The Lost Stations of Norwich 

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Look at all the traffic problems in Norwich and Norfolk nowadays which would be alleviated if these lines and stations had survived. And now we have a shortage of hauliers, when we had loads of dedicated goods lines and depots (goods train - 1 driver for 50-100 wagons). Dr Beeching gets all the blame, but he only wrote the report. It was successive governments (of both parties) from the 50’s - 80’s who actually did the cuts to the network. It was all built by private enterprise, lasted for 100 years, then the government ripped it all out. The listed building station at the end - it’s common for owners of such buildings to let them decay deliberately, so the building gradually collapses and then they don’t need permission to demolish (which would normally be refused).

I enjoy this Lost Stations series. Excellent job and superbly narrated. As you say, Trowse station is too close the current Norwich Thorpe yet I hope that one day, someday, it could be spruced up and house a museum depicting the stations and lines around Norwich.

I travelled from the City station to Melton Constable, then on to East Rudham in either 1944 or 45. Hard to recall details, but I do remember the second train pulling in at MC, then the horse and trap that collected us at ER. Thanks for the memory.

Wow, the sound of slides switching took me back.

We used to take a coal train from Whitemoor to Norwich Victoria, and have to reverse the train into the coalyard there, guards brakevan leading , usually with a Tinsley based Class 37, the coal came from collieries at Ollerton, Thoresby or Mansfield, I revisited the station site in 1977 and in 2018

My brother's and I used to stand on the whitlingham bridge and wait for the old steam trains to come through underneath. I can still smell them. Our great uncle was a train driver. His black leather hat, thick wooden black trousers, striped collarless shirt and red and white handkerchief round his neck. we'd wave to him if he was on route. It's a shame Trowse station building couldn't be reconditioned/refurbished back to a beautiful period house.

Great video. As a Norwich resident, I remember the reopening of Trowse station in 1986. As part of the electrification they also completely replaced the river bridge on a slightly different alignment. Controversially, the original slew bridge was double-tracked while its swing-bridge replacement was single track. There were plans around 8 years ago for replacing the single-track bridge (which keeps breaking down) with a double-track version "by 2024" - I think that date might have been a bit optimistic!

Another brilliant video. Full of fun facts, historical data, old and new photographs, all of which come to gether to make a superb presentation. Should any or some of these stations have been saved? Absolutley, bearing in mind the need for moving people around without blocking up Norwich's roads.

I do like your stories on the lost railways. This video was again a fine example of them. Very sad to see how we treat our industrial heritage. Kind regards 🚂

What a tragedy Trowse is! Another well-narrated film - currently "binge viewing" them all and daydreaming... Thank you!

Hi Very enjoyable, I left my heart in Norwich years ago(over 65years ) should not have been shut at All, All the best Brian 😃

Thanks for the great video, I've been a resident of Norwich since 87/88 - 2010 and 2022 - present day and in the last year I've learned so much about Norwich's railways! I only thought Norwich had 2 stations until I discovered Victoria, which is on the direction of the former Brazen Gate, and walking down the Lakenham Way you can see all the rail bridges in close detail from that period. Also, the station close to Whitlingham was the scene of the Thorpe Railway Disaster, which has a commemorative plaque near the sight down Girlings Lane. Also, on Marriotts Way, a short walk after the station is a bridge that saw a disaster as well! Plenty of interesting facts and a lot of other hidden stations as you continue down the Way.

Another great video, thank you. I found the story of Trowse particularly fascinating, with it's "on-again/off-again" history. Such a pity that such a fine building can be left to slowly disintegrate.

There is a certain irony in that, at the same time as cities like Norwich were expanding, the government thought it wise to do away with what could have been encouraged to be a way of moving all these people around. Great film as always.

Ive been searching for a film about these stations, and now ive found it. Brilliant !

very interesting video 👍so sad so many stations around Norwich closed 😥this what happens when there's not much passenger service i dread to think how many stations have closed in England Scotland Wales and Ireland

As Norwich grows I bet some of these station would now be very useful.. Commuting traffic into Norwhich is a nightmare now so short sighted

Wonderful, thank you. The re-development of Norwich on land given up by the railways is pretty depressing. A fine historic city with brutalist buildings all over (and dull, partly empty shopping centres).

I always enjoy the education your films provide. Thank you.

I always await your latest video which are always brilliant thank you. It always amazes me how many beautiful station buildings were either demolished or simply left to decay after the lines closed rather than becoming homes. You see examples of this all over the country and its hard to understand. I think the answer is that in the days of closure the railways were seen as old and outdated and people wanted to live in the new estate type houses with mod cons, not what they saw as dirty old railway buildings, familiarity breeds contempt?. What fine homes many have made, if only people had the foresight.

