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Private company

East Lincolnshire Railway

Railway in England

The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Alford, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848. The ELR Company had leased the line to the Great Northern Railway, and it was the latter which constructed the line and operated it, as its East Lincolnshire Line.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1846Founded1

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East lincs line
Photo: Afterbrunel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Alford, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848. The ELR Company had leased the line to the Great Northern Railway, and it was the latter which constructed the line and operated it, as its East Lincolnshire Line.2

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The East Lincolnshire Railway followed a direct path to Grimsby, and in doing so passed by the coastal towns. As seaside holidays became popular in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, these towns realised that they suffered from not having a good railway connection, and in some cases set about rectifying the matter. The Wainfleet and Firsby Railway was authorised by the Wainfleet and Firsby Railway Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. v) to build from Firsby on the East Lincolnshire Line to Wainfleet, which was a semi-defunct port halfway to Skegness. It opened in 1871, and road transport completed the journey to Skegness. This wasn't satisfactory either, and in 1873 a line from Wainfleet to Skegness completed the branch line.

The junction at Firsby faced away from the most important traffic, and a west to south curve was installed in 1881. The Skegness branch carried a very heavy holiday traffic.

From Wikipedia’s article on East Lincolnshire Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1846Founded Founded1

Sources

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