The Railways come to Grantham

The Railways come to Grantham. . In the early 1800s Grantham was a busy coaching town with 9 coaching services and many hundreds employed in coaching and the carting of goods. In 1842 it took 8 hours from Boston to Nottingham and almost 24 hours from London to Grantham. Railway schemes came and went in what was known as 'Railway Mania', but it wasn't until 1850 that the first railway arrived in Grantham. This was the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway, which opened a station alongside the Grantham Canal basin near Old Wharf Road, linking the town with the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coalfields. A main north - south railway was eagerly awaited, however, and when the plan was approved, the Grantham Journal announced, "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this rail to York", The building of the Great Northern Railway's line was a huge investment with nearly 2000 men employed at the height of the works in 1851. In August 1852 the line opened from Peterborough to Doncaster, which established the link to London and the north and forming the East Coast line we know today. The new route was connected to the Nottingham line and the Ambergate Station became a goods depot, whose buildings have long since disappeared., In 1854 the 1st class only express left King's Cross at 9.30am and arrived in Grantham at midday calling at Hitchin and Peterborough, going onto York arriving at 2.20pm. Trains with three classes of accommodation and with 13 stops took four and a half hours to reach Grantham. The railways caused new housing to be built, including the fine houses we see in Station Road today. By 1901 even the tea rooms were employing 20 people and many lived in the railway houses., Grantham's Railways Today , The age of the train created the hobby of train spotting as boys recorded the numbers and names of the engines they had seen. The sounds and smells of the railways have changed but the railways continue to carry increasing numbers of passengers and a place in the heart of many travellers., The coming of the Deltic diesel locomotives in 1961 changed things and the new age led in 1978 to the introduction of High Speed trains followed by electrification in 1988/9. Electrification was the last great act of British Rail and the 10,000th electric mast was ‘planted’ on Platform 2 with a plaque to tell you all about it., New operators came into play with GNER, Central Trains and later East Coast Trains, East Midlands Trains and First Hull Trains running the services and Network Rail providing the track and signalling. The journey to London has shrunk to just over an hour and over one million travellers used Grantham Station in 2013., The Development of the Railways in Grantham , Railway activity increased throughout the 19th century and supported the huge development of the local engineering industry including the Hornsby factories and later Aveling Barford. Engine changes were made at Grantham and a large locomotive depot with extensive maintenance facilities, including a coaling plant, was established on the west side of the station. Engines became more powerful as this was - and still is - a high speed main line., The ultimate steam design was the magnificent A4 Pacific class developed by Sir Nigel Gresley. Railway activities in Grantham had reached a peak in the first half of the twentieth century with hundreds of people being employed, but with the coming of diesel locomotives in the early 1960's, trains no longer had to stop here to change engines and the Loco depot closed in September 1963., Mallard , On 3rd July 1938 LNER Class A4 locomotive No 4468, Mallard, made Grantham internationally famous when it reached a world record speed of 126 mph a few miles south of here on July 3rd 1938 - a record for steam which still stands today., Passengers stand on Grantham Station, , Will the great event unfold. , Mallard, mightiest of all engines , Will pass at speed as yet untold., Sir Nigel's man riding shotgun, , Counting every second down. , Will she make a high speed record? , And win respect and world renown., Joe Duddington, driver gets our praise, , For his skill and steady nerve. , With Tom Bray, the valiant fireman, , Making steam for all he's worth., One hundred and twenty six mph, , A speed unheard of in times gone past. , Now our Mallard claims her glory , A record never to be surpassed., By Val Odell, The Great Grantham railway disaster , A deafening sound woke Grantham on the night of 19th September 1906. The 8.45pm Mail train from London to Edinburgh was due to stop at Grantham. It came down the hill from Stoke tunnel at speed but did not stop although signalled to do so. The points were set for the Nottingham line and the train thundered off the rails at the Harlaxton Road Bridge at 60 mph. The driver and fireman were both killed as were 14 passengers and Post Office staff. Fred Fleetwood was a careful driver with 18 years experience. Strangely, the train was carrying a corpse in a coffin which survived undamaged. The cause of the accident remained a mystery for many years. Evidence has come to light more recently indicating that the braking system was not properly connected during an engine change at Peterborough and caused the crash. This detail was not released to the enquiry at the time and all the subsequent evidence points to a 'sanitisation' of the original report.