East Anglian Railway Heritage

The first part of the presentation was based on a number of organized trips to East Anglia in 2012 and 2018 and covered railways of all gauges and size. The starting point was the Colne Valley Railway in Suffolk and progressed to the North Norfolk Railway both of which have been in existence for many rears. A more recent addition is the Mid Suffolk Light Railway currently with only ½ mile of track. The longest Standard Gauge Railway visited was the Mid-Norfolk Railway on the Wymondham to Fakenham Line which is one of the later preserved lines in the UK and main line preserved Diesel Locomotives were much in evidence. The northern part of this line is occupied by the Wells and Walsingham Railway which is a 10¼” gauge railway. It is notable for their two largest locos, which are 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt Locomotives needed for their summer traffic. In addition to preserve railways there was a visit to Bressingham Gardens, which was in existence before the end of main line steam. In addition to standard gauge there are three narrow gauge lines of 1ft11½”, 15” and 10¼” gauge railways.  The other large center visited was the East Anglian Transport Museum near Lowestoft which does have a 2ft gauge railway in addition to operating Trolleybuses and Trams.

The final part of the presentation was a look at the current main lines and remaining evidence of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway. The station architecture of Downham Market Station is very distinctive. There was also some views of the Reedham Swing bridge one of four swing bridges in East Angla. The village of Melton Constable was the center of the M&GNJR  and the location of its workshops. Some of these exist as part of an industrial estate. There is also an interesting bus shelter which incorporates two former railway canopy supports. The North Norfolk Railway from Sheringham to Holt was part of the M&GNJR and it is possible to trace the Line around South Lynn, it’s station which is south of the present Kins Lynn Station.

Thanks to Mike Beale for an interesting presentation which showed the number and variety of Preserved Railways in East Anglia and also a look at remains of lines which existed in East Angla prior to the closures of the 1950’s and 1960’s.