Photographed in 1964

Photographed in 1964

 

THE RAILWAY AGE ENDED WITH A BANG
 

by Rex Needle
 

ONE OF THE BIGGEST explosions over Bourne occurred in the spring of 1964 when contractors were removing the last of the installations from the railway complex after services were withdrawn.

The railway came to Bourne in 1860 with the building of a 6˝-mile stretch of track to connect with the main Great Northern Railway line at Essendine and during the next 100 years the system was regularly extended and improved. The Spalding and Bourne Railway was opened in 1866 followed by a 17-mile branch line north to Sleaford and the final link came in 1894 with another link west to Little Bytham where it connected with the branch line from Saxby, east of Melton Mowbray, thus creating a through route between the East Midlands and East Anglia of which Bourne could take full advantage.

The extensions brought with them the addition of new buildings and to keep pace with the latest technology and equipment to maintain the town’s presence on the network for both passenger and freight services. This included the opening of a booking office at the Red Hall, a footbridge over the main line to the platforms and the addition of sidings and warehouses to handle freight and equipment to maintain the locomotives and rolling stock.

The railway had become one of the most useful travel facilities in the history of the town and continued until the last passenger train left Bourne for Spalding on 28th February 1959 while the termination of freight facilities for the movement of sugar beet disappeared in 1965, virtually ending the railway age for Bourne.

Complete closure heralded to start of a massive demolition programme and over the next few months practically every remnant of the railway system was removed. The work included dismantling the platforms and other facilities such as workshops and the brick-built engine sheds which had been erected in 1894 but every effort was made to salvage valuable materials such as metal and wood. Some of the equipment which was still usable was given away such as the massive 60 ft. turntable used for the steam locomotives starting their return journeys which went first to Peterborough East station, now closed, and then to the Nene Valley Railway, a preserved system on the outskirts of Peterborough, where it is still in service to this day.

Most of the work proceeded without a hitch but the problem was the removal of the 50 ft. high water tower that had become a local landmark, a massive concrete structure topped by a cast iron tank with a capacity of 25,000 gallons which supplied not only the engines but the entire railway station complex at Bourne. Engineers decided that it could not be dismantled and that demolition was the only sure method of removal and so explosives experts were called in to take over but the tower had been so soundly built that it proved to be a stubborn obstacle and the work took much longer than anticipated.

Large sections of wall supporting the tank were demolished but the final phase eluded the engineers and after four unsuccessful attempts to blow it up, the operation was abandoned until next day. The following morning, on Wednesday 13th May 1964, a charge containing 8 lb of gelignite was put in place and once detonated, the demolition went according to plan and the huge edifice collapsed with a mighty roar that echoed around the town. A local newspaper reported the following week: “With the felling of the tower, railway services came to an end in Bourne. A few ‘mourners’ gathered to pay their last respects as the explosives did their work and it fell gracefully into the space appointed raising a thick cloud of dust which enveloped its last spasm.”

During this period, most of the railway installations disappeared and gangs could be seen around the district lifting the old railway lines and sleepers for salvage. Although it was a sad end to a much valued service, few people were sorry to see the disappearance of the notorious level crossing and signal box in South Street at the southern entrance to the town on the main A15 trunk road, scene of many traffic delays as the gates were closed to allow steam trains pass on the line between Bourne and Spalding.

The Red Hall which had been converted for use as the railway booking office in 1859, was acquired by Bourne United Charities who carried out major restoration work to ensure its preservation and the Grade II listed building continues in use to this day. Another familiar feature, the iron bridge carrying the Bourne to Spalding line over Abbey Road was also dismantled and a heavy duty crane was brought in to help lift the cumbersome metal sections on to lorries to be hauled away.

Other relics of our railway past have disappeared, notably the station itself. Although the platforms were dismantled in 1964, the red-brick station buildings continued in use as the central depot and offices of Wherry and Sons Ltd., the agricultural merchants, who have been associated with the town since the early 19th century. But these too were finally demolished in 2005 when the company decided to relocate and an estate of 60 new homes has since been built on the site.

There are still reminders of the steam age scattered around the district but they are few and their railway connection often unrecognisable, such as small bridges on country roads, gatekeepers’ cottages in Mill Drove, the Austerby and in the main street at Dyke village, all with their distinctive design and whitewashed outside walls, and now all sold and converted for use as private homes. Three platform lamps from Bourne railway station also adorn the driveway at The Croft in North Road and developers planning to turn this property into sheltered homes for the elderly have promised to retain them as a feature.

There are other relics but the railway age in Bourne is now largely forgotten, the echo of its existence having faded as surely as the sound of the big bang which marked the demolition of one of its most distinctive features.

NOTE: This article was published by The Local newspaper on Friday 10th September 2010.

Return to List of articles