were organised for the opening day of the new Sleaford railway station, which saw all of the town's businesses close to allow their employees chance take part in the festivities; over 700 men from the area were invited to a free lunch on the cricket fields. The Grantham–Sleaford line cost £130,000 to construct, averaging at £11,850 per mile; the extension to Boston opened on 12 April 1859, at a cost of £6,500 per mile, considerably cheaper thanks to the flat terrain (the hillier Ancaster area, by contrast, required cuttings). From the outset, the rolling stock was owned by the Great Northern Railway Company (GNR), who took over ownership of the line on 1 July 1864. New connections The Great Eastern Railway wanted to build a line from Cambridge to York, which would have passed through Sleaford and Bourne, but Parliament would not allow it. The GNR submitted a proposal for a line between Bourne and Sleaford, which, after amendments to the route, was approved in 1865 and opened in 1872. Next came the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway which opened from Spalding through Sleaford to Ruskington and from there to Lincoln Central in 1882. Kirk and Parry, Sleaford-based building contractors, built the line, while the Ruskington-based builders Pattinson's constructed the new stations along the route. The line was designed to transport freight, which necessitated an avoiding line around Sleaford; Sleaford station was also extended. The last new line through Sleaford ran to RAF Cranwell and opened in 1916. Operations and later history The Cranwell branch ran at a loss: in response to a Parliamentary Question, it was revealed that, allowing for a credit in respect of the c.15,000 tons of Government stores that were transported along it during 1924, the line made a loss of some £3,570, although it was reported that "any alternative means ... would involve considerably greater expenditure". Having ceased to carry passenger traffic in 1927, it closed completely in 1956. Passenger services on the Bourne branch ceased on 22 September 1930. The Spalding line closed in 1964. The Grantham to Boston and Spalding to Lincoln Central lines remain open, as does the north to south link line bypassing the station. This has recently been refurbished by Network Rail and returned to full operation after several years of disuse (as part of the plan to route more freight trains onto the latter and away from