2. March and the GN & GE ‘Joint’-16.08.81

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-1981 > 16. East of England tour-14-18.08.81 > 2. March and the GN & GE ‘Joint’-16.08.81

After what had started out as a stunning summer's day with clear blue skies it soon began to cloud up but at least, with a bit of patience, I managed most of the photographs in some semblance of sunshine. Graham and I initially headed back west retracing our steps to pick up from where we had got to on the Midland route from Peterborough to Leicester. Then we headed east taking in part of the line to Spalding and then the route to March. Finally, we headed north capturing scenes on the doomed GNR/GER ‘Joint’ line between March and Spalding that would close just over a year after our visit.

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Graham & me, camping spot, Essendine TF043129
After spending a very windy night in the trusty tent just next to the ECML at Essendine Graham and I pose for the camera in the early morning sunshine that was, unfortunately, not to last! Notice the L plate attached to the Austin 1100. Yes, I was learning to drive at this time with Graham permitting me to drive UVJ 129J with him riding pillion. With the permission of the land owner, we left the tent erected in the field whilst we went off for the day returning for another night.

Luffenham Junction signal box (Mid, c. 1900)
Luffenham Junction signal box was a Midland box dating from about 1900 but I do not have its exact date of opening unless anybody can advise. The box closed in the late 2000s making a relatively long block post between Manton Junction (to the west) and Ketton (to the east). The box was located adjacent to the station (closed 06.06.66) of the same name at a point where the line towards Seaton and the Welland Valley diverged. Following closure, the box was dismantled and removed to now be operational again (from the summer of 2013) on the Peak Rail heritage line now named Matlock Riverside. In my contemporary notes, I have stated the station building was ‘surprisingly large for such a rural location’ and that it was ‘designed in the Francais Thompson/Sancton Wood style.’
Keywords: Luffenham Junction signal box

Ketton signal box (Mid, 1900)
Ketton signal box (or Ketton and Collyweston to give it its official name) has always been a tricky signal box to capture on film, see….. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/26500876404/ketton-signal-boxand even back in 1981 this was the case! The Midland box was built in 1900 and, at the time of writing in 2023, is still in use controlling the level crossing and what must be one of the most enduring survivals, a Midland Railway wooden-posted lower quadrant signal. Notice the MR three-quarter milepost in front of the box.
Keywords: Ketton signal box

Midland upper quadrant home signal, Ketton SK981038
Back in 1981, when this photograph was taken, this signal and post was a remarkable survivor however the fact that it is still extant today in 2023 is even more so! The Ketton down section signal is a wooden lower quadrant arm on a wooden post topped off with a fine finial. It was probably installed when the box was opened by the Midland in 1900. Its survival today is even more extraordinary as all the other semaphores controlled by Ketton have been replaced but colour lights leaving this antique piece of infrastructure the only piece of mechanics in operation!
Keywords: Midland upper quadrant home signal Ketton SK981038

Stamford signal Box (Mid, 1893)
Stamford signal box is seen at its original and operational location further west than it stands today. It is a standard Midland Railway Type 2b box constructed in 1891. As well as being a block post on the Peterborough to Leicester line it also controlled access to the once extensive goods yard at Stamford. The box still exists today located close to the end of the station platform and has its own Facebook page, see…. https://www.facebook.com/signalboxstamford/
Keywords: Stamford signal Box

Stamford station from west
A view of Stamford station building taken from the western end. As it was a Sunday morning, it was very quiet with nobody about apart from the signalman in the box some distance behind where I am standing. Santon Wood’s mock Tudor design is now Grade 2 listed and looks very much as is seen here even down to its weathervane atop the conical turret that still bears the initials of the Syston & Peterborough Railway. In more recent years the station housed Robert Humm’s bookshop that specialised in rare and out-of-print railway books. I know that this bookshop is celebrated by railway enthusiasts and others alike but after visiting with my son I have to say what a rude and ignorant man the owner was asking my son not to touch the books. Has he no idea about how two nurture the love for books in the young? We promptly left the book open on a chair, and walked out of the shop with me not spending the cash that I had ready in my back pocket; what a way to run a business. Incidentally, in 2016 the bookshop vacated the station site so it no longer sullies a visit to the fine station.
Keywords: Stamford station from west