Hang on babe, another Rediscovering Lost Railways video just dropped. Jokes aside, great video. I've heard that Norfolk is maybe the most barren area of the UK for remaining railways. Either way, it's interesting to see these few lost stations of Norwich, especially since it had 3 termini! I also wonder if Trowse's 1980s opening is the shortest use of a station in the UK, i.e. has any other station been open for fewer days so randomly? Can't wait for the next video!

The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (terminus Norwich City) was an entire network which would keep this channel in business all by itself for two years. In peak Victoriana it had made out of the obscure medieval hamlet of Melton Constable an industrial metropolis of workshops and carriage sidings, now all gone, and Melton Constable has resumed its medieval slumber. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Very good video. Shame it's all gone.

Very informative. I did not know of these lost stations other than that the Railway from Melton Constable terminated here. Trowse station is a fine example of Norfolk flint and brick construction and is worthy of preserving, if anyone can find the money. At least it still stands unlike what looks to have been a wonderful station building at Norwich Victoria. Its demolition and replacement by a Legoland office block is sad to see.

Fascinating thanks. I enjoyed cycling the Marriotts Way a few years ago now.

A nice video into the past. Thank you for the great video and chat. Cheers!

Superb as always my good man

Reminded me of Lost Rail Services. i.e. There use to be "Asparagus Specials" to London from East Anglia/Norwich and from the Evesham area of the Cotswolds. I know the Cotswolds still grows Asparagus, does E Anglia? Fish Trains down to London from East Anglia and even North East Scotland. The Summer Seaside Specials. The Slip Coaches on the Trains down to Cornwall. The Car Train from Paddington to Europe. Now an NCP or other Car Park.

We still have some of these foot bridges here in São Paulo, Brazil. They were brought here in the XIX century when the British built the São Paulo Railway Company.

Thanks, a fine film. The Whitlingham footbridge remains and is maintained because there's a public right of way going over it. As such, it will probably exist forever in some form.

The signal box at Whitlington Junction survived into the 2000s, but was demolished when the signalling on the line to Cromer was 'modernised'.

Trowse is crying out for salvation. What a beautiful tractor dealership it would make...

Always a pleasure to watch, excellent again! 👏🙂

Another superb film. Expertly narrated and produced.

Excellent as always 👍

The last station should definitely be restored to it's former glory. Shameful display!

I enjoy the poetic narration. Well done.

Great review! Whilst the former M&GN line from Norwich City was much underused in its day, it's closure and that of the line from Wymondham to East Dereham to Kings Lynn left a very large public transport gap in Norfolk that persists to present times.

I was born in Overstrand Norfolk which had its own station of the Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railway until its closure in 1953, The line went from North Walsham to Cromer. Please do a video on this line as much of the route of the line and bridges remain although no tracks are left and much is overgrown. Thank you.

Fascinating survey of what once was a hub of railway activity. I enjoyed the way you contrasted 'now' and 'then' with the use of archive footage and an elegant , informative narrative.

My partner comes from Cromer and like me is a history/train fanatic. This video is something we have been waiting for. It’s truly fabulous. Very enjoyable

Very entertaining, thank you.

Excellent once again please keep them coming.

Absolutely love your videos, thank you

Oh good!! Love these videos! Thanks for sharing this!

You have done a sterling job as usual 👏🏻 Many thanks for all your hard work. All the best 😊🍻👍🏻

Fascinating. Thank you

Another great film RLR. The thing I love about this channel is seeing stations I wouldn't normally be inclined to find out about, you make me care RLR.

Trowse would serve County Hall, home of Norfolk County Council, very nicely.

Fascinating journey around the former stations of Norwich - thank you! Informative...as always!

This a very enjoyable and fascinating video, thank you. I do like to see the old photos of the stations in their heyday, but it feels so sad to see how these lovely buildings have been replaced by ugly monstrosities. What a poor decision it was to get rid of so many lines seeing as the powers that be now want us to use public transport rather than drive.

This channel is so pleasurable to watch, the narration is wonderful.

Thank you for another interesting and informative video, always a pleasure to watch! Mike

Another great video :) and a great reason to go exploring these spots. I drive past the Norwich Vic site almost every day and never knew it once was a station !

This was an interesting watch - thanks for all of the effort that you put into it - it is appreciated :)

Very nicely put together thank you

Very informative and well produced as always. I didn't know too much about the railways of Norwich, so interesting to see what is there and what is not.

