Lincoln St. Marks railway station

St. Mark's railway station, the first in Lincoln, was opened by the Midland Railway in 1846. It was originally a terminus; the line was extended through the station only a few years after it opened, to connect with the Great Northern Railway just to the east of that company's Lincoln Central station. The Durham Ox Junction was also crossed by a road, leading to many delays. The junction was crossed by Pelham Bridge in the mid-1950s. Until its closure St. Marks was the mainline station, with through services from Cleethorpes to London King's Cross. Prior to closure of the Lincoln-to-Grantham line during the Beeching Axe, London services had used Lincoln Central. Direct services from London ceased with rail privatisation; after this, travel to St Marks required a change of train at Newark North Gate.

To avoid unnecessarily operating two stations, St Marks closed in 1985; services were diverted to the nearby Lincoln Central. The construction of a new 80-metre length of track to the west allowed services from Newark Castle station to reach Lincoln Central. The grand ionic portico that was once the entrance has been preserved and, as of January 2007, was home to Lakeland Limited as part of the commercial development of the site. A mock signalbox has also been erected in the car park on which has been affixed an original sign from the station. The remainder of the former station site is now St. Marks Shopping Centre. The redevelopment, in keeping with the preserved buildings, won an Ian Allan Heritage Award in 2009, which is commemorated by a plaque.

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