Chairman, Alan Nicholson with speaker Alf Ludlum supported by Phil Eldridge of Lincolnshire Wold Railway
Our speaker for March was Alf Ludlam from the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway talking about the branch lines of Lincolnshire.
Alf gave an illustrated talk with Phil Eldridge acting as the projectionist. He began by talking about the line from Louth to Bardney; sadly, much of this no longer exists, and was finally closed in the Beeching era. The photographs which illustrated his talk included early Victorian to around the Second World War.
It was a light hearted talk with Alf telling facts about the engines, rolling stock and stations interspersed with anecdotes. For example, in the early Victorian photographs he noted that the whole community, including pets, seemed to assemble at the station. On another occasion when one of the wagons caught fire going through a tunnel, the driver stopped the train to uncouple the wagons but unfortunately they began to roll backwards only coming to rest when they encountered a dip in the line. The engine driver received a medal for his quick action
The audience appreciated the photographs of the engines etc, and anecdotes. The later photographs were a trip down memory lane for many, and it was a most enjoyable talk.