Disused Railways
theBythams area today is cut north-south by the East Coast Mainline as it runs between London and Scotland. The nearest stations on the line now are in Grantham, to the north, and to the south in Peterborough. In the past the railway was operated by the Great Northern Railway and there was a station and goods yard in Little Bytham opposite, what is today, the Willoughby Arms.
In the past, as well as the Great Northern Railway, there were two other lines which crossed theBythams area – the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway becoming the Midland Railway which cut the area east to west and the Edenham Light Railway which ran north easterly from Little Bytham.
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway operated a line which ran from Bourne west to Little Bytham. At Little Bytham, shortly before it crossed the north – south running Great Northern Railway line, it changed ownership and was operated by the Midland Railway. Under their ownership the line passed through Castle Bytham, where there was a station and goods facility, before ending at Saxby. Little Bytham, despite there not being a station on the line there, was the western extremity of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway which extended as far east as the Norfolk and Suffolk coast in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft respectively.
Little Bytham was also served by the Edenham Light Railway or Lord Willoughby’s Private Railway as it was otherwise known. This private railway linked Little Bytham, and the Great Northern line, with Edenham running across the Grimsthorpe Estate and passing under the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line shortly after it left Little Bytham.
For ease this section of the website is split into three as follows …
Added : 30/10/05 : Last Updated : 03/02/11 : MG