Stamford station from east
Stamford station from the eastern end looks superb in the early morning summer sun. We spent a little time at the delightful station that was, being a Sunday morning, particularly quiet. The superb station building, built in a mock Tudor style, was designed by the celebrated architect Sancton Wood (1814-1886). It is said that he took his inspiration from the nearby Burghley House of horse trial fame. Notice Graham's trusty Austin 1100 parked up at the far western end of the station high on a loading ramp!
Keywords: Stamford station from east

Uffington signal box (Mid, 1909)
Uffington signal box (or Uffington and Barnack to give it its official name) looks in need of a little care and attention from the S & T team and almost as though it might be being 'run down' for closure. In fact, the box is still open and looking smarter than ever https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/29547725404/uffington-signal-box-midland-railway The box is a Midland Type 4 box opened in 1909 that replaced an 1870 structure on the opposite side of the line. The box looks good, despite its physical state, with its Midland wooden name board, its finials and the row of three fire buckets.
Keywords: Uffington signal box

Former station building and signal box, Uffington
The former Uffington and Barnock station building is seen with the signal box in the background. The station was opened in 1846 by the Midland Railway on the former Syston and Peterborough Railway’s route. The station was not particularly well located for either the villages of Uffington or Barnock, as was often the case back in the early years of railway mania. This factor was one that probably precipitated its relatively early closure on 01.09.52. The building still survives as a private residence. Notice the rather conspicuously coloured Renault 20 under the car part identified from its Renault 30 bigger brother by its wheel covers and single headlights. Always a rather underwhelming offering from Renault it was not a great sales success but when was the last time that you saw one of these on the road?
Keywords: Station building and signal box Uffington

St. James Deeping signal box (GN, 1876)
St. James Deeping signal box was a Great Northern structure dating from 1876 that stood on the Lincolnshire Loop Line just near to the station of the same name. It is a fine example of a GN box with a large overhanging roof and ornate barge boarding. An unusual feature was also the opening sash Windows to the locking room which is not commonly seen on other boxes of this type. The box shut in 2014 but there are ambitious plans to dismantle it brick by brick and rebuild it on an adjacent piece of land to be used as a local hub. I am not sure how far these plans have progressed.
Keywords: St. James Deeping signal box

St. James Deeping signal box (GN, 1876)
I was so taken with St. James Deeping box back in 19812 that I took another similar photograph from a different angle to the previous one. This 1876 Great Northern box really is a superb and unmolested example of its type that really is set off by the well-painted picket fencing and the mechanical gates. The box survived for a number of years after this image was captured until 2014. However, all is not lost as it is in the process of being completely rebuilt from the ground up at a site very close to its original spot. I have very little information as to how this ambitious plan is progressing; advice, please.
Keywords: St. James Deeping signal box

Former St. James Deeping station
Located on the so-called Lincolnshire Loop Line (Werrington Junction to Spalding) the former St. James Deeping station building is seen. The station opened in 1849 to serve residents of Deeping St. James with the Great Northern altering the name of the station as was often the case at this time. Bradshaw used the local spelling in one edition of his esteemed guide only to revert to the GNR’s spelling in the next edition. Notice the resident of the former station house calmly trackside cloth in hand cleaning her windows!
Keywords: Former St. James Deeping station

Littleworth signal box (GN, 1875)
Littleworth signal box and its associated gates look superb in the morning sunshine with the former station (closed 15.06.64) seen in the background. The Great Northern box opened in 1875 and was of their standard and ornate design at the time that I cannot help but feel would have made them relatively expensive to construct. The box was subject to the early replacement of its windows with upvc units already installed but the mechanical gates survived until the mid 1990s. At the time of writing the box still stands following its closure in 2014 and appears, according to recent observations, to be in receipt of some upkeep. However, with the access steps removed this work is made a little more complicated!
Keywords: Littleworth signal box

Kings Dyke signal box (GE, 1889)
Following our brief foray along the Lincolnshire Loop Line we headed back south around the eastern edge of Peterborough and stopped at King’s Dyke level crossing. Just west of Whittlesey the level crossing was where the busy A605 road crosses the line from Peterborough to March with King’s Dyke signal box controlling it and the associated signalling. At the time of writing in 2023 the level crossing has recently closed with the opening of the King’s Dyke Crossing Scheme which has seen a new road crossing the railway thus rendering the level crossing redundant. I was expecting the box to also have closed but when I visted in May 2023 it was still manned being the fringe box from Peterborough. The 1889 Great Eastern box is seen in happier times before it had its character denuded by a mass of UPVC, see…. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/28569144004/kings-dyke-signal-box-great-eastern The large brickworks chimney is also now history.
Keywords: Kings Dyke signal box

