The official opening of the line was on 1 January 1883, though the first train was an excursion that ran on 2 October 1882 heading for Skegness, setting the trend for the rest of its life.
Thurnby & Scraptoft was originally served by passenger trains running between Leicester and Grantham or Peterborough.
This became known as The Holiday Line because of the seasonal trains heading for such places as Skegness, Mablethorpe and Great Yarmouth, which were extremely popular and well patronised.
The only other staff member being the signalman, whose services were only required for coal deliveries and busy holiday weekends.
In the later years, motive power was provided by Colwick – typically B1 4-6-0s on excursion trains and J39 0-6-0s on the freight.