Hardingham railway station

Last updated

Hardingham
Station on heritage railway
Train tracks of Hardingham station.jpg
General information
Location Hardingham, Breckland, Norfolk
England
Coordinates 52°36′37″N1°01′29″E / 52.61041°N 1.02486°E / 52.61041; 1.02486 Coordinates: 52°36′37″N1°01′29″E / 52.61041°N 1.02486°E / 52.61041; 1.02486
Grid reference TG049057
Owned by London and North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Managed byNorfolk Railway
Great Eastern Railway
Platforms2
Key dates
15 February 1847Opened
18 April 1966Closed to freight
6 October 1969Closed to passengers

Hardingham railway station is a railway station in the village of Hardingham in the English county of Norfolk. The station is periodically served by heritage services operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway on the line from East Dereham to Wymondham. [1]

Contents

The former yard is now used by an independent rolling stock company, Great Eastern Traction Ltd., specialising in trading in industrial locomotives. Other items of privately owned rolling stock have also been preserved in the former station yard.

History

Hardingham
railway station
1906
 to Dereham
BSicon vCONTg.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae(Rr).svg
BSicon hKRZWae(Ll).svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
Bridge 1684
Blackwater River
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon dENDEa.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon vUSTr.svg
BSicon dSTR.svg
BSicon dRP2q.svg
BSicon STR~L.svg
BSicon SKRZ-G2o(Rr).svg
BSicon SKRZ-G2o(Ll).svg
BSicon STR~R.svg
BSicon dRP2q.svg
Bridge 1683
Mill Road
BSicon vUSTl.svg
BSicon dSTR.svg
BSicon dENDEe.svg
BSicon vUSTl.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon BUILDING.svg
Signalbox
BSicon dBSl.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon dBSr.svg
BSicon ldENDE@F.svg
BSicon dBSl.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon dBSr.svg
Station
BSicon dSTR.svg
BSicon dBSl.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon dBSr.svg
BSicon lBHF white.svg
BSicon lDRH.svg
BSicon STR+l.svg
BSicon dABZgr.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
Goods shed
wagon turntable
BSicon dSHI1l.svg
BSicon SHI1c3.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon cSTRc2.svg
BSicon dSTR3.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon v-SHI2g+l.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon dSTR3+1-.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon vUSTr.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon vUSTl.svg
BSicon lvENDE@G.svg
BSicon dRP2q.svg
BSicon vSKRZ-G2u.svg
BSicon dRP2q.svg
Bridge 1682
Danemoor Bridge
BSicon vSTR.svg
BSicon vCONTf.svg
 to Wymondham

The Wymondham-Dereham branch line was built by the Norfolk Railway and the line and stations were opened on 15 February 1847.

The Tudoresque main station building was built on the down side of the line, and was of a similar style to the other stations on the line. The station included a two-storey station master's house and a single storey waiting room. The platform was protected by two canopies, one of which was possibly an original Norfolk Railway structure. The up platform buildings were more basic, comprising a simple waiting room. The GER signal cabin, with a 21 lever frame, was located at the north end of the up platform.

The goods yard was located on the down side, providing two sidings, each with a headshunt. A wagon turntable gave access to three short spurs. An additional siding was provided north of the station. Facilities included cattle pens, a loading dock, and a rail connected granary.

When the branch was singled in June 1968, Hardingham was retained as a passing loop until passenger services ended in October 1969. [2]

Signal box

Hardingham signal box, 2015 Hardingham signal box 2015.jpg
Hardingham signal box, 2015

The original signal box was located to the north of the station's up platform, but it was demolished after passenger closure with parts of it used to construct a number of sheds and shelters in the Stationmaster's garden. The non-operational replacement is located on a new site to the south of the down platform. The signal box is private property and does not constitute an operational structure on the railway. The eight year restoration of the box was recognised through a FirstGroup Craft Skills Award. [3] The cabin is an original Great Eastern Railway structure, recovered from Snettisham, Norfolk and restored by the owner of the private station site.

Engineering projects

Double track and storage sidings

A £3,000,000 project to relay the lifted up formation and restore the second platform at this station, in order to provide a storage siding for new Abellio Greater Anglia trains running between Hardingham and Kimberley, was conducted in 2018 and 2019. [4] This involved the partial relaying of the lifted sections of the double line southwards towards Kimberley Park railway station, provision of a storage yard on the site of an original ballast quarry and erection of signalling - controlled from the signal box at Thuxton railway station. Track works were conducted by Sonic Rail Services. [5]

Rolling stock

Hardingham yard, 2015 Hardingham goods yard.jpg
Hardingham yard, 2015
Mk1 coach in Hardingham yard, 2011 BR 14021 at Hardingham.jpg
Mk1 coach in Hardingham yard, 2011

Diesel locomotives

Carriages

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Thuxton
Line and station open
  British Rail
Eastern Region

Wymondham to Wells via East Dereham
  Kimberley Park
Line and station open
 Future services 
Thuxton   Norfolk Orbital Railway
Mid-Norfolk Railway
  Kimberley Park

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nene Valley Railway</span>

The Nene Valley Railway (NVR) is a preserved railway in Cambridgeshire, England, running between Peterborough Nene Valley and Yarwell Junction. The line is 7+12 miles (12.1 km) in length. There are stations at each terminus, and three stops en route: Orton Mere, Ferry Meadows and Wansford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Norfolk Railway</span> Heritage railway in Norfolk, England

