The Railway its Builders Didn’t Want

The Sleaford to Bourne Branch of the Great Northern Railway nearly never happened. Planned by the Company as part of an attempt to block another railway’s scheme to intrude into what it saw as its own territory, the GN then struck a deal with its rival and tried to abandon their proposals. Fortunately for the locals of Aswarby, Scredington, Horbling, Billingborough and Morton, Parliament stopped them doing so. The line was opened in January 1872, carried passengers for 58 years and finally closed to all traffic in 1965.

The second picture here (the back cover of the booklet) shows the first and last timetables for the branch.