From Cleethorpes to the West

The end ,or the beginning ? Station clock tower stands proud at the terminus. Cleethorpes.

The "backside" of Cleethorpes Station. Rather fine SB in distance.

Cleethorpes Signal Box. At this time the area was being resignalled with the old semaphores being replaced by colour light jobs.

Last day of operation. 1985. Fish Dock Road Crossing SB.

3 years earlier.The bigger picture. Taken with permission.

Neither MSLR nor GC. Pasture Street SB.Grimsby.

Last box before Grimsby Town Station. Garden Street. Note wartime brick base to limit bomb damage.

Looking towards Cleethorpes from Grimsby Station.

The rather unpreposessing station at Grimsby Town.

Far more splendid in the road outside was the former Yarborough Hotel.

A rather jumbled view looking back towards the station.

Wellowgate SB.

Friargate Crossing SB

Friargate and Littlefield Lane Crossing SB's.

Littlefield Crossing Box.

After the four crossing boxes within the space of just 1/2 mile around the station,there was just over a mile to the next box, Marsh Junction, where the lines to Grimsby Docks and the loop round to Immingham turned off the main line.

Great Coates Sidings No.1 SB with West Marsh Sidings under the bridge holding just one train of loaded imported steel coils ready for departure.

Royal Dock, Grimsby. April 1982.

West Marsh Jc.SB. Grimsby.
Probably not anyone's favourite duty especially on a cold Winter's night with an easterly gale blowing.

Practical ,probably . Beautiful ,certainly not. LNER built Pyewipe Road Crossing Box.

Immingham Dock Station. No trams that day I'm afraid. Imm&Grimsby Light Railway.

Immingham East Jc. SB

The "main" line at Immingham E. goes up to an oil terminal. Here a large Soviet tanker finishes unloading.
One of our customers used to import steel from Romania and Bulgaria through Immingham. The steel was warehoused and in theory released to the customer only with authority from us. When I arrived to do a brief inspection ,I found very few coils left in the warehouse ,most having already been released with our customer telling the warehouse owner not to worry and that the paperwork would follow. In breach of his agreement with us though ,the warehouse manager was only too pleased to give me a grand tour of Immingham Dock ,a seriously " closed " area in exchange for my silence. He played it strictly by the book from then on for all future shipments!

Immingham Reception Sdgs.SB photographed on an official GCRS visit in JUne 1984.

Roger explains to the signalman how it all works.Note the " levers ".Quite a few ex GCR boxes were so equipped.

GCR grain silo. Immingham Dock.

Original GCR buffer stops. Immingham Dock.
On my life ,Guv. Would I lie to you ?

"Lady Susan" safely escorts another customer off the premises via the Dock Entrance Lock. June 1984.

" Fernwave" makes it safely out into the open sea ,well Humber Estuary at least. Immingham.June 1984.

Tugs at rest.Immingham Dock.June 1984. GCRS official tour.

Immingham W.Jc.SB

Immingham Iron Ore import ,coal export Dock. French ship loading coal.

Before moving on down the line there's a chance for a quick look backwards to a few more pictures taken inside the Immingham Docks complex.
The first three in the dull were taken on April 26th 1982 ,and the last three on 9th June 1984.

Empty tanker.

Dockside picture. Lots going on ,but I've no idea what.

" Ashington " loading petroleum coke. GCRS Official Visit this time.

Very " interesting " lady just off screen on the left. Not suitable for young viewers.

Vessel " Clee Ness " sits at the dock-side.

Into the countryside now . Stallingborough Station.

Stallingborough SB

2 miles further on was Roxton Sidings SB.although by the time I got there in 1985 ,the sidings had long gone.

Habrough Station.
Just north of here a line branches off to Ulceby, One of the lines from Ulceby goes to New Holland and Barton on Humber.
Lead on.

Ulceby Jc.SB.
" Our " line from Habrough comes in from the left ,meanwhile a horrible big diesel with MGR train comes in from the Brocklesby direction on the right.

3 years later ,and calling itself Ulceby South Junction. The SB is viewed from the SW.

Most impressive thing about Thornton Abbey station was the name-board.

You can see why they put a station there ,in the middle of nowhere.
The much visited Thornton Abbey itself would have attracted lots of visitors who arrived by train.

Goxhill SB

Goxhill Station looking South.