Class 105 DMU, 12.05 Peterborough-March, Whittlesey
The 12.08 Peterborough to Cambridge DMU shuttle approaches the first stop of its relatively short journey across the Fens at Whittlesey. The class 105 Cravens DMU is seen approaching the station taken from the level crossing that was controlled by a separate signalling cabin. During ECML diversions at the start of 2019 I stood in the same spot and took a similar photograph but this time of an HST, see….. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/25696216204/x43277-07-54-newcastle-london-king
Keywords: Class 105 DMU 12.05 Peterborough-March Whittlesey

Whittlesea signal box (GE, 1887)
Whittlesey (or Whittlsea) depending on where you come from is a large village southwest of Peterborough. As well as a small station with offset platforms it boasts this large Great Eastern Type 7 box that opened in 1887. It is of a plain and simple design and certainly not as stylish as by way of an example of the nearby St. James Deeping box seen a little earlier. The box was due to close in 2020 but Network Rail’s plans to resignal the line east from Peterborough to March have been delayed with no date given for its abolition.
Keywords: Whittlesea signal box

M31256, M31996, M31309, M31310, M31293 & M31208, stored, Whittlesey
A line of condemned LMS fifty-foot full brake parcel vans composed of (but not entirely) M31256, M31996, M31309, M31310, M31293 & M31208. The LMS vans were always instantly recognisable due to them having protruding look-outs or duckets. I am not at all sure as to where the condemned vans would go after their sojourn in Whittlesea yard to be cut up. I have a total of sixty-three LMS and Southern vans recorded in the yard on this day and would welcome any information on their build dates and lot numbers if anybody out there has access to this information if I provide the numbers.
Keywords: M31256 M31996, M31309 M31310 M31293 M31208 stored Whittlesey

M31379, stored, Whittlesey
n some sidings at Whittlesea we came across the extraordinary sight of a huge number of stored stock awaiting its next move and meeting with the scrapman. My records appear to show sixty-three parcel vans on site being a mixture of LMS and Southern types. We spent some time wandering around the sidings not being bothered by anybody and with no security in place; how different to today when redundant stock is only found in secure compounds away from prying eyes and trophy hunters! Former LMS fifty-foot van M31379 stands in line catching the afternoon sun as it awaits onward movement. The sticker in its centre window reads Birmingham. I wonder if this was where it went on its final run with BR before being condemned?
Keywords: M31379, stored, Whittlesey

S2079 & S1539, stored, Whittlesey
As well as many former LMS fifty feet vans stored in sidings at Whittlesea there was also a number of ex-Southern vans awaiting their fate with the cutter. These four-wheel wooden-bodied vans would have been easier for the scrap man to deal with by them probably being torched with the steel frame left behind to simply be cut up. S1539 was a middle member of the large final batch of these once very common wagons that were constructed, largely at Wolverton Works, as late as the 1950s but I would welcome more information on these details if anybody has access to it. As well as having 'letter mail' being chalked on the centre window of the van, it also has two of its previous destinations identified with 'Exeter' and 'Birmingham Curzon' both clear to see.
Keywords: S2079 S1539 stored Whittlesey

Interior, M31010, Whittlesey
Graham and I were able to clamber aboard one of the former LMS vans stored awaiting onward movement and scrapping at Whittlesea. This view inside of M31010 shows its functional and relatively smart interior. Notice the two semi-enclosed areas on opposite sides of the van. These housed a small seat for the guard and access to the ducket or protruding windows that afforded a view along the length of the train that was a notable feature of this design of this van.
Keywords: Interior M31010 Whittlesey

Three Horse Shoes signal box (GE, 1901)
The curiously named Three Horse Shoes signal box lies in an isolated Fenland spot between Whittlesey and March close to the village of Turves. Quite why it carries the name it does is a mystery, the only clue I can find is that there is a Horse Shoe Farm a short distance north of the box. In this 1981 view, the box is in its original condition as built by the Great Eastern in 1901 with its timber framed windows, a large chimney stack and wooden steps. Today, whilst it is still in operation, it has had the ghastly UPVC treatment making it almost unrecognisable, see…..https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/25696219604/x180109-09-49-london-king-s-cross
Keywords: Three Horse Shoes signal box

