SteamontheGreatEastern NorfolkandSuffolk
CompiledbyAlanCButcher
Top:TakenfromtheWittonGreen overbridge,thegoodsyardat Reedhamisseenherewiththe stationbeyondtheFerryRoad bridge.Thereareongoing engineeringworkswithnewpoint workwaitingtobelaid.ClassA5 No69824haulsafreightover trackthathashadtheballast removedwithreplacement sleepersalongside.Thefourbox vansbehindthelocomotivewould addtothetrain’sbrakingabilityas theopenwagonswouldonlyhave handbrakes.No69824wasbuiltat GortonWorksinApril1923toa GreatCentralRailwayorderasa Class9N;initiallyallocatedto NeasdenitwasmovedtoNorwich ThorpeinMay1952.Reallocated toLowestoftinOctober1955itleft EastAngliainFebruary1957, beingwithdrawnfromLincoln depotinDecember1958.
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Middle:BRStandardClass7MT 4-6-2No70006 RobertBurns was allocatedtotheEasternRegion followingdeliveryfromCrewe WorksinApril1951until transferredtotheLondonMidland RegioninNovember1963.Itis seenhererunningintoHaddiscoe LowLevelstationattheheadof anexpressservice;thestations herewereplacedforoperational reasons,ratherthanpublic convenience.Thebridgecarrying theHighLevellinecanbeseen behindthetelegraphpole.The originalstationherewasopened in1847,butlaterclosedbythe GERin1904whenthecurrent oneopenedasHaddiscoeLow Level,on9th May.Following rationalisationofrailwaysinthe areaitlostitsLowLeveltitlewhen theHighLevelstationclosedon 2nd November1959.
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Bottom:ClassL12-6-4TNo67786 haulsthemorningpaperstrainon theloopfromtheEastSuffolkline toHaddiscoeLowLevelstationin thelate1950s.TheClassL1wasa Thompson-designfortheLNER, howeverNo67786didnotemerge fromtheworksofRobert Stephenson&Hawthornuntil April1950.Itwasallocatedto YarmouthSouthTownfrom October1957–andreallocatedto NorwichThorpeinJanuary1959 untilFebruary1960–conveniently datingtheimagetothisperiod.
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Top:It’sawinter’sdayasNo64674waitsatFoulshamtodepartwithaloadofopenwagonsfilledwithsugarbeetboundforoneof Norfolk’sprocessingfacilities.Formanyyearsthistrafficbroughtmuchneededrevenuetoseverallinesaroundthecounty. Thesignalmanreturnstohis’boxhavinghandedthesinglelinetokentothedriverofNo64674;builtinNovember1920itwasthe lastmemberoftheGERClassT22(later‘J19’)tobeconstructed.Thestationonceboastedtwo’boxes–EastandWest–which werereplacedbythesinglestructureseenhere.DuringWorldWar2thestationservedasthenearestrailheadforthenearbyRAF Foulsham,situatedaboutamiletothenorthofthestation.TheairfieldopenedinMay1942,althoughfarfromreadywithitsfirst squadronsnotarrivinguntilOctober.PostwartheairfieldwaspassedtoCare&Maintenance,remainingMoDpropertyuntilthe 1980s.Thestationlostitspassengertrafficon15th September1952,withfreightserviceseastwardstoReephamceasingatthe samedate.GoodstrafficwestwardstoCountySchoolremaineduntil31st October1964. DrIanCAllenE1111
