The Future of LWR

The restoration of the Grimsby to Louth railway was the long-term objective of the preservation group which was formed when the line was closed by British Rail in 1980.

Ludborough station became the group’s base and then the long haul began to rebuild this historic line as a heritage railway. Since then much progress has been made, and in 2009 a milestone was reached when steam trains started running to North Thoresby.

The plan now is to extend the line in stages, as funds become available, southwards towards Louth. The LWR owns the trackbed as far as the industrial estate on the outskirts of Louth – a distance of 5 miles.

Our first target is to reach Pear Tree Lane, which is close to the site of the former Utterby Halt station. The picture below shows the site in 1982, not long after closure. Our volunteers have already started work on this three-quarter-mile section: the trackbed has been cleared and levelled, drainage has been installed, and a fence has been erected across the southern perimeter of the site. Vital works were also carried out south of Ludborough station between December 2018 and March 2019 during the period when trains aren’t running to relay the existing track and upgrade it to passenger-carrying standards.

In May 2019 our fundraising appeal topped the £50,000 mark. This enabled us to purchase 30 lengths of rail and another 300 sleepers at a cost of £25,000. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we will have enough materials to reach the half way mark. Two wagon-loads of sleepers have already been moved on site and a hard standing area is being built at the Pear Tree Lane end for storing materials.

In early July 2019 three lorry-loads of concrete sleepers were delivered to Pear Tree Lane. In all, 264 sleepers, each weighing 290 kilos, were unloaded at the site. This was followed by the arrival of the 60ft lengths of rail, each weighing around a tonne.

Building a quarter mile of track requires…

44 lengths of rail

£70,000

800m drainage pipe

450 tons of ballast

You can help!

The running, restoration and maintenance of the railway are all carried out by volunteers at LWR. They are the lifeblood of our organisation. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life and gain new skills. There is a wide choice of jobs covering every aspect of the railway’s activities.

Donate now!

Making tracks for Louth!

The enthusiasm of our volunteers has allowed us to secure the future of LWR.

Find out why people love visiting LWR

					  8 of us attended the Santa special yesterday,its hard to believe that these events are run by volunteers.

The attention to detail, the layout, decoration, gifts etc.

Absolutely fantastic experience... read more and genuinely lovely people! 

Parking was the only issue we had on the day.				
gemmag2018
12/23/2019 

					  We took our 4 Yr and 5 months old boys on the santa train yesterday. Lovely festive feeling from the moment we stepped onto the platform, getting hot chocolate from... read more the cafe (which is converted train carriages) to stepping off again. Elf Marc provided our entertainment singing and dancing and getting everyone whipped up on the way to the station (North Pole) where santa boarded and greeted each child by name as he walked down the carriages and gave them a gift. Adults also recieved a pen. The grotto in carriage C was lovely and once we got back into the station we were able to visit santa again and take pics. Wonderful experience and will definitely be going again next year.				
626cerip
12/23/2019 

					  We had a lovely morning trip out on the santa train. My children (3 and 5) loved it. Marc the elf was jolly and enthusiastic and got our carriage into... read more the spirit of things with singing and dancing which made the trip so much fun. 



It is a short train ride but we knew this already and saw this as a positive as our little kids won't sit still for long anyway. The toys were age appropriate and both were played with for the train journey and car journey home. I would without a doubt recommend to others with young children.				
Juboo16
12/22/2019 

					  We visited this for the christmas railway visit with our children and their grandparents

The location is fine, plenty of off street parking  nicely set, I love old steam... read more trains and carriages and you know its nice to have a bit of christmas cheer

We got our drinks settled down and then off we set along the track, the kids got a little present each which was decent

The carriages show their age, but hey you know what your getting when you go along to an old station

Santa came and saw the kids then a gent dressed as an elf turned up did some songs and we came back into the main station

My main issue was that in some of the wood sections you could see people had scrapped abusive words into the wood which was a bit annoying and it had been painted over rather than removed

It was a bit of cheesy fun though and highly recommended for people

Makes a nice break				
WilbertD_13
12/21/2019 

					  Not quite what I was expecting. Cars were parked in very muddy clogged grass making it difficult to get parked. It all seemed a little chaotic when we got there.... read more Santa saw the children for all of a minute as he handed out plastic bags with the kids presents in, which weren’t wrapped (not a big issue, but would have been nicer wrapped). The toys itself were age appropriate which was good. I thought we would be on the train for around an hour but it was 10 minutes up the road. Parked for 10 minutes whilst elves set up entertainment and 10 minutes back. The entertainment was ok, but wasn’t what I was expecting from the adverts. I think if this wasn’t here it the experience would have been awful. They did make it fun for 10 minutes. We had travelled nearly two hours each way (150 miles) to come to see Santa for 1 minute between three kids and the only interaction with him was to pass their present. They didn’t get to talk to him. There was the option to go and see him in the grotto after we got back to the station but the queue was long and the train was waiting to go again with the next lot so we didn’t wait. 

It really didn’t add to things when a little boy in the seats in front hadn’t got a present as it had been forgotten as the grandparent was kicking off (I understand the frustration) but it really spoilt the atmosphere for other guests as she kept complaining. Then the elf singer asked for feedback on trip advisor which set her off again. 

It was ok, but wasn’t what I expected and I think my children would have preferred somewhere where we could talk to father Xmas for 5 minutes. I appreciate its voluntary workers and I appreciate their time, just think it needs a few tweaks				
Jandtashton
12/22/2019 

					  Such a lovely experience. We took our almost 3 year old as he loves train and he really enjoyed it! We arranged to meet our friends there who unfortunately got... read more stuck in traffic and missed the train however we mentioned this to one of the guys working on the train and he sorted out for them to come on the next train with us free of charge aswell as getting my friend a free coffee. Such geniune,friendly,kind people. Definitely recommend! ️.				
sophiealder
10/28/2020