LNER globe lamp, footbridge, March West Junction
Globe lamps were a notable feature of LNER passenger interface infrastructure that was once very commonplace. By 1981 most had been swept away but one did occasionally come across them as here on a footbridge at March West Junction. I also managed to capture some six months or so previously on New Holland Pier, see.... https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/29820618204/lner-globe-enamel-new-holland-pier
Keywords: LNER globe lamp footbridge March West Junction

March West Junction signal box (GE, c.1885)
March West Junction signal box was a Great Eastern Type 4 structure dating from around 1885. It is seen here photographed from a footbridge that spans the line in the Norwoodside area of the Cambridgeshire town. It controlled access to the vast March Yard from the west but was deemed surplus to requirements as the importance of the yard declined with the box being closed on 29.11.87. The box wears its wooden nameboard and still has the decorative edging to the fascias with this particular bargeboard pattern being unique to this design as far as the GER was concerned at least. As an aside, whilst working on the image in Photoshop, I was examining the details and spotted what appears to be a former DMU double seat against the window in the bottom right complete with the little chrome ashtray still attached to the seat back. Today the view from the same rickety footbridge is somewhat different as recorded during a 2023 visit, see..... https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30041446450/x170620-06-24-bristol-temple-meads
Keywords: March West Junction signal box

March Whitemoor Junction signal box (GE, date not known)
March Whitemoor Junction signal box once stood where the vast Whitemoor Yard and the former GN and GEJR line to Spalding diverged. With the closure of both of these pieces of railway infrastructure at different times the box was also eventually shut. I have been able to find out precious little about the box but it appears to be
of a later type of Great Eastern design with its more simple features. Notice that the locking room windows have been bricked up but with the bricks looking relatively new this appears to be a recent change. If anybody could provide me with some further information on this box it would be appreciated. Of course, the once vast marshalling yard partially reopened and now handles vast quantities of ballast for Networks Rail's infrastructure work.
Keywords: March Whitemoor Junction signal box

Frontage, March station
The frontage of March station is quite impressive for what is, after all, a fairly small Fenland town. In Gordon Biddle’s Victorian Stations book (David & Charles; 1973) there is a photograph of the frontage with its now removed impressive V-patterened awning the position of which can be seen in the brickwork above the large windows in this 1981 image. The station was opened in 1847 once being a major junction where a number of lines and routes converged with it once having seven platforms!
Keywords: Frontage, March station

March East Junction signal box (GE, 1885)
Catching some welcome sunshine March East Junction signal box stands adjacent to the busy level crossing that it controls where the B1101 Station Road crosses the line. The box is still in operation (at the time of writing in 2023) and is a fine example of a Great Eastern Type 5 design built in 1885 with its ornate decorative edging to the facias and barge boarding. It was raised to its present height in 1897 to give the signalmen a better view of operations with a huge increase in freight activity having taken place. The locking room windows were bricked up during the run-up to World War II to provide better blast protection. The box is now Grade II listed so its immediate future is secure once the resignalling of this route takes place in the not-too-distant future.
Keywords: March East Junction signal box Great Eastern

Class 101 & Class 105 DMU, 14.05 Peterborough-Cambridge, March station
The 14.05 Peterborough to Cambridge service is seen leaving March station worked by Class 101 DMU leading a Class 105 on the rear. Along with Class 31 locomotive-hauled services DMUs operated the majority of trains in this part of East Anglia and the Fens. Notice in this view that March station still had all four platforms in operation with just the two to the left having tracks laid today. The platforms to the right served passengers and traffic travelling via the GN&GEJR to Spalding and the Wisbech branch both of which have now succumbed. However, there are constant rumblings about the reopening of the latter route in some form or another.
Keywords: Class 101 Class 105 DMU 14.05 Peterborough-Cambridge March station first generation dmu

Class 105 & Class 101 DMU, 14.05 Peterborough-Cambridge & 47830, March East Junction
The 14.05 Peterborough to Cambridge DMU service leaves March passing the East Junction signal box. The train is made up of a two-car Class 105 and a three-car Class 101 unit leading. Both of these classes were found widely throughout East Anglia the former units being the first to succumb when withdrawals began following a number of them moving to the Northwest. No heat 47380 stands stabled to the right of the image that ended its life as a petroleum sector locomotive eleven years after this superb scene at March.
Keywords: Class 105 Class 101 DMU 14.05 Peterborough-Cambridge 47830, March East Junction first generation DMU

