Grainsby Halt railway station

The station was opened on 11 December 1905[2] to coincide with the introduction of a motor train service by the Great Northern Railway.[3] It consisted of two low facing halt platforms to the south of the level crossing over Grainsby Lane;[4] a small single-storey timber waiting shelter was provided on the up platform.[5][4] It was not provided with any lighting, which made it very difficult to find on a dark night.[6] A crossing keeper's cottage lay to the north of the crossing. The cottage was similar in design to the cottage at Fotherby Halt.[7] The station was opened to serve Grainsby Hall, a Victorian country house situated 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west.[3][5] The house was occupied by the Haigh family, Halifax wool merchants who had inherited the estate in 1829.[8] Once the home of George Henry Caton Haigh, the house stood empty for many years and was reputed to be haunted.[3] It was demolished in 1972.[9]

The station, at which trains only called upon request,[10] closed as a temporary wartime measure in 1939.[11] It still figured in timetables for October 1939, 1940 and 1941, but no trains were scheduled to call.[4] The halt reopened after the war on an unknown date,[3] when it was one of the smallest stations to be inherited by British Railways upon nationalisation in 1948.[7] Grainsby Halt never really justified its existence[7] and was closed permanently on 10 March 1952.[11]

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Holton-le-Clay		Lincolnshire Wolds Railway (Future Extension)		North Thoresby
	Historical railways
Holton-le-Clay Line and station closed		Great Northern Railway East Lincolnshire Line		North Thoresby Line and station open

Station site in 2008.

Although the halt remained in a good condition almost ten years after closure,[7] it was subsequently demolished by British Rail before final closure of the line in December 1980.[12][13] Nothing remains of the halt, although the crossing keeper's cottage was still standing, in a derelict state, in 2006.[4]

On 28 September 1991, the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway obtained a Light Railway Order authorising the reinstatement of the East Lincolnshire Railway between Waltham and the former Keddington Road level crossing near Louth, which would include the section of line through Utterby.[14]

On 26 August 2009, the first train between North Thoresby - the first station to the south from Grainsby - and Ludborough ran for the first time in 47 years.[15][16] It is planned to reopen the line still further through Grainsby as far as Holton-Le-Clay.

The Lincolnshire Wolds Railway aims to eventually (when time and money permit) extend the line, northwards from North Thoresby, through to as far as Holton-le-Clay.

It is however very doubtful that Grainsby halt will ever be reinstated, as the LWR would concentrate on track extension to Holton-le-Clay, however, Grainsby would start off as the temporary limit of the line, before track extension would continue.

The adjacent Level crossing will almost certainly be an Automatic half barrier crossing instead of crossing gates that will be locally monitored by North Thoresby signal box.

The former crossing keeper's house that is standing in its original position to the north of the level crossing is in a dangerous condition and will almost certainly be demolished.

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
• Goode, C.T. (1985). The Railways of North Lincolnshire. Anlaby, Hull: C.T. Goode. ISBN 978-0-9508239-7-3.
• King, P.K.; Hewins, D.R. (1998) [1989]. The Railways around Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Immingham & North-East Lincolnshire. Romiley, Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 978-1-870119-04-7.
• Ludlam, A.J. (1991). The East Lincolnshire Railway (OL82). Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-416-4.
• Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.
• Stennett, Alan (2007). Lost Railways of Lincolnshire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-040-4.
• Thorold, Henry (1999). Lincolnshire Houses. Norwich: Michael Russell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85955-254-7.

• Grainsby Halt on navigable O. S. map

53.4783°N 0.045045°W / 53.4783; -0.045045