50 people attended the first open event of the new Spring Wells Heritage Group at the Old Ship Inn, Pointon village (between Billingborough and Bourne) on Tuesday 23 June 2009.

The subject for the evening was the disused Bourne to Sleaford Railway Line. A fascinating talk on the former railway was given by Mr John Clark of Sleaford, a member of the Heckington Railway Society. Much local colour was added by older local residents who remembered the 5 steam trains a day between Billingborough and Sleaford in the 1930s and six on Mondays. After the regular services closed in 1939 the line was used for goods (coal,beet and potatoes) and the occasional passenger excursion to Skegness through the 1950s. A video of the last train out of Billingborough in 1965 was provided by Mr Pete Bristow of Billingborough; this illustrated the extremely dangerous occupation of the truck coupling man.

Many local tales of the old railway were told that evening - how the royal train used to be parked at the Sleaford end of the line, how children in Billingborough used to hitch rides on the goods trains, how a level crossing gatekeeper's family once used a platelayer's pump trolley to get to Bourne along the railway to catch a train for their holiday.

The meeting learnt how the station buildings at Billingborough and Rippingale remain very much intact as do several railway houses.

The railway opened in 1872 with only 3 days notice for the celebrations. The Great Northern Railway Company never wanted to build the line but was forced to by the Board of Trade. It was speculated that the line was only proposed to stop another company building one in an era of high competition.

Following the talk there was much discussion and the meeting broke up into smaller groups to study the photographs and memorabilia that several people brought along.

About a dozen people joined the Heritage Group that evening and the Group was encouraged to go on to hold further open events on local heritage subjects including one about house and family histories.

The photograph accompanying this article shows the old signal box at Millthorpe Sidings.