Well documented alongwith emotions as always 👌

Fantastic video. (As always!)

Victoria Station the round booking office was once a circus. I manged a ride from the Crown Point area in the cab of an 03 up to Victoria - one way only! This was the end of a late night trip in the brake van of the Lowestoft to Whitemoor freight. We returned on the coal train. Now as for Whitlingham Jc station. I was told that it was making a profit and the accountants nevertheless wanted to shut it. Racking their destructive brains they calculated the cost of each train starting and stopping. To their - no doubt - positive delight it now made a loss. The rest his history and like the M&GN out of Norwich needed now to ease car pollution.

Very interesting, an put together. Perfect

Interesting and well-presented. My late mother was from Lowestoft, and when we went there for family holidays I often used to hang around both Lowestoft Central (with its fine roof) and Lowestoft North (now vanished under a housing estate - although the station master's house remains). Happy memories.

Another great video! Enjoyed this one as I have a big soft spot for Norwich. My wife grew up in Hellesdon and had no idea it used to have a station. Must travel over there for an explore.

Lovely video mate more places to add to my list..so well made and narrated well done

love these

hooray , hooray , been waiting for this . in the interim , took my buddy on his first railway walk up to haigh junction , after fighting our way through the set of apocalypse now , he found a full ridge tile from the box and pulled a lnwr track chair from a tree , even stamped 1915 , anyway as ever , thanks for doing this for all of us , god bless from tracys husband , still in wigan . still very much part of lancashire

A great and interesting video. So much is lost.

A very interesting video, thank you for producing it. I volunteer on the Whitwell & Reepham Railway, not too far down the line from Norwich City, essentaily the mid-way point on the Line between Norwich & Melton.

Really good video thank you. Regarding the line from Norwich City Station to Melton Constable, I have an old timetable from Summer 1958 and on Mondays to Fridays there were nine trains in each direction and a journey time of 40 minutes for the 21.25 mile route.

really nicely presented - thanks.

I don't know if I mentioned this before but there's an abandoned station not far from me which is still in pretty good condition for it's age and it can still be seen from the line once served it ( now a shared cycle route ) and you can still see a station building from the main road and if you look extra carefully you can just about see and work out the opposite platform with some ballast from all them years ago ( definitely worth walking or cycling if anyone gets a chance )

Great video and very informative.keep up the good work.many thanks.

I really do love all the disused railway videos. I'm wondering if that makes me quite sad. But I don't care🙂🚂

That station really needs restoring, If nothing else, it would surely make a fab house. Another interesting and informative video. I knew nothing about this area at all, Thank you!

Amazing.

Brilliant video.

Nice summary of developments if not progress.

Great content as always! Really nice seeing someone cover the history of my former local stations. Also kind of ironic in a way that 3 of the stations featured, when they were built, weren't considered part of Norwich. But thanks to the modern sprawl of the city they are! As a local resident, to me it would make perfect sense if Marriots Way was at least converted into a light rail system. Traffic around that part of the city is always a nightmare...

It's not an area with which I am familiar, but still I found this very interesting to watch, thank you. I thought it was very well scripted, produced and presented, and very professional.

I used Trowse station during the electrification in 1986.

I think Trowse was still used after its official closure for "football specials". This is because it is located nearer Norwich City's Carrow Road ground, and it kept football fans away from Thorpe.

Another great video.

Interesting that Victoria was closed so early. It doesn't make sense that the trains from London terminate at a separate station from the regional trains so that you can't transfer easily. Trowse could actually function as a pass-through station so that trains could run straight through Norwich from east to west without reversing and terminating trains from London could call so that passengers can transfer.

As always very informative and interesting video. It is difficult to imagine any of these lines opening up now as the dependency on cars is so common It begs the question though if these lines had not closed, would car use be so dominant in our transport requirements?

Great video, would have been nice if you'd have included the A frame bridge at Drayton.

It's so sad that so many railway buildings of architectural merit have been destroyed to make way for purely utilitarian structures that do nothing to improve the environment, and which, in some cases, just look grim.

Very well done. As the last station building is listed it would be possible for the local authority to serve a repair order of some form upon the owners (if not them).

Interesting view of the new short sidings in the fork between the line to Thetford and Ipswich and the line to Yarmouth etc. The sidings were completed perhaps 2 years ago and remained empty until a few weeks ago. Current stock in occupation look like the new outer suburban trains awaiting introduction for the Essex and Suffolk services out of L'pool Str. These trains have been fragmented because of the short siding capacity. The sidings compound is well built and secured by split top palisade fencing and generous flood lighting.

