when he and three colleagues were was presented with their awards for 45 years' service.  Can anyone help by telling us who the other three gentlemen are?

We've expanded the Grantham Stationmasters page to include some recollections of Harold Scampion, stationmaster from 1947 to 1963.

John Clayson

In the January 2017 issue, on pages 68-69, there are three photographs taken in August 1966 of diesel-electric and steam locomotives at Colsterworth.  Also, on pages 64-65, a photograph showing two locomotives on the narrow gauge tramway system at Waltham Quarries.