A well-known railway group is supporting new plans to redevelop a site in Brigg which includes the former goods yard where very unusual cargoes used to be unloaded - oranges all the way from sunny Spain (see picture top right).
North Lincolnshire Council's newly-announced plans encompass Hewson House and land adjoining Brigg railway station and involve living accommodation for the over-55s.
For some years The Independent Brigg Line Rail Group has reported instances of vandalism, graffiti and fly-tipping near Brigg station, pointing out that these scenes do not paint a good picture of the town for passengers using the Saturdays-only service to Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Gainsborough, Retford and Sheffield.
The IBLRG now welcomes the council's plans to do something positive with the land near the station.
Planning permission was granted some years ago for a block of apartments near the station - welcomed by this rail group - but failed to proceed.
Brigg station - on the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway mainline - opened to passengers in 1848.
Sidings were also provided for freight, in what became known as the railway yard.
There was a covered goods depot, handling a range of commodities coming into Brigg and leaving for various destinations.
Coal mined at pits in Yorkshire and the Midlands for domestic and commercial use was a mainstay, with Brocklesby family merchants from Brigg bagging up supplies on-site for delivery by lorry.
Elaborate brick 'coal drops' operated near platform one, close to where the former Stennett's produce market building stands today.
Wagons were shunted into these sidings by a pick-up goods engine.
Despite being rare survivors on the national rail network, Brigg's 'drops' were demolished in the late 1990s to make way for what was though to be impending light industrial re-development.
Coal was also delivered to other sidings behind the main station buildings.
The Spring's preserves factory in Brigg used to import oranges by rail all the way from the area near Seville in Spain.
Having been moved across the Continent, covered wagons came to this country by ship and were then moved north to Brigg along the rail network.
Spring's sent workers to the sidings behind Brigg station to shovel out the oranges ahead of a short trip to its riverside factory adjoining the County Bridge.
Fortunately, a picture (perhaps unique) from the 1950s has survived showing oranges being processed in one of the sidings.
Tangy marmalade in jars was one of Spring's most successful lines (pardon the pun!) over many decades.
The firm also developed MaMade - a pre-prepared marmalade mixture to which housewives added water to create the finished product.
Using the slogan Spring's Delights, the factory produced a range of other products including Calves' Feet Jelly and the Lincolnshire favourite Lemon Cheese.
Queen Victoria was said to have enjoyed Spring's horseradish sauce with royal joints of beef towards the end of the 19th century!
Sadly, the preserves factory - a major local employer - closed more than 40 years ago (under different ownership).
Land behind the railway station was acquired by North Lincolnshire Council in the late 1990s.
The only building work to take place on the site since then was the erection of the auction shed, though this has remained unused since sales came to a sudden halt in 2019.
Phill Hewson, from Brigg, a staunch supporter of rail travel and our local line, attended the Town Council's monthly meeting in late November 2021.
In the 'Public Participation' section of the agenda, he called on North Lincolnshire Council to take action over the unsightly former station yard.
Leader of the unitary authority, Coun Rob Waltham (Brigg & Wolds), was present and explained that a review was under way.
A decision on the proposed scheme to create living accommodation for the over-55s is expected to be made at some point this month (March 2022).
Brigg Blog's thanks go to North Lincolnshire Council for permission to reproduce its map of this area (seen below). The site in question is within the red line. The railway line and station appear at the foot of the illustration.
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| Brigg goods depot in the 1950s (station beyond). |
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| Remains of the Brigg coal drops in 2008 after demolition of the brickwork. |
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| Former railway land near Brigg station |
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| Brigg railway station and part of the former goods yard area. Picture by Neil Stapleton. |