Downham and Stoke Ferry Railway

Downham and Stoke Ferry Railway
Locale King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Dates of operation 1882–1898
Successor Great Eastern Railway
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length 7 miles (11 km)
Stoke Ferry Branch
Legend
Fen Line to King's Lynn
Downham
Denver
Fen Line to Ely
Ryston
Abbey and West Dereham
Wissington Tramway
Stoke Ferry

The Downham and Stoke Ferry Railway was a branch line in western Norfolk, England.

History

The Downham and Stoke Ferry Railway (D&SF) was just over 7 miles (11 km) long.[1] It was authorised on 24 July 1879, and opened on 1 August 1882, being worked by the Great Eastern Railway (GER).[1] It ran from a junction with the GER at Denver (to the south of Downham), to a terminus at Stoke Ferry.[2] There were two intermediate stations: Ryston and Abbey (latterly known as Abbey and West Dereham).[3]

On 6 August 1897 an Act of Parliament authorised the GER to absorb the D&SF, which they did on 1 January 1898.[1] Being part of the GER, the line passed to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at the Grouping on 1 January 1923.[4] The LNER withdrew the passenger service on 22 September 1930.[1]

At Abbey and West Dereham, a privately-owned line, the Wissington Tramway, branched off. It opened c. 1905 and mostly closed in 1957.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Awdry 1990, p. 124.
  2. ^ Allen 1956, p. 218.
  3. ^ Conolly 1976, p. 17, sections F4–F5.
  4. ^ Awdry 1990, pp. 133–4.
  5. ^ Awdry 1990, p. 243.

References