The Railways of Mid Anglia

Presenter: Tony Kirby

Virtual Meeting via Zoom

This virtual meeting by Zoom was attended by 76 members and guests.

Tony gave us an excellent presentation based mainly on the railways of the Fenlands.  His account was about the development of railways in this area, set in the context of social and economic history, as well as physical geography, and incorporating other modes of transport and some interesting architectural highlights.

This holistic approach adds to our understanding as to the way things are, and moreover how they might have been. Various schemes were mentioned with explanations as to why the alternatives were eventually selected.  For example the selection of March over Ely for the main marshalling yards controlling movement of wagonload traffic to and from the area.  This was because of the nature of the ground.  The illustrations Tony used were interesting and relevant and his commentary, with a few well-chosen anecdotes brought this all to life.

In the second part of the evening Tony focused on the main rail centres: - Cambridge; Newmarket; Ely; March; Peterborough; Wisbeach; Littleport and Sutton Bridge – “The port that never was”.  All of these had their own identity, related very much to the traffic generated by the industries around them.  It is not always realised just how industrial East Anglia was.  Among these were: agriculture, horticulture, food processing, milling and malting, extraction industries related to chalk and clay – cement, bricks, etc.  Coal was a major traffic passing through from the East Midlands and Yorkshire to London.

Passenger traffic was perhaps less important, but race traffic at Newmarket was a highlight, albeit transitory.  Now this part of the railway is mainly passenger focused.  All in all a fascinating subject covered expertly by our speaker who has an in-depth knowledge of these matters.