Immingham Dock electric railway station
Immingham Dock electric railway station was the western terminus of the inter-urban Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway which ran from Corporation Bridge, Grimsby with a reversal at what was euphemistically called Immingham Town. Overview The electric railway was built primarily to carry workers between Grimsby and Immingham Dock which the Great Central Railway had built on a greenfield site in a sparsely populated area. The line was built by the Great Central and remained in railway ownership up to closure in 1961. It therefore appeared in railway timetables and it was possible to buy through tickets between any of the stops on the line and anywhere on the national railway network, though there never was any physical connection with any conventional track, nor with the tramways in Grimsby and Cleethorpes. In modern parlance the vehicles would be described as trams, but they were typically referred to locally and in publications such as Bradshaw as "cars" or "tramcars", with related things being called names such as "tramcar halt" and "tramcar bridge." "Car" was always a more common short form than "tram." Location and facilities Dock tramcar station was situated on the southeast side of the dock's main entrance lock and at right angles to it. Directly opposite the station on the other side of the lock was a conventional railway station, also called Immingham Dock Lines from the two set off in opposite directions. The line was a tramway, no platforms ever existed at any of the stopping places; passengers were expected to board and alight from the roadway or trackside cinders according to the location. The "stations" were much more commonly referred to as "halts" or "stopping places." A waiting room was provided at Dock tramcar station. Passengers bought tickets on board from the conductor. Timetables and tickets consistently used the name "Immingham Dock" throughout the terminus's life. The line's two termini - Corporation Bridge and Immingham Dock - were the only halts on the line to attempt anything along the lines of railway nameboards, both proclaimed themselves in very large letters to be a "TRAMWAY STATION." The line from the station After the end of the cindered station area the line was conventional double track running alongside the dock road, giving the appearance of a conventional railway, except for the absence of fencing between road and rail. At Habrough Marsh Drain bridge a little over half a mile from the station road and rail merged, with the tracks changing to grooved tramway common throughout all road tramways. This spot was and remains the eastern boundary of dock property. In 2012 this was a continuously staffed entrance checkpoint with barriers to road vehicles and pedestrians. In the 1950s and 1960s the spot was completely unmarked, with not so much as a sign to indicate entering or leaving the dock. From mid-1916 to July 1920 a halt was provided here, whose purpose is unclear. It may have been a version of the modern checkpoint or to serve works which ended with