page_title: Firsby to Skegness railway branch line
section_title: On to Skegness
hierarchical_section_title: Firsby to Skegness railway branch line / On to Skegness
caption_attribution_description: English: Railway Station, Skegness
context_page_description: The Firsby to Skegness railway line is a branch railway line, in Lincolnshire, England. It was built by an independent company to connect Wainfleet, at first, and then the seaside town of Skegness, with the main line network at Firsby. It opened in 1871 from Firsby to Wainfleet, and 1873 throughout.
  With the development of Skegness as a seaside holiday and excursion destination, the line increased in usage in the latter decades of the nineteenth century, and retained its popularity in most of the twentieth. In 1970 the main line at Firsby was closed north of the junction for Skegness, and the branch is now connected by the residual part of the main line from Boston. Although British seaside holidays have declined in popularity, Skegness as a resort, and the branch line remain in heavy use.
  A publicity poster for Skegness as a holiday destination was published by the Great Northern Railway in 1908, and caught the public imagination; it is still familiar today. Billy Butlin established his first holiday camp, Butlins, at Skegness in 1936, attracting much business to the line.
context_section_description: Skegness was rising in importance, and stopping short at Wainfleet was hardly logical, so the Wainfleet and Firsby Railway Company obtained an Act on 18 July 1872 to extend its line to Skegness. The extension was constituted as a separate entity for shareholding purposes; £27,000 in new share capital was authorised by the Act. The single line made an end-on junction at Wainfleet, and was 5 miles 2 chains in length. The train service was extended from Wainfleet to Skegness for general traffic on 28 July 1873. On summer Sundays one train was run each way. The GNR now worked the line for 50% of the receipts. A large sum was expended on constructing a commodious Skegness station.
caption: Skegness station
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