It is nearly 50 years since the last train departed Horncastle after being served since 1855.

The freight train, bound for Lincoln, departed Horncastle back in 1971.

Daily passenger trains had ceased in 1954 and a special train organised by enthusiasts ran 10 years later, but after this, only freight trains ran.

The Great Northern Railway operated the line before it as absorbed into the London & North Eastern Railway in 1923, before nationalisation in 1948.

To mark the anniversary, a virtual exhibition will be staged by the Horncastle History and Heritage Society on their website.

From the 31st March 2021, the exhibition will tell the story of the line from its construction, to its operation and the fight to keep it open.

Also, the exhibition will answer, how would Horncastle look if the railway had survived, or could it have been made into a heritage railway.

It is also hoped to stage a physical exhibition at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre in Horncastle in the Summer once restrictions have eased.

The Society has worked with Lincolnshire County Council to design a new leaflet for the Spa Trail that follows the route of the old railway.

Chairman of the Horncastle History and Heritage Society, Dr Ian Marshman, said: “What has emerged already is the huge interest in Horncastle’s railway –  in the town and further afield.

“People have shown us relics like old railway signs salvaged from the station yard, rare posters and tickets. We have also tracked down a long-lost hand drawn plan in beautiful colour for Horncastle Station, which was preserved by being hidden behind a wardrobe for over a century. Some never-before-seen photographs of the station, and the people who lived and worked around it, have also come to light. An expert on rare train tickets has offered to display his collection of colourful Horncastle and Woodhall Spa train tickets, which date from the late 1800s and early 1900s”.

Dr Marshman added: “Another question we’ve puzzled over, is why was there a pub in Horncastle called the Railway Hotel on North Street, far away from the station. We’ve been told that older people in the area believed that ‘a train’ was buried at the bottom of the old brick pits nearby, in what is now called Bell’s Yard.  We think it could have been skip wagons used to move clay for the bricks, as much equipment was washed into the pit during a major flood in the 1920s. Although for now, the truth remains a mystery”.

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