Bottom:OpenedasplainElmhamin1857withtheline,itwasrenamedasNorthElmhamon1st September1872.Equippedwith asinglepassengerplatformonthedownline.withagoodsloopalongside,thepassingofpassengertrainswasnotpermitted. TheLNERrebuiltthestationwithasimplebrickbuildingreplacingtheearliertimberframedbuilding;itwasthelocationforarail serveddairy,withdailymilktrainsoperatingfromthestationto Ilford. Ashuntinghorsewasusedtomoveloadedmilkwagons fromthedowntotheupsideofthelineforcollection.ThedairyclosedinOctober1963,withpassengertrafficceasingnorthof Derehamon5th October1964,althoughpublicgoodstrafficcontinueduntilJuly1971.No65567isseenattheheadofaRailway Correspondence&TravelSocietyspecialonthereturntripfromFoulsham.The‘GreatEasternCommemorativeSteamRailTour’ ranon31st March1962;‘Britannia’No70003 JohnBunyan tookthetrainfromLondonLiverpoolStreettoNorwichThorpewhere No65567tookover,runningNorwich-Wymondham-Dereham-Foulsham-Dereham-Swaffham-Thetford,whereNo70003tookover forthetripbacktoLondon. DrIanCAllenE3043
Top:Abovethelocomotive canbeseenCharlesMarston Ltd’scornmill.Itwasbought byHenryHudsonin1895and takenoverbyCharles Marstonin1909.Uponhis deaththecompanywastaken overbyhisson,who,in1923, wonthesilverchallengecup –‘TheMiller’–atthebaker’s exhibition.Thecompanywas asubsidiaryofHovis&Co.In 1956Hovisamalgamatedwith McDougallandflour continuedtobeproducedat Harleston,howeverthemill buildingsweredemolished soonafter.Aninteresting featureinthegoodsyardwas awagonturntable, unfortunatelyhiddenbehind theboxvanbeingshuntedby ClassD16/3No62540.The proximityoftheyardtothe roadmeantthatthecrossing gatesonStationRoadwould havetobeclosedtoshunt theyard. DrIanCAllenE1625
Middle:ClassF4No67186 andtrainareseenpassing thejunctionoftheairfield branchatPulhamsometime beforethesummerof1953. Landforthedevelopmentof airshipoperationswas acquiredin1913withthe baseopeninginFebruary 1916.Duringthe1930sRAF expansionperiodthesitewas developedasastorage facilityforammunition,fuses andpyrotechnics.Theformer airshipstorageshedwas usedforfillingpractice bombsuntilitwashitinan airraidin1940.Withlimited sidingspaceavailablesome traffichadtobehandledat Harleston,PulhamStMary andTivetshallstations. Thesectionofthebranch remainedinuseuntilclosure ofthebaseon1st February 1958;thelocomotivehowever hadalreadybeenwithdrawn fromLowestoftinJuly1951. DrIanCAllenE1456
Bottom:On21st May1960the M&GNJRSocietyranthe
‘WaveneyValleyandM&GN Special’;haulingsixcoaches, ClassJ15No65469ranfrom NorwichCity,via Sheringham,Cromer junction,NorthWalshamand TrowsedowntoTivetshall (whereitisseen)thenalong theWaveneyValleylineto Beccles.Thelocomotivewas ailingatthispointand classmateNo65462doubleheadedthetrainfrom BecclestoLowestoftCentral fromwhereNo65469tookthe trainbacktoNorwichThorpe. DrIanCAllenE3475
50 SteamontheGreatEasternNorfolkandSuffolk
ThestationatMellisopenedwhenservicescommencedbetweenHaughleyandBurstonon2
formedwithatwo-carMetropolitan-CammellightweightDMU.Thestationlostitsfreightserviceson28th December1964; passengerservicessurviveduntil7th November1966whenlocalservicesbetweenIpswichandNorwichwerewithdrawn. DrIanCAllenE1936
ClassD16/3No62615hasbroughtaSuffolkHuntspecialintoMellisJunction, behindtheVestibuleBrakeCoachareanumberofhorseboxes.Asthetrainwas carryinglivestockitwouldbedesignatedasaClassCfreightasshownbythehead codediscs.Thecarriageofhorseswasonceasourceofvaluableincomeforthe railwayastheywouldneedtobetransportedfromtheirhomestablesaroundthe country.Thelocomotiveretaineditsdecorativevalanceoverthedrivingwheels whenitwasrebuilttoClassD16/3specificationinApril1947;withdrawalcamein December1958. DrIanCAllenE303
