Waddington railway station

[Archibald Sturrock]

I lived at RAF Waddington from about 1948 to 1953, and remember being taken by my parents when I was about 6 years old (1949) to London. We caught a train at Waddington village to go to Grantham via Leadenham. I now wonder what kind of locomotive and rolling stock would have been used. I would also like to know when the station was closed.

[Pyewipe Junction]

I think all stations between Lincoln and Grantham (except Leadenham) had closed by the end of summer timetable on 10 September 1962, although some may have remained open for goods and parcels traffic. It was surprising that Waddington closed, as passenger traffic from RAF Waddington might have been expected (and the RAF might have been expected to 'lean' on BR to keep it open).

This line was an early victim of dieselisation - not sure exactly when, but I'd hazard a guess at 1955 ish. Lincoln to Boston got diesels in 1954. From the photos I've seen, pre-dieselisation trains were normally three or four ex-LNER corridors, although there was an early morning through carriage to London that was detached at Grantham. I assume there was one from London as well. These obviously ceased when DMUs took over.

Locomotive power was varied. I've seen photos of B12s, a D10 and the last D3 (62000) and I wouldn't be surprised if A5s and C4s weren't used as well.