| Lynn and Dereham Railway | |
|---|---|
| Locale | England |
| Dates of operation | 1846–1968 (passengers) |
| Successor | Great Eastern Railway |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Length | 26½ miles (43 km) |
| Headquarters | King's Lynn |
The Lynn and Dereham Railway was a standard gauge 261⁄2-mile (43 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.
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The Lynn & Dereham Railway, which weaved a 26.5-mile (42.6 km) route to East Dereham via Narborough and Swaffham, was given the Royal Assent on 21 July 1845,[1] opening in stages between 1846 and 1848;[2] this later became part of the Great Eastern Railway. Only the section of line between King's Lynn and Narborough was opened under the L&DR, on 17th October 1846. The remainder of the line was opened in stages by the L&DR's immediate successor, the East Anglian Railway. The original intention of the company had been to extend their line to Great Yarmouth, via Norwich, but this plan was blocked by the rival Wymondham to Dereham scheme proposed by the Norfolk Railway.[3]
The line was closed to passenger and freight services by the Eastern Region of British Railways on Saturday 7 September 1968, save for a three-mile[4] section for sand freight from King's Lynn to Middleton,[5][6] however Wendling station and its road bridge became immortalised on film for all time in several episodes of the British situation comedy Dad's Army, as it continued for a short while as a filming location.[7]
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Legend
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The line starts at King's Lynn, where the original station building was replaced by the current building in 1871, and has remained largely unchanged since; the original was a somewhat rudimentary timber building on the site of the goods yards of the time.[8] Leaving the station the line passed through the goods yard, passed the locomotive shed and the harbour branch before crossing over the junction for the lines to Hunstanton and Cambridge.
Soon after leaving King's Lynn the route passed under the former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway. The first station on the route was at Middleton. This small station remains in use as a freight terminus, and the station has been the destination of a number of charter trains. The following station was at East Winch, which was provided with two platforms and a passing loop. Although there had briefly been an intermediate station between them, the next station for most of the line's existence was a Narborough and Pentney. This was the terminus of the partially completed line when it opened in 1846, and was equipped with two platforms and a large canopy.
The next station was Swaffham, where there was a branch line service to Watton and Thetford. The route then passed through Sporle (closed 1850), Dunham, Fransham, Wendling and Scarning (closed 1850) before arriving at Dereham on the line between Wymondham and Fakenham.
The L&DR was initially operated by eight 2-2-2 passenger engines and two 0-4-2 goods engines, all of which being coke burners.[3] The first four were delivered in 1846, with the remaining locomotives being delivered in 1847. The two goods locomotives arrived in 1848.[3]
| Number & Name | Description | Builder | Delivered | Scrapped |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 'Eagle' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1846 | July 1875 |
| 2 'Vulture' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1846 | June 1867 |
| 3 'Ostrich' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1846 | January 1870 |
| 4 'Falcon' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1846 | September 1868 |
| 5 'Hawk' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1847 | October 1869 |
| 6 'Kite' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1847 | October 1869 |
| 7 'Raven' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1847 | March 1870 |
| 8 'Heron' | 2-2-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1847 | January 1870 |
| 13 'Lion' | 0-4-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1848 | - |
| 14 'Tiger' | 0-4-2 | Sharp Brothers of Manchester | 1848 | - |
The majority of the route remains unobstructed. All of the stations, other than Wendling, remain in good order, and large sections of the route remain in transport use as roadways and drives. While track remains between King's Lynn and Middleton, the remainder has been lifted and the section of line between Dereham and Wendling has been claimed by the A47 road.
Most stations survive as a private residences, although Swaffham's large yard and junction has been redeveloped as an industrial estate the station building survives in community use. Dunham station was used as a museum for a number of years, although this has now closed. Fransham still has a short section of track and some rolling stock in what is now a private garden[9], and the route into Dereham has been partially redeveloped for housing and an inner link road. Dereham station itself survives as the headquarters for the Mid-Norfolk Railway.