St. Thomas' church Skirbeck Quarter Boston

[nicknottm]

photo 1962/63

[Redroger]

Photo certainly before September 1963, as at that time the service was dieselized. Beyond that it could be any time after May 1959, when the Brittania class engines were allocated to the service. I thought the lady pushing the pram ws my wife at first, but the photo is at least three years too early. I can't resolve the engine number, probably due to the restriction in KB for the photo but it might be 70037, which was one of the engines used, and it might be my father driving it. (See my avatar) The picture was certainly taken at around 6.30p.m, .which limits the time of year to mid April to early September.Probably April 1963 as the grass hasn't grown much after the exceptionally harsh winter.

[Geoff-E]

Probably April 1963 as the grass hasn't grown much after the exceptionally harsh winter.

There are anglers on the riverbank, which seems to rule out 17 March to 15 June.

The first Britannia was allocated to Immingham in Dec 1960.  70037 didn't arrive until Sept 1961.

Regarding the time of day, if it were 6.30pm, surely the lady should be at home doing the washing up after her husband had eaten his tea.

[nicknottm]

great detective work! Judging by the chronology of my films, I think I took this in late March or early April 1963. Unsure about time of day but I don't think it was evening: I would have been worried about there being enough light for my little Kodak 127 camera! Will put on a few more photos- I have a couple showing the Milk Marketing Board bungalow. Got lots of photos of trains BTW, many on that railway line, as I was a keen trainspotter!

[Redroger]

If the engine was working a train from King's Cross, which by the type and condition of stock it appears to be, then it has to be around 6.30pm, which would suggest an April date as BST would then be in operation.There were two trains on the King's Cross -Cleethorpes service, the first left London between 4 and 4.15p.m,. arriving Boston some 2 1/4 hours later. The other left London at around 6.30p.m.,with arrival at Boston around 8.45p.m. Clearly if the picture was taken in the spring of 1963 then it has to be the earlier train. I am sure it can't have been in March as in 1963 there was still snow lying, and the South Forty Foot was still frozen,. The people fishing would seem to constitute a problem, since now reminded I remember there was the close season at that time.

I take Geoff's word for it on the allocation dates for the Britannia locos, though I still place the speed up of the service as somewhat earlier. The engines were transferred after the Great Eastern services were all dieselized. 70037 does fit well enough on the date. Good to see Chauvinism is still alive, well, and living in Lincolnshire Geoff. These days if I even had such a thought I would be dealt with by the provisional wing of the WLA (Womens' Liberation Army)

[Geoff-E]

Good to see Chauvinism is still alive, well, and living in Lincolnshire Geoff. These days if I even had such a thought I would be dealt with by the provisional wing of the WLA (Womens' Liberation Army)

The past is a different country, they do things differently there.

Zooming in on the photo, I would say the penultimate digit could be "4", in which case the loco may be 70040.

[Redroger]

great detective work! Judging by the chronology of my films, I think I took this in late March or early April 1963. Unsure about time of day but I don't think it was evening: I would have been worried about there being enough light for my little Kodak 127 camera! Will put on a few more photos- I have a couple showing the Milk Marketing Board bungalow. Got lots of photos of trains BTW, many on that railway line, as I was a keen trainspotter!

Can we have more photos when convenient Nick? If you have one of the MMB bungalow with the black bull model in the front window it would be good to see it. Peter Epton who was a friend of my father was an inseminator with the MMB. I brought that bull back from Spain in 1959, and around 1966/7 my parents passed it on to Peter for the front window of the MMB. Train pictures specially welcome, specially before 1964. Also we would like to confirm the number on the Britannia already posted, was it 70037, 70040 or another? I don't suppose you have a picture of the WW2 pillbox which was on the Forty Foot Bank, immediately opposite 54 WWrd?

[nicknottm]

I so wish I had taken a pic of the pillbox!!! Instead, I took couple photos from it and I painted a landscape in oils while sat on it.. showing the now-gone wood footbridge. I used to wonder about the purpose of the pillbox.. I had visions of German tanks rolling down Wyberton West Rd but held up for hours by a bloke with a rifle in it.. the tank comanders unaware that all they had to do was go thro' 'Carter's field'...

[Redroger]

The purpose of the pillbox was to cover the railway bridge which had a large cache of explosives under it, primed for detonation, and still there when I was young and daft. At the time it was quite an important and strategic rail route; imagine this one, the freight train length under war time conditions was 99 trucks plus the brake van at the rear. It was a big fish train that had 30; and the passenger trains were usually 10 or 11 coaches.
Roger