Signage, March level crossing
This image is not of the best quality as it was rescued from the rejects box due to terrible lighting and being far from sharp. However, only when I studied a scanned version of the transparency did I realise that the large sign, and possibly the others for that matter, are of LNER heritage. Therefore, I decided to spend some extra time and effort in Photoshop to resurrect the image and present it.
Keywords: Signage March level crossing LNER

March South Junction signal box (GE, 1885)
March South Junction signal box is seen complete with its enormous British Railways (Eastern) enamel running-in sign. The Great Eastern box dates from 1885 and, at the time of writing in 2023, is still in use but very much on borrowed time. I took a very similar photograph in 2019, see….. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/25696225404/march-south-junction-signal-box and again in 2023, see ..... https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30041446455/x170618-10-27-stansted-airport-birmingham with very few differences observed but for the clearance of the March Concrete Plant that closed in the late 1980s in the background to be replaced by some bungalows.
Keywords: March South Junction signal box GE Great Eastern

306026, stored, March South Junction
Stored in a siding across the running lines from March South Junction signal box 306026 looks rather forlorn as it awaits its final move and fate. Unlike earlier in the day at Whittlesea Graham and I was unable to explore further but somehow we did manage to get the numbers of the doomed units. The Class 306s were a pre-war LNER enduring design that were converted from their as-built 1,500 DC form to 25KV (and 6.25KV for inner London operations) between 1959 and 1961. Of the ninety-one sets one unit, 306017, was saved from the scrap man and is now part of the national collection after being painted into its as-built green livery and was used for charter operation for a short while. Notice the destination blind in the unit seen here reading Gidea Park, was this its final service before being taken out of service after some thirty years of faithful operation for the commuters between Liverpool Street and Shenfield? However, the two-character headcode of 48 would suggest a more mundane ECS move to Stratford Depot.
Keywords: 306026 stored Whitemoor Yard

31234, 13.40 Norwich-Birmingham New Street (1M67), March South signal box
Of very dubious quality, this is another slide rescued from the 1981 rejects box. It has needed a fair amount of Photoshop work to bring things back from the abyss with the original exposure being probably two stops under what it should have been as well as being badly framed! Taken from inside March South Junction signalbox 31234 slows for its stop at March station leading the 1M67 13.40 Norwich to Birmingham New Street service. Today this service is handled by an inferior unit of some kind be it a 158 or a 170, hardly progress from a long rake of comfy MK. 1s as seen here.
Keywords: 31234 13.40 Norwich-Birmingham New Street March South signal box

Interior, March South Junction signal box
Graham and I were invited into March South Junction signal box by the signalman on duty on this balmy Sunday afternoon. The LNER box that was opened in 1927 with a fifty-one lever frame that looks as though it is largely intact as seen in this photograph. In the best traditions of mechanical signalling, the handles of the levers and the brass-work of the indicators are kept spotless and polished within an inch of their lives! The box is still in use today at the time of writing in 2023 with no planned date for its closure as yet but, good luck with an invite inside!
Keywords: Interior, March South Junction signal box.jpg

Class 105 DMU, 14.10 Cambridge-Peterborough, March South signal box
A two-car Class 105 DMU approaches March taken from the window of the South Signal box. The first generation DMU was working the 14.10 Cambridge to Peterborough service with passengers no doubt bouncing up and down on the softly sprung seats as it crossed the undulating Fenland track.
Keywords: Class 105 DMU 14.10 Cambridge-Peterborough March South signal box First generation DMU

March station
The scene looking southeast through March station has actually changed little today from this 1981 view. The semaphores, the signal box, the level crossing and footbridge are still extant but the stabled class 47s and stored Class 308 EMUs are long gone! Today, just two platforms are in use but there are plans to reopen the presently mothballed platforms to the left of where I am standing here with the possible reinstatement of the Wisbech branch. However, discussions of this have been going on for years with no real progress apart from the odd feasibility study or other!
Keywords: March station

