GAINSBOROUGH

Yes, we're off to Gainsborough in this post, but first we must cross the Trent to East Ferry. Watch out for the paddle steam Scarborough passing by. 

There's a pub in East Stockwith, the Ferry House, but no real ales these days.

Follow the map (here) and you'll come to Blyton, where there's the White Hart ready to slake your thirst.

Blyton station was a long way from the village. The platforms had gone by 1967 (Ben Brooksbabk - Create Commons Licence).

Northorpe station was another early closer, but the GCR signal box survived to control the level crossing.

Almost a U Turn now and we come to Morton, just north of Gainsborough and contiguous with it.

A Humber Keel, the Loxley, passes Morton on the River Trent.

The Aegir (or Eagre) is a natural phenomenon on the Trent, similar to the Severn Bore. Here it is at Morton Corner.

Morton was home to Eagre Coaches.

Eagre Coaches ran a service into Gainsborough and here are a few of their buses in the town.

Lincolnshire Road Car had a depot in Gainsborough.

Here are a few Road Car buses on service in Gainsborough.

Barnard's was a short lived independent serving Gainsborough.

All Saints church, Gainsborough, 1989.

Gainsborough Old Hall tower, a famous location in the town (Creative Commons License).

The Market Place and Silver Street.

Gainsborough's wharves beside the Trent.

The Aegir passes through Gainsborough.

A souvenir from the long closed Friendship Hotel in the town centre.

The Elm Cottage is worth seeking out.

There's a Wetherspoons, the Sweyne Forkbeard.

Leaving the best until last, the Eight Jolly Brewers.

The Gainsborough Model Railway Society has an O Gauge model railway, occupying a former school. The layout is based on the ECML from Kings Cross to Leeds.

Well situated for the town, but today with a very sparce train service, Gainsborough Central station was once a busy place, Here's a view from the air in 1939.

A visit to an almost empty Central station in the late 1960s.

The nearby Marshall's factory had a Fowler diesel shunter.

Gainsborough other station is Lea Road, with trains at least hourly. Here are two pre-grouping views.

The signal box here survived into the 1980s, but was later destroyed by fire.

A southbound class 31 arrives.

Now we must cross the Trent into Nottinghamshire, but I'm not paying the toll!

So, we'll use the railway. Both lines come together at Trent Junction. A different type of coming together took place just prior to WW1.

Just on the Lincolnshire side, here's Gainsborough Trent Junction signal in 1979, with West Burton power station in the background.

We'll be exploring that bit of Nottinghamshire in the next post.