Grimsby (Corporation Bridge) electric railway station

Grimsby (Corporation Bridge) electric railway station was the eastern terminus of the Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway, the western terminus being Immingham Dock, 7 miles (11 km) to the north west.

Grimsby (Corporation Bridge)
LocationGrimsby, North East Lincolnshire
England
Coordinates53.5709°N 0.0842°W / 53.5709; -0.0842
Grid referenceTA269099
Platforms0
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Central Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Central Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
15 May 1912opened
1 July 1956closed[1]

It was situated on Corporation Street, Grimsby, in the shadow of Corporation Bridge,[2][3][4] which spanned an arm of Alexandra Dock.

The terminus was referred to locally and occasionally officially simply as "Corporation Bridge".[5]

Overview

The electric railway was built primarily to carry workers between Grimsby and Immingham Dock which the Great Central Railway had built on a greenfield site in a sparsely populated area. The line was built by the Great Central and remained in railway ownership up to closure in 1961. It therefore appeared in railway timetables[6] and it was possible to buy through tickets between any of the stops on the line and anywhere on the national railway network,[7] though there never was any physical connection with any conventional track. Nor was there with the tramways in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, though that had been an early aspiration for which powers had been obtained by the Great Central through their Grimsby District Light Railway endeavour, of which the G&IER was a part. The key physical problem had always been Corporation Bridge itself, which was not strong enough to take tracks and trams. By the time it was replaced in 1928 Grimsby was winding down its tramways and all thought of joining up had had their day.[8]

In modern parlance the vehicles would be described as trams, but they were usually referred to locally as "tramcars", with related things being called names such as "tramcar halt" and "tramcar bridge" with "car" a more common short form than "tram."

Location and facilities

The Corporation Bridge terminus was at the eastern end of the 1 1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) urban "street" section[9][10] of the inter-urban[11] line.[12]

From Corporation Bridge the line ran on grooved tramway tracks along the middle of first Corporation Road,[13] then Gilbey Road, Grimsby.[14] This part of the line was single track; it originally had three passing places ("loops" in railway parlance) where the line:

  • was met by Yarborough Street[15]
  • was met by Beeson Street,[16][17] and
  • passed Little Coates School.[18]

A fourth, turnback, loop was added at the extreme western end of the street running section, west of Cleveland Bridge, in 1956 when the remainder of the street running section closed. Unlike the "country" section of the line, halts did not always coincide with loops.

The points at the ends of the loops were spring loaded. As the line was unsignalled, motormen drove by line of sight.

No platforms ever existed at any of the stopping places; passengers were expected to board and alight from the roadway or trackside cinders according to the location. The "stations" were much more commonly referred to as "halts" or "stopping places."

With the sole exception of this station, where a ticket office was provided, passengers bought their tickets from conductors on board the cars.

Corporation Bridge terminus opened with the line in 1912[19] and was mentioned in the 1914[20] and 1922 timetables,[6] as well as the 1948 version reproduced in the Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway article.

The terminus not only had the line's sole ticket office, it had its sole parcels office and was one of only three halts to offer waiting passengers any form of shelter. It also provided offices for the line's superintendent. Finally, the line's two termini - Corporation Bridge and Immingham Dock - were the only halts on the line to attempt anything along the lines of railway nameboards, both proclaimed themselves in very large letters to be a "TRAMWAY STATION."[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

Services

Unusually among British tramways services ran round the clock, particularly to provide for railway workers based at Immingham engine shed, whose duties often involved starting or finishing at unsocial hours. Traffic was highly peaked, with convoys of tramcars leaving and arriving to match shift changes at the dock. It was normal for several tramcars to queue to enter and leave Corporation Bridge Tramway Station at the peaks.[28][29]

After 1945 industry was attracted to the south bank of the Humber, steadily transforming the landscape from rural to urban, though few workers at the new plants lived locally. This led to an increase in ridership and an increase in footfall at Corporation Bridge. It also coincided with and reinforced a rise in road use along Corporation Road itself, increasing the risk of conflicts[30] and accidents. The tension between tram and rubber wheeled traffic is nowhere better shown than the famous "Tram Pinch" signs at the roadside.[17]

The east coast floods of 1953 did considerable damage to the tramway's infrastructure, with passengers having to walk between tramcars marooned either side of flooded or washed out sections.[31]

In 1956 over a million passengers used the line,[32] nevertheless the roadway section east of Cleveland Bridge, including Corporation Bridge Tramway Station, closed at midnight on 30 June 1956. The last car to leave was original GCR car No. 1.[33]

Closure

The line took some years to die. It was cut back at the Grimsby end in 1956. In 1959 it was reduced to peak services only, it disappeared from Bradshaw and through ticketing beyond the line was withdrawn.[34] Formal closure of the line came on Monday 3 July 1961, with the last tramcars running on Saturday 1 July 1961, when a convoy of six tramcars set off from Immingham Dock, nominally at 14:03.[35] The last tramcar of this convoy and therefore the last of all was Number 4.[36]

Aftermath

The first track on the line to be removed was at Immingham Dock tramcar station, to give increased parking space. The process of demolition was piecemeal and even in 2013 many hints of the line remained, such as spun concrete masts near Immingham Town.