Etched glass panel, March station
Another example of a lovely piece of Victorian extravagance still extant on March station in 1981. This pane of etched glass was fitted to a door inside the main building but, unfortunately, it appears to have attracted the attention of the local March vandals.
Keywords: Etched glass panel March station

37090 & 37245, down freight, Badgenny Road level crossing
Making our way to Horsemoor just south of March we called in at Badgenny Road level crossing. As we were there the gates closed and the crossing's home signal, seen in the middle distance, was pulled off. Being a Sunday in the Fens there was little scheduled passenger traffic so we were pleased to see a freight approaching from the Ely direction probably heading to Whitemoor Yard. 37090 and 37245 lead a short engineering train no doubt shattering the Fenland peace and quiet on this warm Sunday afternoon.
Keywords: 37090 37245 down freight Badgenny Road level crossing

Horsemoor signal box (GE, 1889)
This was as far east as Graham and I would venture today with the focus of our activity to document the doomed GNR/GER ‘Joint’ line that ran between Spalding and March. Horsemmor signal box was located to the east of March on the Ely line where it crossed the B1099 Upwell Road. This was only a short distance from March South signal box with the next one in the other direction being Stonea. Opened in 1899 by the Great Eastern it was unusual in having a covered landing and a window arrangement of small panes above tall that appeared to be unique for this particular design of box. The box shut on 13.11.88 with an anonymous grey relay room and full barriers replacing it, however, the structure was carefully dismantled and is now located in a reclamation yard at nearby Murrow, see….https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473940/former-horsemoor-signal-box-murrow
Keywords: Horsemoor signal box Great Eastern Railway

Twenty Feet River signal box (BR, 1974)
The first box of the GN & GE JR (the Joint March to Spalding line) as it left March was the oddly named Twenty Feet River. Located at the very northern end of March’s vast Whitemoor Yard it was a relatively new box being opened by BR in 1974 replacing the former Great Eastern box named Twenty Feet Siding that was subsiding into the soft Fenland soil. The replacement box would only be in use for eight years closing when the Joint line was shut in 1982. This spot can still be visited today as a footpath passes the sight of the box following the route of the railway into Whitemoor and forms part of the National Cycle Network's Route 63. I stood in a very similar spot in 2023 in an attempt to replicate this photograph, see….https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473937/site-twenty-feet-river-signal-box
Keywords: Twenty Feet River signal box British Railways

Murrow West signal box (BR, 1950)
The tiny Fenland village of Murrow bizarrely once had two stations named East and West serving its meagre population. The two lines, the GN & GE Joint and the M & GN Joint, crossed each other on a flat crossing just to the west of the village. All was well until a disastrous crash between two freight trains the winter of 1941 caused by some frozen points. In this view the GN & GE Joint line passes in front of the superb 1950 British Railways built LNER designed box. Where I am standing M & GN route crossing from left to right at the far end of the box just beyond the small hut. The signalman would have had excellent all-round vision from the box of everything that it controlled. Today the box has been converted into a home, see…. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473938/former-murrow-west-signal-box-lner
Keywords: Murrow West signal box LNER

Murrow West signal box (BR, 1950)
The rear of Murrow signal box. The box was opened in 1950 by British Railways to an LNER design originally named Murrow West. It was located on the platform end of the station of the same name that was to close just three years later on 06.07.53. Thankfully, the signal box still survives as a private residence and what place it must be to live in! My 2023 image of the box can be seen here…. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473939/former-murrow-west-signal-box-lner
Keywords: Murrow West signal box LNER

Former French Drove & Gedney Hill station
The remote Fenland station of French Drove and Gedney Hill was never going to be a real roaring success! Opened in 1867 by the GNR named French Drove was a little unusual as there was not actually a settlement of that name with it being named after the road that crossed the railway at that point. In 1938 the suffix Gedney Hill was added with this scattered village still being one and a half miles away! The station lingered on until closure came in September 1961. In this view looking south from the level crossing on the Joint line the station building is seen along with some associated signalling controlled by the signal box just over my left shoulder. The building remains today as a private residence despite the Joint line closing in November 1982. Its estimated value today in over £500,000 and it is also interesting that the former station has it own Facebook page…. https://www.facebook.com/pages/French-Drove-and-Gedney-Hill-railway-station/117109118337021
Keywords: Former French Drove & Gedney Hill station

