Alford Town railway station

Alford Town
Station frontage on the Beeching Industrial Estate; derelict and for sale in 2008.
Location
Place	Alford
Area	East Lindsey
Operations
Original company	East Lincolnshire Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Northern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway Eastern Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
3 September 1848	Opens as Alford
1 July 1923	Renamed Alford Town
2 May 1966	Closed to goods traffic
5 October 1970	Closed to passenger traffic
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Alford Town was a railway station on the East Lincolnshire Railway which served the town of Alford in Lincolnshire between 1848 and 1970. It originally opened as Alford, but was renamed in 1923. Withdrawal of goods facilities took place in 1966, followed by passenger services in 1970. The line through the station is closed.

The station was opened on 3 September 1848 as Alford after the town of Alford, and renamed following the railway grouping in 1923 to Alford Town to distinguish it from Alford on the Alford Valley Railway and Alford Halt on the Langport and Castle Cary Railway. It was constructed by Peto and Betts civil engineering contractors who, in January 1848, had taken over the contract to construct the section of the East Lincolnshire Railway between Louth and Boston from John Waring and Sons. This section was the last to be completed in September 1848 at an agreed cost of £123,000 (£12.9 million in 2016). The station was served by the Alford and Sutton Tramway to Sutton-on-Sea from 2 April 1884 to 7 December 1889.

The station building is similar in style to that at Firsby. Access was had through a three-arch portico entrance which led to a passageway to the up platform, a large parcels office and the booking office. The southern end of the station comprised the stationmaster's quarters and the ladies' waiting room. Twin facing platforms were provided; a general waiting room, storeroom, stationmaster's office and porter's room were located on the up platform. The platforms were initially covered by a roof which was subsequently replaced after the Second World War. A signal box was situated on the up side next to the road crossing to the north-west of the station. Behind the up platform lay a goods yard with a loading dock, goods shed capable to taking 9 wagons which also served as a grain store and a 15-ton crane. The shed and crane were destroyed during a bombing raid in the Second World War, which led to Alford's only wartime casualty: the shunt horse driver who was on fire watch in the yard.