The east coast main line

The Royal Mail express pictured at Greatford crossing heading for London

The east coast main railway line is one of the busiest in Europe and links London with Scotland and the north of England. 

It runs through Lincolnshire to the west of Bourne from Tallington in the south to Grantham and then on to Newark-on-Trent, just over the county border in Nottinghamshire. 

There are many country level crossings for cars over the tracks in South Lincolnshire and train spotters need little patience to be rewarded by the sight of inter-city express trains travelling in both directions at intervals of only a few minutes. 

A northbound inter-city express at Greatford crossing

Favourite locations for train spotters are on the footbridge over the track at Tallington, the stone bridges at Careby and Little Bytham, the level crossing near Greatford and the road south of Little Bytham that gives a panoramic view of the track for a distance of 500 yards. 

Passenger trains between London and the north are among the most frequent to be seen but there are also occasional sightings of the Royal Mail express heading towards London at high speed and just before 11.30 a m each morning, the gaily-coloured two-coach sprinter between Leeds and London passes by.

The daily two-coach sprinter near Little Bytham, the most colourful train of all

It was on this stretch of track between Grantham in Lincolnshire and Peterborough on 3rd July 1938 that the L N E R 4-6-2 locomotive No 4468 Mallard hauling seven coaches weighing 240 tons achieved the highest speed ever ratified for a steam locomotive of 126 m p h over a distance of 440 yards. Driver Joseph Duddington was at the controls with Fireman Thomas Bray and the engine suffered severe damage as a result. 

See also The Mallard steam record

Go to:     Main Index     Villages Index