Waltham Railway Station - History

History

The station opened on 1 March 1848 as part of the East Lincolnshire Railway between Grimsby and Louth. It was constructed by contractor John Waring and Sons of Rotherham who, in December 1846, had agreed to construct the line for the sum of £46,102 (£3.31 million as of 2013). The station was initially named Waltham and Humberstone, although it was in fact two miles from each village. It consisted of staggered platforms either side of a level crossing; the down platform to the north and the up to the south. The stationhouse, which was visible from the road, was situated on the south side of the crossing, on the down side of the line. Opposite, at the end of the lay a signal box of typical East Lincolnshire Railway construction}; this controlled the crossing and a small goods yard adjacent to the down line. The yard initially handled coal and potatoes, but was later expanded to take cattle with the addition of a large cattle holding pen at its southern end. The goods yard was served by a single siding trailing off the down line which forked either side of the cattle pen.

The arrival of the railway at Waltham led to the development of the area around the station and the creation of a thriving village known as New Waltham. The parish of New Waltham was created in 1961. The July 1922 timetable saw 13 up and down weekday services, plus one Sunday service each way, call at Waltham. The station closed to passengers on 11 September 1961, with the goods yard remaining open until 15 June 1964. The line through Waltham was closed at the end of 1980.