Can you help? After publication of the initial 'Diesel Era' introductory pages some years ago, this part of the TTG website has been somewhat neglected. Steve Philpott, one of our regular contributors, has a great interest and first hand knowledge and expertise in that area. Steve has kindly offered to help out by writing new content for this section of the website.
This is an ideal and most welcome opportunity for us to carry on with our continuing research and development of this part of the Tracks through Grantham project. With that in mind and with your anticipated help, the plan is to gather more information relating to diesel locomotive workings, sightings, documentation, anecdotal memories or anything else that could potentially be useful. Our ultimate aim is to present a day-to-day picture of typical operations and events, as diesels gradually replaced steam in and around Grantham.
This new development will see Steve link up with the existing Diesel Era The Diesel Era at Grantham & DMU Railcars (Diesel Multiple Units) in Grantham and Lincolnshire. pages; already published on the website. We will then go on to record, in much more detail, the role that the BR diesel locomotive fleet played during the modernisation of railway services through Grantham. The period to be covered will be from the early 'prototype' years i.e. the late 1950s and eventually lead right up to the electrification of the East Coast Main Line in the late 1980s.
Photographs, Memories and Notes: With the exception of maybe the prototype 'DELTIC' there was a natural focus on recording the ever diminishing numbers of steam locos passing through our region. Few photographs it seems were taken of the ordinary workaday diesels in the Grantham area. Should you therefore have any photographs or slides from this period, or you know of someone else who would be willing to loan them to TTG for scanning and possible use on the website, then we would love to hear from you. As always, full credit will be provided to you or the original photographer. By the way, don't worry too much about quality, for as they say, every picture tells a story! Also of great interest are any notes of diesel sightings and associated details such as train reporting numbers, liveries, times and consists etc. As a starting point for Steve, he has a quite extensive and comprehensively recorded set of notes of his own sightings at Grantham, some dating back to 1968. Maybe you have a few notes from this period hidden away yourself? If so please do get in touch.
Did you work on the railway in the Grantham area during this period? We are also seeking first hand stories from people whose working life was centred in and around Grantham between 1955 to 1990. Maybe you, or someone you knew, worked on the station or had a job associated with the railway? As a passenger, do you have memories of travelling to and from Grantham during this time? Again, please get in touch. Any small bit of information or anecdote is of great interest and will really help us to create a lasting record of the 'Diesel Era'