- dawnbranton
- Oct 29
- 1 min read
This year has been one to remember for our dedicated station adopters! At the 2025 Community Rail Network (CRN) Awards, the team at Habrough Station Adopters proudly took home the Bronze Award in the “It’s Your Station” category; a fantastic recognition of their hard work, creativity, and commitment to improving their local station and community, especially as they had been adopters of the station for less than a year!
Since achieving this wonderful accolade, the group’s journey has continued to grow and evolve. Building on their success, they have extended their passion for community rail by adopting nearby Ulceby Station. With this exciting new chapter, the team has come together under a new name, the Habrough & Ulceby Station Helpers (HUSH) Station Adoption Group.
HUSH embodies the spirit of community collaboration, bringing together volunteers who care deeply about creating welcoming, attractive, and sustainable spaces for passengers and visitors alike. From planting and painting to heritage projects and community engagement, their efforts make a real difference to the stations and the people who use them.
Adding to their list of achievements, this autumn the group also became official members of the Community Rail Network (CRN), strengthening their connection with like-minded groups and gaining access to further support and opportunities to enhance their work.
The HUSH team’s enthusiasm and dedication continue to inspire. Their story is a shining example of how local people can come together to transform their stations into community assets, places of pride, care, and connection.
Congratulations once again to the Habrough & Ulceby Station Helpers on their well-deserved success, and here’s to even more great things ahead!
- dawnbranton
- Oct 29
- 1 min read
Our volunteer station adopters at Goxhill have been very busy this year painting fences, clearing a very untidy section of the station and turning a run down garden into a herb garden for pollinators. Parts of the station were constantly full of weeds, and it had always proved difficult to grow anything on. But now after a lot of hard work land has been cleared and new planters and bug house added.
Take a look at these photos, taken before, during and after the work carried out so far, and let us know what you think.
Thanks to #CommunityRail #EMR for their financial and moral support!
Railway 200: Art Along the Line
This year marks an incredible milestone for Britain’s railways — 200 years since the dawn of the modern railway. And here along the Barton line, we’ve found a wonderful way to join in the celebrations!
Barton Cleethorpes Community Rail Partnership (BCCRP) has proudly launched ‘Railway 200: Art Along the Line’, a colourful new project that’s transformed several local stations with eye-catching murals and creative displays. Thanks to funding from East Midlands Railway (EMR) and the Community Rail Network (CRN), station walls and shelters along our route have been given a new lease of life, telling the story of our communities, our railway, and the rich history that connects them.
Art That Tells a Story
The project features artwork by local artist Nikita Spires, who’s brought her unique style and passion for heritage to five stations along the Barton line:
At Stallingborough Station, two brick waiting shelters have been revitalised with artwork capturing both historic scenes and modern-day life in the village.
Great Coates Station now features a clever trompe l'œil mural, recreating the look of the original ticket booth doorway and window — both long since bricked up, but now brought back to life through art.
Over at Cleethorpes Station, the ticket office boasts a striking mural showcasing the station’s platforms and the many trains that have served the line through the years.
Grimsby Docks Station displays a large, vivid mural celebrating the town’s proud fishing heritage and its longstanding relationship with the railway. It even highlights Edward Watkin, the visionary railway pioneer who connected Grimsby and Cleethorpes to the national rail network.
At New Clee, where there wasn’t a suitable wall for painting, one of Nikita’s original murals created for Cleethorpes has been reproduced onto weatherproof boarding and installed trackside, so passengers can still enjoy the artwork from their train window.
And that’s not all — at Barrow Haven, two beautiful pieces by local resident Richard Summerfield, chosen from entries to our recent community art competition, have also been installed, adding even more local character to the station.
This project has truly transformed our stations into places that celebrate local history, community pride, and the incredible story of our railway. Each mural beautifully captures a piece of the Barton line, connecting past and present in a way everyone can enjoy. We hope passengers and visitors alike will take a day out along the line, explore the route, and discover these fantastic artworks for themselves.
Part of a Nationwide Celebration
‘Art Along the Line’ is part of the UK’s Railway 200 celebrations — a year-long series of events, projects, and activities marking two centuries of railways and their impact on communities, commerce, and culture up and down the country.
If you’re looking for a day out with a difference, why not hop on a train along the Barton line and see these wonderful artworks for yourself? Whether you're a local or a visitor, there’s history, creativity, and community pride waiting to be discovered at every station.