French Drove signal box (GN, 1882)
The lovely Great Eastern box at French Drove is seen waiting to signal its next train. However, being a Sunday there would be little traffic over the March to Spalding line that would close fifteen months after this photograph was taken. The box was located just north of a level crossing with the closed French Drove and Gedney station on the other side of the crossing. Like its neighbouring box at Murrow West this box still survives and is now a rather nice one-bedroomed house that has recently been on the market for £300,000 but it does have one-third of an acre of what would have been former railway land. By 2023 the box looks very different being totally surrounded by trees, see…. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473945/x11-former-french-drove-signal-box
Keywords: French Drove signal box GN Great Northern

Signalling, French Drove
The view looking north from French Drove on the former GN & GE Joint line reveals two passing loops on both the up and down lines. These were installed to permit slow freight trains to be recessed permitting faster trains to pass. These may well have seen use in busier times such as during WWII but I suspect that just eighteen months before the closure of the Spalding to March line they did not see much, if any, use! This view conveys a little of the antiquated nature of the nineteen-mile-long route between March and Spalding with its LNER concrete signal posts and mile after mile of telegraph wires stretching across the Fenland countryside.
Keywords: Signalling French Drove

Postland signal box & crossing gates (GN, 1872)
Postland signal box looks to be in superb condition on this warm and pleasant sunny August Sunday afternoon back in 1981. Whilst the box still stands today, it is not in quite such a good way in fact it is almost hidden behind a cloak of ivy with the roof falling in, see….. https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473949/x15-former-postland-signal-box-gn . The ornate box with its characteristic sculptured barge boarding was (is!) a Great Northern design built in 1882. To take this photograph, including the superb crossing gates with their oil lamps, I was standing on the down platform of the former station that itself was closed in 1961. Fenland Tractors, seen behind the box, is still in operation today and indeed, a Google search for them reveals the rear of the box on the search page.
Keywords: Postland signal box & crossing gates Great Northern

Cowbit signal box (GN, 1882)
In lovely late afternoon sunshine Cowbit’s (pronounced Cubbit) signal box is seen adjacent to the former station (closed 11.09.61) and the level crossing where Stone Gate Road crossed the doomed GN & GE Joint line. The signal box had just eighteen months left in operation before BR completed its plans to shut the line between Spalding and March, like so many closures this is one that is seen now as a mistake with it offering an alternative route for freight taking it away from the ECML. The delightfully ornate 1881 Great Northern box still stands having been the subject of a long and protracted conversion into a private residence, see..... https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/30044473953/former-cowbit-signal-box-gn
Keywords: Cowbit signal box Great Northern

Closed ticket office, Cowbit station (closed 11.09.61)
Exploring Cowbit’s closed station Graham and I came across an open door. Feeling it rude not to have a snoop around we went in and discovered it relatively intact from when it closed almost exactly twenty years earlier to the day. Just managing to utilise the late afternoon sunshine streaming in from the outside I managed this atmospheric photograph of the ticket office. Today the station is a private residence the same as a number of other former railway buildings on the nineteen-mile stretch of the former GN/GE Joint line between March and Spalding.
Keywords: Closed ticket office Cowbitt station closed 11.09.61

Spalding No.1 signal box (GN, 1921)
Another repeat photograph from last year's summer trip, see…..https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/29682541404/spalding-no-1-signal-box-gn-1921 but this time it is taken in some pleasant evening sunshine rather than the grey overcast day the twelve months previously. The substantial Spalding Number 1 box was a Great Northern structure dating from 1921. It controlled the station and access to it from the south as well as operating the crossing gates on the busy Winsover Road. As can be seen, a footbridge was provided for pedestrians to cross the line when the gates were closed to road users. The box was closed in 2014 and demolished shortly after that with barriers now controlling the crossing. The footbridge has also been removed.
Keywords: Spalding No.1 signal box GN 1931 Great Northern

Spalding no.2 signal box (GN, 1920)
My final picture of the day before heading back to our campsite next to the ECML at Essendine is a rear view of the Great Northern Spalding Number 2 signal box catching the evening sunshine. Framed by the latticed Steppingstone footbridge the box wears a pair of, what I believe to be, LNER blue enamels above the door identified by the font but I stand to be corrected. The box survived for a further three years before considerable rationalisation took place in Spalding with all control moving to Number 1 box located at the town’s busy level crossing.
Keywords: Spalding no.2 signal box GN 1920

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