Wells and Fakenham Railway

v t e Wells and Fakenham Railway
Legend
Wells Harbour Wells-next-the-Sea West Norfolk Junction Railway to Holkham Wells-next-the-Sea (W&WLR) The Midden (W&WLR) Warham (W&WLR) Wighton Halt (W&WLR) Wighton Halt (Seton's Halt) Walsingham (W&WLR) Walsingham Pilgrims' Way footpath Houghton Saint Giles Fakenham East to Dereham
Wells and Fakenham Railway Wells & Walsingham Light Rly Pilgrims' Way footpath

The Wells & Fakenham Railway, was the northern part of the Wymondham to Wells branch in Norfolk, England. It connected the market town of Fakenham to the coast at Wells-next-the-Sea. It closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and to goods traffic in 1980.

Construction

The Norfolk Railway opened a line from Wymondham to Dereham, on the Norwich to Thetford mainline, in 1847, and a line from Dereham to Fakenham in 1849. The Wells and Fakenham Railway, incorporated in 1854, was formed by local landowners and some directors of the Norfolk Railway. The 9.5 miles (15.3 km) Fakenham to Wells line opened in 1857 and a short branch to Wells Harbour was built in 1859. The line became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. ^{[1] [2]}

The line used diesel multiple units for passenger traffic from 1955. It was listed for closure in the Beeching Report and closed to passengers on 5 October 1964. Goods services continued until 1980.

The route today

Part of the route has been reopened as the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway. ^[1] A section of trackbed from Walsingham railway station southwards to the village of Houghton Saint Giles is used as a public footpath called the Pilgrims' Way.

References

1. Julian Holland (2013). Dr Beeching's Axe: 50 Years on : Illustrated Memories of Britain's Lost Railways. David & Charles. p. 70. ISBN   978-1-44630-267-5.
2. Susanna Wade Martins (1980). A Great Estate at Work: The Holkham Estate and Its Inhabitants in the Nineteenth Century . Cambridge University Press. p.  62. ISBN   978-0-52122-696-7.

Further reading

• Jenkins, Stanley C. (2011). The Wells-next-the-Sea Branch via Wymondham and Dereham (2nd ed.). The Oakwood Press. ISBN   978-0-85361-712-9.