Now- historic Cleethorpes seaside railway images resurfaceduring lockdown
SOMEof the earliest photographs of oneof Britain’s oldest- surviving seaside miniaturelines– theCleethorpesCoast LightRailway( CCLR)– have resurfaced more than70years after theyweretaken byaphotographer using thesameroll of film asheused forhishoneymoonsnaps.
LincolnshireCoast Light Railway ( LCLR) volunteer Peter Balderston has uncovered pictures taken in 1948/ 1949 by his father, Mr CS Balderston, of Grimsby, not long after the line was opened.
Originally known as the Cleethorpes Miniature Railway, it was a 10 ¼ ingauge line built by William Botterill, of Peterborough, and run by his firm, Botterill’s Miniature Railways Ltd.
Opening on July 16, 1948, at first it ran for just 300 yards. A year later, the line was relaid todouble track.
Rediscovery
During the course of carrying out a lockdownsearch while tidying drawers andfiles to seewhatwas at the back of them( HR Issue269), CCLR director PeterBryant rediscovereda‘ Dead Sea Scrolls’- type series of picturesof former neighbour the LCLR from1962, two years after that line began operations as theworld’s first heritage railway to be builtonagreen field site.
He sent them to the volunteers based at the LCLR’s current home at SkegnessWater Leisure Park, asking whether they would check their old files for any photographs of his line from the 1950s and 60s when it ran as the Cleethorpes Miniature Railway. They did – and they have also come up trumps.
The former Cleethorpes Borough Council took over the line in the winter of 1958/ 59.
In the 1960s, the line used battery locomotives, and in 1972 it was regauged to the rare 14 ¼ in and extended in both directions.
During 1974- 76, Peter Balderston was a driver on the line during his summer holidays from university.
His own views taken around that time include a diesel- hydraulic scale replica of A3 Pacific No. 4472 Flying Scotsman, built by Artisair in 1975, with the engine in the tender, and which ranon the line.
Previous owner Chris Shaw bought the railway from the council in 1991, rebranded it as the CCLR and regauged it to 15in, similar to contemporaries such as the Romney, Hythe& Dymchurch and the Ravenglass& Eskdale railways, and purchased steam locomotives.
Friendship
Other rediscovered photographs came fromfellowvolunteer David Enefer, who formanyyears also droveonthe CCLR.
AthirdLCLR volunteer, Chris Bates, turned upasepia postcardfrom1952, having acquired itwhen writing the bookRailwaysofNorth Lincolnshire with fellowenthusiastMartin Bairstow.
LCLR spokesman John Chappell said:“We’ve beendelighted tohelp our friends and neighbours in the north of the county to showcase their early days. It’s a signof the friendship between Lincolnshire’s unique heritage railways.”
Peter Bryant added:“Photographs of the old Cleethorpes Miniature Railway are surprisingly hard to come by, so we’re very pleased our friends at the LCLR have been able to find these and share them with us. Our railway has evolved considerably throughout its 70- year history and it is fascinating to see changes in these photos.”
On July 4, the CCLR was among the first wave of heritage lines to reopen after lockdown, also having stringent social distancing measures in place.