Westerfield railway station

Westerfield
View from the level crossing
Location
Place	Westerfield
Local authority	Suffolk Coastal
Grid reference	TM170472
Operations
Station code	WFI
Managed by	Abellio Greater Anglia
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	6,892
2005/06	8,197
2006/07	8,461
2007/08	9,764
2008/09	11,100
2009/10	11,688
2010/11	13,346
2011/12	14,792
2012/13	13,282
History
Key dates	Opened 1 June 1859 (1 June 1859)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Westerfield from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Westerfield is a railway station in Westerfield Suffolk, England. The station is a junction of the Felixstowe Branch Line to Felixstowe, and the East Suffolk Line to Lowestoft 3 ¹⁄₂ miles (5.6 km) east of Ipswich. Westerfield is a small village north of Ipswich and the station is situated on the south side of the village. As a result patronage has never been high and it might be the fact because the location is a junction that has been partly responsible for keeping it open. However, a report commissioned by Suffolk County Council ^[1] reported that 25,384 people lived in the catchment area for the station

Currently the station is served by Abellio Greater Anglia. All services are operated by diesel multiple units of Classes 153, 156 and 170. The Felixstowe line is operated as an hourly shuttle service to Ipswich, there is an hourly service to/from Lowestoft which was introduced on 9 December 2012 following the completion of a passing loop at Beccles . Through the bushes behind the up platform the original platform and station building of the 'Felixstowe Dock & Railway Co' station can be seen.

History

In about 1847 the Ipswich & Bury Railway had secured the rights to build the line from Ipswich to Woodbridge but works were delayed for financial reasons. The Ipswich & Bury Railway was absorbed by then Eastern Union Railway in 1847 which gathered a number of the smaller railway concerns together.

The Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe Railway was incorporated in 1851 and the first section of the East Suffolk line from Beccles to Halesworth was constructed by Peto Brassey & Betts. The East Suffolk railway, which had been incorporated on 3 July 1854, took over the powers of the Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe Railway^[2] and the route opened on 4 December 1854.^[2] It continued north to Haddiscoe on what is now part of the Wherry Lines.^[3]

On the 1 June 1859 the line was opened as far south as Westerfield and Ipswich and north to Great Yarmouth.^[2] In 1862 the Great Eastern took over operation of the line. In 1877 the Felixstowe Branch opened. In 1885 an ambitious Midland Railway scheme would, had it of come to fruition seen Westerfield Junction linked to Chesterton Junction just north of Cambridge. Like so many schemes of the time it foundered and died a natural death.

During the 1880s the station served a factory belonging to the Westerfield Steam Brewery (which also dealt in coal and corn). Coal merchant, Thomas Moy was listed as operating in 1896 and 1900^[4]

On 25 September 1900 at 0845, GER Class Y14 0-6-0 locomotive no 522 which was then just a year old stopped at a signal on the Ipswich side of the level crossing awaiting a route to the Felixstowe branch. Shortly afterwards the boiler exploded killing driver John Barnard and his fireman William Macdonald both based at Ipswich engine shed. The boiler was thrown 40 yards forwards, over the level crossing and ended up on the down platform. Apparently the locomotive had a history of boiler problems although in the official report the Boiler Foreman at Ipswich Engine shed was blamed. The victims were buried in Ipswich cemetery and both their gravestones have a likeness of a Y14 0-6-0 carved onto them.^[5][6]

On 3 May 1902 Westerfield almost became a four way junction when a sod cutting ceremony for the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway was held adjacent to the north side of the goods yard The original plan was to link up with the Mid-Suffolk Railway at Debenham and a short section of this line was built at the Debenham end. It was never completed.^[7]

During this time it is known that excursion trains travelled from such places as the Framlingham Branch to Felixstowe and it is possible the locomotives would have run round the carriages in the station (rather than run to Ipswich) in order to access the branch. No scheduled services did this.

