505:
496:
repeated pressure to reduce the deficit, the line ceased to carry regular passenger traffic in
November 1926, with a consequent reduction in running costs. Its original use, for the conveyance of materials and provisions to the training establishment at Cranwell continued, however, together with the occasional passenger train (such as the special trains bringing public schoolboys to visit the college in the 1930s, the first Canadian contingent to arrive in the Second World War and the 1953 Flying Training Command Coronation contingent, which was pulled by a British Railways J6 class 0-6-0 tender engine with another of the Class on the rear).
467:, and Sleaford West signalbox was extended to control the new junction. There were exchange sidings at the junction. The new arrangement was operational in March 1918 but the branch line was not completed fully until February 1919. There were various temporary branches off the main line to suit construction requirements. Gradients were mostly rising towards Cranwell, with a ruling gradient 1 in 50, but there was a fall of 1 in 60 in addition.
219:
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393:, and was quickly selected. The Admiralty took possession of Cranwell Lodge Farm, which was the majority of the land required, on 23 November 1915. The location was to become the Royal Naval Air Service Training Establishment, Cranwell. The naval personnel were held on the books of HMS Daedalus, a hulk moored on the
471:
There were three passenger stations on the branch: Slea River, not far from the junction with the GNR line, Cranwell, and East Camp. One of the passenger services from
Cranwell terminated at Slea River while the engine performed goods shunting duties, and the next train to Cranwell started from that point.
585:
Butt quotes the opening as
January 1917 and names the terminal station as Cranwell RAF. At January 1917 the base was still a Royal Naval Air Station, and it did not become an RAF station in January 1918. Moreover Butt quotes the closure to passengers as August 1956. That is the date of closure of the
470:
Passenger services were run from the opening of the line. In early timetables there were seven passenger trains each way daily, and there was a Sunday service in addition. The
Admiralty paid the Great Northern Railway £500 annually for the use of Sleaford station, used by the branch passenger trains.
894:
the establishment at
Cranwell will again be increased, on the transfer of the Electrical and Wireless School from Flowerdown, and the effect of this should be to bring a greater volume of traffic to the railway, with a consequent increase in receipts and the wiping out of the deficit on the working
404:
Construction of the accommodation for servicemen and aircraft soon started: a considerable quantity of materials needed to be brought to the location, and at the time public roads were barely adequate. The winter of 1915-1916 was hard, and transport by road to the site for construction proved very
557:
Thirteen four-wheeled and six-wheeled passenger coaches were acquired for the passenger service. They were bought second-hand from the GNR before 1919, having been in use on the GNR Metropolitan
Service between New Barnet and Moorgate. Eight coaches were usually sufficient on any train except on
431:
mph over the underbridges, which should, he advised, be inspected every morning in case of malicious damage. Continuous brakes would be required on passenger trains. Having accepted the possibility of opening to passenger trains subject to these conditions, he appears to have had second thoughts
435:
The
Admiralty replied on 16 April 1916, saying that in view of the wartime emergency, it would be inappropriate to insist on peacetime safety measures. "Risks must be taken in wartime and work must not be held up in waiting for obligatory peacetime safeguards to be applied." The Board of Trade
495:
In regards to finance, the line never broke even: in response to a
Parliamentary Question, it was revealed that, even allowing for a credit in respect of the c.15,000 tons of Government stores that were transported along it during 1924, the line still made a loss of £3,570. After coming under
405:
difficult. A temporary railway track was laid by the contractor; it was laid directly on the ground without any attempt at earthworks. The gradients were so severe that two locomotives were needed to pull five loaded wagons, and the line was nicknamed "the switchback".
479:
In the 1920s competition from bus services locally hit the branch usage hard, and from
November 1926 the passenger service on the branch was closed. From that time the branch goods trains did not run beyond the exchange sidings at Sleaford West Junction.
368:
A public passenger service was operated from the outset, and there were three stations on the branch. The passenger service was loss-making and it closed in
November 1926, but the goods service on the line continued until closure in 1956.
413:
It was decided to provide a proper railway on a permanent basis using the alignment adopted by the contractor but improving it for full railway usage, for both goods and passenger operation. The Admiralty wrote to the
385:
were seeking a location for an airfield to train naval pilots. In 1915 the Aerodrome Selection Committee identified a "large stretch of flat country on top of the heath above
447:, who had quoted £31,316 for the work. Construction started in the late summer of 1916, and was finished at the end of 1917. There were 1 in 50 gradients, rising from the
508:
Locomotive "Sir Berkeley", which was very similar to the locomotives used on the Cranwell Branch, in steam at Ingrow West on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.
504:
436:
replied that they had no jurisdiction in the matter, and the Admiralty would have full responsibility for the operation of what amounted to a military railway.
418:
on 6 March 1916 stating that a passenger railway was to be provided to the new establishment, and an inspecting officer, Col Druitt, visited on 20 March 1916.
871:
843:
1063:
440:
350:
1058:
1053:
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The station at Slea River has been demolished and East Camp is occupied by residential estates for the soldiers based at RAF Cranwell.
443:
took responsibility for the engineering of the new line: it was to be a little over five miles in length. They employed the contractor
1014:
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Druitt advised that if passenger trains were to be run, a speed limit of 15 mph ought to be enforced. This should be reducing to
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649:
787:
746:
487:
the requirement for the branch declined further and it was closed in August 1956. The track was removed in October 1957.
147:
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815:
346:
204:
289:
963:
386:
134:
544:
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As it was, expenditure on the railway was reduced from £4,000 in 1926 to £2,000 in 1927. Next autumn
265:
179:
79:
513:
444:
432:
later, and in his written report of 22 March he refused to pass the line for passenger operation.