Despite its rickety appearance Corporation Bridge Tramway Station building survived for many years after the line closed. It performed a number of uses, latterly as a yacht chandlers. The wooden bench which stood in front of the station for many years has been preserved at the National Railway Museum, York.[37]

Former Services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Yarborough Street
Line and station closed		   Great Central Railway
Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway		   Terminus

References
  1. Butt 1995, p. 69.
  2. Bett & Gillham 1975, p. 61.
  3. Burgess 2007, p. 20.
  4. Pask 1999, Rear cover.
  5. Pask 1999, p. 3.
  6. Bradshaw 1985, p. 717.
  7. Price 1991, p. 112.
  8. Price 1991, p. 81.
  9. Bates & Bairstow 2005, Map p.81.
  10. Skelsey 2011, p. 238.
  11. Feather 1993, p. 1.
  12. King & Hewins 1989, Photos 48-50.
  13. Fell & Hennessey 2012, p. 724.
  14. Mummery & Butler 1999, p. 67.
  15. King & Hewins 1989, Photo 48.
  16. Price 1991, p. 66.
  17. King & Hewins 1989, Photo 49.
  18. King & Hewins 1989, Photo 50.
  19. Butt 1995, p. 63.
  20. Mummery & Butler 1999, p. 62.
  21. King & Hewins 1989, Photo 47.
  22. Bates & Bairstow 2005, p. 82 & Back Cover.
  23. Skelsey 2011, p. 234.
  24. Crossland & Turner 2012, pp. 30 & 31.
  25. Wilson & Barker 1998, p. 358.
  26. Mitchell & Smith 2017, Photo 110.
  27. Squires 1988, p. 21.
  28. King & Hewins 1989, Photo 60.
  29. Price 1991, p. 89.
  30. Price 1991, p. 95.
  31. King & Hewins 1989, Photo 55.
  32. Price 1991, p. 94.
  33. Price 1991, p. 93.
  34. Bates & Bairstow 2005, p. 85.
  35. Skelsey 2011, p. 239.
  36. Price 1991, p. 102.
  37. Price 1991, p. 82.

Sources
  • Bates, Chris; Bairstow, Martin (2005). Railways in North Lincolnshire. Leeds: Martin Bairstow. ISBN 978-1-871944-30-3.
  • Bett, W. H.; Gillham, J. C. (1975). The Tramways of South Yorkshire and Humberside. Light Railway Transport League. ISBN 978-0-900433-58-0.
  • Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
  • Burgess, Neil (2007). Lincolnshire's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-407-4.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Crossland, G J; Turner, C E (2012) [2006]. Immingham A History of the Deep Water Port. T&C Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9543051-2-3.
  • Feather, T. (February 1993). "Great Central Inter-Urban". Forward. Great Central Railway Society. ISSN 0141-4488.
  • Fell, Mike G.; Hennessey, R. A. S. (December 2012). Blakemore, Michael (ed.). "Immingham 100, The Port and Its Technology". Back Track. Easingwold: Atlantic Publishers. 26 (12). ISSN 0955-5382.
  • King, Paul K.; Hewins, Dave R. (1989). Scenes from the Past: 5 The Railways around Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Immingham and North-east Lincolnshire. Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 978-1-870119-04-7.
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2017). Branch Lines North of Grimsby, including Immingham. Midhurst: Middleton Press (MD). ISBN 978-1-910356-09-8.
  • Mummery, Brian; Butler, Ian (1999). Immingham and the Great Central Legacy. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-1714-1.
  • Pask, Brian (1999). The Tickets of the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway. Sevenoaks: he Transport Ticket Society. ISBN 978-0-903209-33-5.
  • Price, J. H. (1991). The Tramways of Grimsby, Immingham & Cleethorpes. Light Rail Transit Association. ISBN 978-0-948106-10-1.
  • Skelsey, Geoffrey (April 2011). Blakemore, Michael (ed.). "Flirting with the enemy, Railway Operated Electric Tramways in the United Kingdom". Back Track. Easingwold: Atlantic Publishers. 25 (4).
  • Squires, Stewart E. (1988). The Lost Railways of Lincolnshire. Ware: Castlemead Publications. ISBN 978-0-948555-14-5.
  • Wilson, Bryan L.; Barker, Oswald J. (October 1998). Smith, Martin (ed.). "The Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway". Railway Bylines. Clophill: Irwell Press Limited. 3 (8). ISSN 1360-2098.

Further material
  • Anderson, Paul (1992). Railways of Lincolnshire. Oldham: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-871608-30-4.
  • Dow, George (1965). Great Central, Volume Three: Fay Sets the Pace, 1900–1922. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0263-0. OCLC 500447049.
  • Ludlam, A.J. (July 2006). Kennedy, Rex (ed.). "Immingham-Gateway to the Continent". Steam Days. Bournemouth: Redgauntlet Publications (203). ISSN 0269-0020.
  • Ludlam, A.J. (1996). Railways to New Holland and the Humber Ferries. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-494-4. LP 198.
  • Electric Traction Archive, 118, Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions, contains a fine archive section on the tramway
  • The Passing of Pyewipe, Online Video, available via Great Central Railway Society, solely about the tramways of Immingham, Grimsby & Cleethorpes
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