Very interesting thanks

This is really interesting

Thanks for sharing 🙂 I have a suggestion for a future video: the Salt Line from Alsager via Malkins Bank and Wheelock to Sandbach. Seems to have evaded in-depth coverage. Closed ‘71, lifted ‘74. Elton Crossings signalbox was transplanted to the North Staffs Railway but the crossing-keeper’s cottage is still in situ, albeit recently modified. The NSR goods shed in Elworth is still in situ, now a car body repair shop. No evidence remains of the former connection to the former Fodens Limited site in Elworth but the trackbed of the link between the Salt Line and Sandbach Station is still visible, trailing to the left when heading to Crewe. There’s even some controversy; a cutting at Malkins Bank was subsequently used as a landfill and by all accounts, some pretty nasty stuff was illegally dumped there before it was landscaped and of all things, became part of a golf course. My interest in this line? The former trackbed (now Salt Line Way) runs past the end of my garden, about 50 metres from Elton Crossings 🙂

I used to live near Norwich and its such a wonderful city. As it's known as the "Fine City". And my parents also likes Norwich.

Looking at all the graffiti scrawled over these disused buildings makes one realise how society has imploded since the 1950's. A great window into the past. Many thanks.

In my opinion. None of these stations should have never been closed. We have a dire need in Britain now have a decent railway system and I think a decent railway line between Norwich and King's Lynn would be a great idea and also opening up the branch line for Dereham to Fakenham would also be a great idea. Since all these lines were initially closed the population and housing a swelled inexorably. The populations of Dereham. Fakenham and Norwich have almost doubled. Along with the planned thousands of houses on both the Eastern fringes and western fringes of Norwich. Also for thousands of home plan for Dereham Fakenham and Attleborough. More Station should be planned and the railway operator could make these upgrades pay. I think we should Electrify older branch lines out of Norwich. From Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Norwich to Cromer and Sheringham and also Norwich to Cambridge. With new high speed trains travelling over 100 miles an hour. This would open up the Norfolk region totally two business and passengers alike. I think we should open up original Marriotts way line as well. As I think it's very needed. With stations at Hellesdon. Drayton. Taverham. Lenwade and so on write the way to Kings Lynn. I think it's shocking that there's no direct railway connection between Norwich and Kings Lynn. This in my opinion is a must for the region. Thank you for uploading this video. Could you please do a video on the Long Melford to Bury St Edmunds branch line and also the Bury St Edmunds to Thetford railway line? Pure.

Nice video.

(I'm subscribed to this channel, but I have hardly found the opportunity to watch videos. And I'm Dutch, in the Netherlands.) Me too, I feel that nostalgia. It probably started when I walked the track bed of the former Coniston branch line (in the Lake District) in 1971. But I also recognise different sides. There is the side of the "buildings and tracks" and the side of transport possibilities. The buildings (if not too big) could have been preserved, perhaps disassembled then re-assembled on a heritage line, and the tracks could have been handed to heritage lines. The buildings may also show a change in use through the years: from few people having to wait long to many people having to wait a few minutes (apart from the spiralling down that seems to have occurred both in Britain and in Germany, at least). And for goods maybe the change from parcels to pallets or even entire sea containers as the units moved. But I'm more concerned about the transport possibilities (for people and for goods). The closure of lines (notably for passengers) seems to have gained momentum in the 50s, even before Dr. Beeching got involved. (Here in the Netherlands, the process had started around 1936.) But then, should everything have continued as it was: a few slow trains per day for dwindling passenger numbers, a freight network of countless tiny wagons for companies with ever more, ever bigger, ever faster trucks, with at Beeching's time leaving a loss of (quoting from memory) a million "uninflated" pounds each day? There may come a time (or it may already have come) when it does make sense to re-create transport services along roughly former lines. Like using comfortable and frequent light-rail stock. (I don't even have a driving license.) It may (or may not) be great to transport sea containers to and from the East Coast ports, rather than have lorries (with drivers, despite a shortage!) stuck in Kent waiting to cross from Dover. And in moving these containers, rekindling some railroads could be instrumental. (I don't have specific suggestions in mind, though.) In short: "the times they are a-changing". Scenes may have been idyllic, and it's nice to have them remembered in videos like this, but it may be time to move on. (Pun accepted.)

I live near Hellesdon my grandad lived on marl pit Lane on the hill he still remembers the railway in service god bless him

The frames of Nowrich city shed were recovered by the NNR and erected at Weyborne. Some of the guttering acted at the water trough for the end sequence in the Dads Army episode "The Royal train".

The M&GN was a totally unnecessary duplicated railway. But so iconic and so much missed.