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.