nd July1849.ThebranchtoEyewas servedbyasingleplatformthatcurvedawayfromthemainline;passengertrainsstartedtheirjourneyshereuntilservices ceasedon2nd February1931.Therewereanumberofgoodssidingsontheeasternsideofthestationconnectedwiththe operationofthebranch.Agoodsshedwasbuiltonthewesternsideoftheline,whereacornmillandmaltingswereservedby rail.ClassJ17No65542isbringingapick-upgoodsinfromEye,whilstaNorwich-Ipswichserviceleavestheadjacentplatform
Top:Lookingintheotherdirection,ClassJ15No65389crossestheRiverAldeheadingtowardsWickhamMarket.Thebridgewas subjecttoasevereweightrestrictionthatlimitedtheclassesoflocomotivesthatwereallowedonthebranch;howeverthe‘J15s’ couldrunalmostanywhere.No65389,builtinOctober1890,wasintrafficforover69years,beingwithdrawninApril1960. DrIanCAllenE2591
Bottom:No65447rollsofftheSnapebranchwithaweedkillingtrainintow;athanklesstaskthattherailwaysstillhavetocarry
thespraycanbeseeninaction. DrIanCAllenE1042
out.Toppedandtailedbybrakevans–tosaveshuntingmovementsattheendofvariousbranchlines–thetankscarrywaterto bemixedwithachemicalandthensprayedontothetracksbythesecondvantowardstheendoftherake;ontheoriginalimage
BuryStEdmundstoMarksTey
Top:GERClassT26No490 enteredtrafficinJanuary1895, becoming62785atNationalisation. AllocatedtoBuryStEdmunds depotinthelate1940sitisseen herepassingthesiteofBurySt EdmundsEastgatestation.Opened withtheline,asEastgateStreet,by theGERon9th May1865the stationwasanearlyclosurewith passengerservicesceasingon1st May1909–themainlinestation beingmoreconvenientasit connectedwithservicesonthe Newmarket-Haughleyline. AllocatedtoBuryStEdmunds depotinthelate1940s,No62785is seenpassingthesiteofthe platformonitswaysouth;despite thefactthatthestationnever handledgoodstraffic,therewas onceasidingoppositethe southernendoftheplatform. Althoughthestationclosedin 1909,itwasusedinJuly1914for theSuffolkAgriculturalShow. Whilstthetrackbedherenowlies beneaththeA14dualcarriageway, No62785–withdrawninDecember 1959–survivesinpreservationat theBressinghamSteamMuseum aspartoftheNationalCollection. DrIanCAllenE2785
Bottom:Situatedattheendof StationHillwasWelnethamstation, whicheventodayisinthemiddle ofnowhere.Thestationhada singleplatformonthewestsideof theline.Themainstationbuilding wasbrickbuiltandincorporateda two-storeystationmaster’shouse withasinglestoreyblockattached thatincludedthebookingoffice waitingroomwithaseparate gents’toiletatthenorthend.The partofthebuildingcontainingthe bookingofficewasslightly recessedwithasmallcanopy betweenthetwoprojectingendsof thebuilding.Therewasasmall goodsyardthatconsistedofa singlesidingaccessedfromeither direction;itranpartiallybehindthe platform.Thestationhandleda limitedrangeofgoodstraffic,but notlivestock.Atimbergoodslockupwasprovidedontheplatform adjacenttothegents’toilet.
Accesstotheyardwascontrolled byasignalboxontheupsideof thelineoppositethenorthendof theplatform.Theguardhasgiven therightofwayasClassC12 No67385headssouthwards.The locomotivewasconstructedbythe GNRatDoncasterinDecember 1903,andtransferredtoBurySt EdmundsdepotinNovember1952 fromwhereitwaswithdrawnin April1955.Thereasonwhythe stationwasnotsituatedfurther northnearthevillageof Sickleshamhasprobablybeenlost inthemistsoftime.
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