1038:
531:
A surviving Logan and Hemingway locomotive of the type used on the RAF Cranwell Railway (a 0-6-0
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978:
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909:"The 'Little-Used Branch Line': The Cranwell-Sleaford Railway of Yesterday and Today"
1033:
702:
Letter from Admiralty to the Board of Trade, 17 April 1916, quoted in Ludlam, page 9
920:
394:
362:
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34:
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452:
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1009:(Paperback). Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology. p. 54.
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but they were unsuccessful in view of the difficult gradients on the line.
464:
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342:
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261:
175:
353:. RNAS Cranwell was intended for training pilots and aircrew during the
876:
848:
820:
792:
142:
566:
The former Cranwell station building remains and is now a guardhouse.
788:"Cranwell and Sleaford Railway. HC Deb 17 June 1925 vol 185 cc494-5"
503:
816:"Cranwkll (sic) Railway. HC Deb 28 April 1926 vol 194 cc2023-4"
337:, England. It connected the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) at
872:"Cranwell Railway. HC Deb 20 February 1929 vol 225 cc1132-3W"
586:
goods service; the passenger service ceased in November 1926.
550:
Two diesel locomotives were tried out on the line after the
133:
463:
The branch diverged from the existing railway network near
844:"Cranwell Railway. HC Deb 23 March 1927 vol 204 cc403-404"
1039:
Former RAF Cranwell Railway Station (now the guardroom)
609:
House of Commons Debate 23 March 1927 vol 204 cc403-404
516:
are known to have worked at Cranwell; these were all
397:. Many sources assert that the RNAS was itself named
85:
75:
67:
62:
54:
46:
41:
30:
25:
20:
1034:The northern section of the line on a 1947 OS Map
558:Saturdays when all thirteen were often used.
8:
1007:Lincolnshire's Industrial Heritage - A Guide
605:
603:
959:"0-6-0 Saddletank Locomotive Sir Berkeley"
512:Five locomotives owned by the contractors
361:in 1918, and the location became known as
155:
122:
673:
671:
669:
667:
665:
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661:
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741:. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 70.
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631:
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623:
621:
619:
617:
615:
599:
578:
520:0-6-0 Saddle Tanks, with numbers: 3, 4
124:
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977:Restored to operational condition. At
945:
17:
7:
539:, but which now goes by the name of
14:
739:The Directory of Railway Stations
682:. Ware: Castlemead Publications.
680:The Lost Railways of Lincolnshire
535:saddle tank originally known as
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250:
243:
224:
217:
193:
164:
877:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
849:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
821:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
793:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
766:. Stenlake Publishing Limited.
451:crossing and both sides of the
280:
251:
225:
218:
165:
1064:Rail transport in Lincolnshire
716:. Marlborough: Crowood Press.
439:Construction started, and the
1:
1005:Wright, Neil (October 2004).
644:. Headington: Oakwood Press.
357:. Control soon passed to the
244:
1059:Railway lines closed in 1956
1054:Railway lines opened in 1917
913:RAF Cranwell College Journal
764:Lincolnshire's Lost Railways
678:Squires, Stewart E. (1988).
194:
1080:
389:". The location was near
377:In the early part of the
345:. It opened in 1917 from
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71:5.2 mi (8.4 km)
966:Rolling Stock Collection
642:The RAF Cranwell Railway
347:Sleaford railway station
333:branch line railway in
138:The Cranwell branch line
964:Vintage Carriages Trust
712:Stennett, Alan (2016).
545:Vintage Carriages Trust
762:Burgess, Neil (2007).
509:
441:Great Northern Railway
351:Great Northern Railway
139:
737:Butt, R.V.J. (1985).
714:Lincolnshire Railways
640:Ludlam, A.J. (1988).
507:
137:
341:to the main line at
514:Logan and Hemingway
445:Logan and Hemingway
373:A new military base
927:on 13 October 2008
880:. 20 February 1929
543:) is owned by the
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349:and it joined the
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979:Middleton Railway
723:978-1-78500-083-6
383:British Admiralty
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1028:External links
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969:. Retrieved
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941:
929:. Retrieved
925:the original
921:RAF Cranwell
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882:. Retrieved
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399:HMS Daedalus
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395:River Medway
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363:RAF Cranwell
335:Lincolnshire
326:
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80:single track
35:Lincolnshire
15:
993:Ludlam 1988
946:Ludlam 1988
892:(i.e. 1929)
87:Track gauge
68:Line length
1048:Categories
856:14 January
748:1852605081
594:References
483:After the
453:Leasingham
449:Slea River
537:Number 10
455:decline.
387:Caythorpe
127:Route map
63:Technical
37:, England
981:, Leeds.
895:account.
526:Bletcher
465:Sleaford
391:Cranwell
343:Sleaford
339:Cranwell
331:military
290:Cranwell
262:Grantham
205:Sleaford
176:Grantham
106: in
26:Overview
931:19 June
528:and 8.
524:, 5, 7
522:Epworth
475:Closure
459:Opening
426:⁄
101:⁄
42:History
1013:
971:8 June
884:30 May
828:30 May
800:30 May
770:
745:
720:
686:
648:
329:was a
266:Boston
180:Boston
148:Legend
141:
55:Closed
47:Opened
31:Locale
573:Notes
1011:ISBN
973:2012
933:2012
886:2012
858:2017
830:2012
802:2012
768:ISBN
743:ISBN
718:ISBN
684:ISBN
646:ISBN
381:the
325:The
268:Line
182:Line
58:1956
50:1917
264:to
178:to
1050::
975:.
961:.
919:.
917:25
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911:.
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108:(
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99:1
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