Skegness railway station

Skegness railway station serves the seaside resort of Skegness in Lincolnshire, England at the terminus of the Poacher Line.

Skegness
National Rail
The station concourse
General information
LocationSkegness, East Lindsey
England
Coordinates53.143°N 0.334°E / 53.143; 0.334
Grid referenceTF562631
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Platforms6
Other information
Station codeSKG
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Opened1873
Original companyWainfleet and Firsby Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Northern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
28 July 1873Station opened
Passengers
2017/18Increase 356,340
2018/19Decrease 350,864
2019/20Decrease 323,202
2020/21Decrease 112,520
2021/22Increase 306,608
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is now owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, who provide all rail services that run to and from Nottingham.

History
Main article: Firsby to Skegness railway branch line

The line to Wainfleet was opened in August 1871 by the Wainfleet and Firsby Railway.[1] This line was then extended to Skegness; the station opened on 28 July 1873.[2]

Statue of the Jolly Fisherman

Skegness was dubbed "the Blackpool of the East Coast" or "Nottingham by the Sea" and has a mascot, the Jolly Fisherman (designed by John Hassall in 1908 for the Great Northern Railway) and a slogan - "Skegness is so bracing" - a reference to the chilly prevailing north-easterly winds that can and frequently do blow off the North Sea.[3] A statue of The Jolly Fisherman now greets passengers as they arrive at the station when entering through the main entrance.

Up until 1966, the railway station had a goods yard with sheds; however, this area along with platform one was demolished between 1980 and 1983. This area is now used as a car park belonging to nearby offices. There was a Seacroft railway station located just outside Skegness, but this has also now closed. The next station on the line is Havenhouse. In 2006, all locomotive hauled services to Skegness were halted due to the weight of the locos buckling the rails frequently; however, this ban has since been lifted after Network Rail began a track renewal scheme which is now entering the final phase.

Station Masters
  • William J. Haslam 1873 - 1882[4] (afterwards station master at Wood Green)
  • George Tuckerman 1881 - 1899[5]
  • George Henry Dales 1900 - 1906[6] (afterwards stationmaster at Horncastle)
  • George Chambers 1906 - 1921 (formerly station master at Littleworth)
  • William Mountain 1921[7] - 1929 (formerly station master at Woodhall Junction)
  • Herbert Joseph Osborn 1930[8] - 1943 (formerly station master at Woodhall Junction)
  • W.E. Olle 1943 - 1953
  • J.H. Howden 1953 - ????

Services

As of May 2022, there is an hourly service to Nottingham (via Grantham) on weekdays and Saturdays, although certain peak services bypass Grantham and continue straight to Nottingham.[9]

On summer Sundays, some services start and terminate at Mansfield Woodhouse. In the winter, a limited service operates (four departures per day, all after midday).

Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
East Midlands RailwayTerminus
Disused railways
Seacroft   Great Northern Railway
Skegness Branch		   Terminus

Present day

The current station has toilet facilities with a baby change and a specialist service for the disabled and a small refreshment/newsagent stall. There is 24-hour CCTV in operation at this station and there are staff patrolling the concourse area to give information when trains are due to arrive or depart. There is also a ticket office, staffed for part of the traffic day and a self-service ticket vending machine (TVM) has been installed; this also enables customers who have booked their tickets online to collect them outside office hours.

Six platforms remain in place (numbered 2 to 7), however platforms 2 and 7 are now out of use and in practice only two platforms (3 and 4) are used regularly.

Remodelling 2011

Network Rail and Lincolnshire County Council announced a major renovation programme costing £290,000,[10] which has seen the derelict buildings demolished, the customer toilets being modernised and the gents relocated. There was much debate in Skegness about the old stationmaster's house being part of Skegness' heritage and should have been refurbished rather than demolished.

Local transport connections

Skegness railway station has good links to local public transport with a taxi rank at the front of the station.

Adjacent to the railway station is the town's bus station which has services in all directions, including frequent buses up the coast as far as Mablethorpe, Louth and Alford all year round.

References
  1. Bradshaw's 1905, p. 112
  2. Butt 1995, p. 213
  3. "Jolly Fisherman". Archived from the original on 8 November 2005.
  4. "Testimonial". Boston Guardian. England. 28 October 1882. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Skegness". Stamford Mercury. England. 10 November 1899. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Retired Horncastle Stationmaster". Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian. England. 23 March 1929. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Mr. William Mountain". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. England. 29 August 1921. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Local Happenings". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 10 January 1930. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. Table 19 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  10. "Funds to revamp Lumley Lodge at Skegness Train Station could be in jeopardy". Skegness Standard. 16 June 2010.
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