In the 1950s and 1960s a Runabout ticket could be the key to expanding your horizons. Roger Bryant and friends left Mablethorpe one morning and, before the day was done, they had arranged for themselves a high-speed descent of Stoke Bank behind an A1 - in the genteel opulence of a Pullman car. Read the story on our latest new page.
News
Looking ahead to 2018
Turntables and Triangles
When talking to people from far and wide about Grantham Loco, if they know anything at all about its history they will often say 'Isn't that the shed where they had a turning triangle?' The triangle at Grantham made the shed unique, certainly in the UK, even though it was in operation for only the final 12 years of the life of the shed, which reached back more than a century.
We thought the history of turning locomotives at Grantham before 'the angle' was worth exploring, and very interesting it has proved to be. Our latest new page is called Turntables and Triangles.
Happy Christmas!
The Mallard weekend September 7th & 8th 2013
During the early part of 2013 it became apparent that some sort of celebration was being organised to mark the 75th anniversary of the world speed record for steam locomotives being set on Stoke Bank just south of our town. Steve Philpott has provided us with his own personal view of events leading up to that memorable weekend of the 7th & 8th September 2013. You can read the full article here
A recent Station Survey carried out in 2014 – 2015
Following on from our B&W Station Survey carried out during the late 1970s, we decided to undertake a similar project in 2014 & 2015 to see how things have changed. A new photographic section covering our survey has now been added to the website. You can view the new pages here This link will take you to the header page of the new section.
Stranded at Grantham in 2013
In February 2013 D.B.S Class 60 No 60039 found itself stranded at Grantham for a couple of weeks following an incident further along the line. Steve Philpott was on hand to record the events that followed. You can read what happened here
All Change on platforms 2, 3 & 4 in the mid 1980s
The mid 1980s saw major demolition and refurbishment work take place at Grantham Station. John Wright was there to record some of the changes taking place. This new section on the website includes a selection of photographs taken during that time and they can be found here
Steam World November 2017 (No. 365)
There is a colour photo feature East Coast steam around Grantham on pages 16 to 19. The eight photographs were mostly taken between 1959 and 1963.
No. 4472’s Flying Visit to Grantham, October 1973
What were the main events of October 1973? Jackie Stewart achieved his third Formula One World Driver's Championship, after which he retired; war was raging in the middle east; U.S. president, Richard Nixon, reluctantly released the first tapes relating to the Watergate enquiry; 'Daydreamer' David Cassidy was in the singles charts, and we were buying LPs by the likes of Rod Stewart, the Stones, Slade, the Quo, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Elton John, Yes and Led Zeppelin, often in gatefold sleeves with amazing artwork.
In the Grantham area there had been a lot of talk about a new scheme which would turn some of the former ironstone mining countryside around Buckminster and Market Overton into a local leisure amenity, including an ironstone mining museum and a railway preservation centre.
Optimism was fuelled when A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman arrived at Grantham station for a one night stopover before moving on to a steam depot being established at Market Overton in Rutland.
Humphrey Platts was there, and he has kindly sent us some photographs, which are real gems. They seem to capture the anticipation of a dream which, sadly, was not to be realised.