From Teetotallers to Clark Gable - All Aboard for Thornton Abbey!

Thornton Abbey It's been a stopping off point since 1848 and even Hollywood film star Clark Gable may have trod its boards during the Second World War.

Now Thornton Abbey station, on the Barton to Cleethorpes railway line, North Lincs, has received a spruce up in the shape of re-built historic name boards, which were officially unvieled today (Friday, 11 September).

The massive signs, known as 'Running-In Boards', are one metre high and five metres long and bear the station's name in bold letters.

They are rare survivors from the time of the London & North Eastern Railway which ran the line between 1923 and 1948.

Previously falling to pieces and in danger of being lost in a rail modernisation scheme, the Friends of the Barton Line and the South Humber Bank Partnership stepped in and saved them.  Restoration work, funded as part of the South Humber Collection of visitor attractions, was undertaken by local specialist firm Castaway.

Anthony Berridge, Secretary of the Friends of the Barton Line, said "The boards greet people when they first step off the train to visit the Abbey and add a wonderful sense of timelessness to this historic area.  It's marvelous that they have been restored to their former glory, having stood witness to the march of progress."

The station was opened in 1848 and in its heyday consisted of substantial buildings, a goods siding and two signal boxes. Mysteriously, in Victorian days the platforms were built much longer than those of the other stations along the line, perhaps in order to accommodate the many thousands of people who came from all over the north of England to great Temperance rallies at Thornton Abbey in the 1850s.

These extra long platforms came into good service again in the Second World War, when the station was used by USAF servicemen at the nearby Goxhill airfield. Did the Hollywood film star Clark Gable use the station when he came to Goxhill during his wartime service with the USAF in Lincolnshire? Locals like to think so.  

Keith Miller, English Heritage Inspector of Ancient Monuments, added: "The history of Thornton Abbey Station is closely linked with the Abbey itself and it provides an ideal gateway to the magnificent monument, with its famous medieval gatehouse - recently provided with exciting new displays and visitor facilities. The railway station and its restored name boards are a colourful part of the heritage of the area and it is very good to see the name once again standing proud."

Councillor Mark Kirk, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: "The South Humber Collection is a showcase for the area's leading heritage and wildlife attractions, stretching from Thornton Abbey in the east to Alkborough Flats nature reserve in the west, and centred on the historic town of Barton on Humber.  We also support a range of smaller schemes and we are especially pleased to have been able to help with the restoration of the Thornton Abbey station signs, which make a splendid contribution to the development of this area as a major tourist destination.  The Barton-Cleethorpes line is also a key part of the Green Transport network that serves the South Humber Collection, enabling visitors to combine a day at Barton or Cleethorpes with a visit to the Abbey.
 
The station is also ideally placed for visits to a local fishing lake, the Abbots Garden Farm shop and the Palm Farm. Trains currently call every two hours each way from around 7.30am to 10.15pm.