The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a 17+12 miles (28.2 km) preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" of heritage railways. The MNR owns and operates most of the former Wymondham-Fakenham branch line of the Norfolk Railway. The branch opened in 1847, was closed to passengers in stages from 1964 to 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts, and was finally fully closed to goods traffic in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipswich railway station</span> Railway station in Suffolk, England

Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is 68 miles 59 chains (110.6 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between Manningtree to the south and Needham Market to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stowmarket railway station</span> Grade II listed railway station in Suffolk, England

Stowmarket railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. It is 80 miles 9 chains (128.9 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Needham Market to the south and Diss to the north. It is also the junction where the Ipswich to Ely Line joins the GEML. Its three-letter station code is SMK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County School railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

County School railway station is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from Wymondham and is the northernmost station owned by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wells and Walsingham Light Railway</span> Heritage railway in North Norfolk, England

The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway is a 10+14 in gauge heritage railway in Norfolk, England running between the coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea and the inland village of Walsingham. The railway occupies a four-mile (6.4 km) section of the trackbed of the former Wymondham to Wells branch which was closed to passengers in stages from 1964 to 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts. Other parts of this line, further south, have also been preserved by the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wymondham railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom

Wymondham railway station is on the Breckland Line in the East of England, serving the town of Wymondham, Norfolk. The line runs between Cambridge in the west and Norwich in the east. It is situated between Spooner Row and Norwich, 113 miles 72 chains (183.3 km) from London Liverpool Street via Ely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wymondham Abbey railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

Wymondham Abbey railway station is a railway station in the town of Wymondham in the English county of Norfolk. The station is served by heritage services operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) between Wymondham and East Dereham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dereham railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

Dereham railway station is a railway station in the town of Dereham in the English county of Norfolk. The station is served by heritage services on the Mid-Norfolk Railway from Dereham to Wymondham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaxham railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

Yaxham is a railway station in the village of Yaxham in the English county of Norfolk. The station is served by heritage services operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway and is the site of the Yaxham Light Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thuxton railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

Thuxton is a railway station in the village of Thuxton in the English county of Norfolk. The station is served by heritage services operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway on the line from Dereham to Wymondham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberley Park railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

Kimberley Park railway station is a railway station in the village of Kimberley in the English county of Norfolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashwellthorpe railway station</span> Former railway station in Norfolk, England

Ashwellthorpe was a railway station that existed in the village of Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, on a cutoff line between Forncett and Wymondham. This entry covers the history of the line and the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitwell & Reepham railway station</span> Railway station in Norfolk, England

Whitwell and Reepham railway station, also known as Whitwell station, is a former station situated in Norfolk, England. The station closed in 1959 and is a notable stop on the Marriott's Way long-distance footpath. It is being restored as a railway museum, including the re-laying of track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fakenham and Dereham Railway Society</span>

The Fakenham and Dereham Railway Society (F&DRS) was a heritage railway society in the English county of Norfolk. For a short period of time it operated County School railway station as the Wensum Valley Railway. The F&DRS later became the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust, owners and operators of the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forncett railway station</span> Former railway station in South Norfolk, England

Forncett railway station was a railway station in Forncett, South Norfolk located 104 miles from London Liverpool Street. It was opened in 1849 when Norwich and Ipswich were connected by the Eastern Union Railway in 1849. Between 1881 and 1951 it was a junction for a short route to Wymondham and was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe with other smaller stations between Norwich and Ipswich.

The West Norfolk Junction Railway was a standard gauge eighteen and a half-mile single-track railway running between Wells-next-the-Sea railway station and Heacham in the English county of Norfolk. It opened in 1866 and closed in 1953. At Wells the line made a junction with the Wells and Fakenham Railway and at Heacham it connected with the line from Hunstanton to Kings Lynn.

The Lynn and Dereham Railway was a standard gauge 26+12-mile (42.6 km) single track railway running between King's Lynn and Dereham in the English county of Norfolk. The Lynn to Dereham line opened in 1846 and closed in 1968, although the section between Middleton Towers and King's Lynn remains open to freight.

The Wymondham to Wells Branch was a railway built in stages by the Norfolk Railway, Eastern Counties Railway and Wells and Fakenham Company between 1847 and 1857. The railway ran from Wymondham in the south, through Dereham and Fakenham to the coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea; more specifically, the line ran from Wymondham South Junction, where it met the present-day Breckland Line. Passenger services along the line lasted until 1969; the railway continued to be used for freight until 1989. The southern section of the railway now forms the Mid-Norfolk Railway, with part of the northern section serving as the narrow gauge Wells and Walsingham Light Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolling stock of the Mid-Norfolk Railway</span>

The Mid-Norfolk Railway has a large collection of heritage rolling stock, mostly relating to the post-war British Railways-era, from the 1950s to 1990s. The line holds several rolling-stock accomplishments:

References

  1. WATCH: Mid Norfolk heritage railway run first service stopping at Hardingham for fifty years
  2. Jenkins, Stanley C. (1993). The Lynn and Dereham Railway: The Kings Lynn to Norwich Line. The Oakwood Press. pp. 135–137. ISBN   0-85361-443-1.
  3. National award for Hardingham signal box renovation
  4. Greater Anglia partners Mid-Norfolk Railway new trains introduction
  5. Mid Norfolk railway sign £3m deal to store new Greater Anglia trains