In 1923 the Great Eastern was merged into the London and North Eastern Railway. During World War II a number of engines were stored in the bay platforms but returned to use later in the war. These included three of the regular Felixstowe branch engines nos 6123, 6128 and 6130 (C14 4-4-2T).^[8] It was also where Polish armoured train C was based.^[9]

In 1948 the railways were nationalised and British Railways took over operation of Westerfield Junction. During the winter months in the 1950s a pair of camping coaches were stored in the goods yard. These were based at Felixstowe Pier railway station during the summer.^[10] In the 1960s the East Suffolk line was identified for closure but a vigorous local campaign saw it saved. It was reduced to a very basic railway in order to cut costs although some through services to London survived until the 1980s.

On 13 July 1964 the goods yard closed with the track in the bay platforms being lifted sometime later in the 1960s. In 1967 all booking offices in the area closed and all trains became operated by conductor guards. The late 1960s saw the steady growth of freight through Felixstowe Docks with Freightliner trains being seen increasingly at Westerfield.

In 1985 The layout was changed in connection with the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block signalling. Trains heading towards Felixstowe now changed tracks west of the level crossing and worked through the up (Ipswich bound platform). Westerfield signal box remained as the Felixstowe branch was still signalled under the Absolute Block system. The signal box closed in 1999 and the Felixstowe branch was controlled by the Colchester Power Signal Box under the Track Circuit Block system of signalling. In the early 1990s the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company buildings which had stood empty for many years were converted to a private residence.

In 1994 the railways were privatised. The ownership of the infrastructure passed to Railtrack (which later became Network Rail in 2002). The trains were initially operated by a business unit and the first franchise was awarded to Anglia Railways (owned by First Group). The second round of franchising in 2004 saw the One Railway franchise owned by National Express take over although this was renamed National Express East Anglia in 2008.

In 2004 a developer planning to develop land to the east of the Castle Hill area in Ipswich proposed a new station which would have seen the end of Westerfield Junction due to its close proximity. The plans came to nothing.

• 

  Westerfield Junction Signal Box 1979

• 

  Westerfield Junction in 2010

Operations

In 1877 the station opened as a terminating station for the Felixstowe Branch Line with four trains arriving and departing each day. The bay platforms were built for this purpose as was the office for the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company. The Great Eastern Railway took over operating this line in 1879 and most Felixstowe trains were extended to and from Ipswich station.

The 1905 timetable reported through coaches for Felixstowe from Liverpool Street being detached at Westerfield where another locomotive would then have been attached to the coaches for the journey down to Felixstowe.^[8]

In June 1922 there were seven weekday services to the East Suffolk line and ten to the Felixstowe branch. On Sundays there were two services to the East Suffolk and six to the Felixstowe line.^[11]

In the September 1964 timetable only 4 down Felixstowe and a single down East Suffolk train served the station on a weekday.

Through services to London finished in 1984 although they were restarted after privatisation in 2004.

Description

The station is situated to the east of the Ipswich to Westerfield Road which crosses the East Suffolk Line on the level. The station building is situated on the southern side of the East Suffolk line. There were two through platforms when the station opened and these were supplemented by two further bay platforms when the Felixstowe Branch Line opened in 1877. The Felixstowe railway company had offices on the southernmost platform which are still extant today as a private residence after they had stood empty for many years.

The goods yard was situated on the northern side of the line and consisted of a couple of sidings accessed by setting back from the main line.

To the west of the station and level crossing there was a short branch (1.5 miles long) which ran to a brick and tile works in what is now known as the Dales area of Ipswich. There was a second brick works just north of Grove Farm site. In World War One the line was requisitioned by the British war department to serve a munitions depot in the Upper Dales. In 1921 the line was worked by a Garrett steam road tractor as the track was in poor condition and it was removed circa 1927.^[12]

The original signal box was situated at the east end of the down (Lowestoft) platform but this was replaced by a standard GE structure located at the junction for the Felixstowe branch. Absolute Block signalling was withdrawn between Westerfield and Oulton Broad when the East Suffolk Line was upgraded to the Radio Electronic Token Block system. The box survived as the Felixstowe Branch still had conventional block signalling with the next signal box being the station at Derby Road albeit with a large modern radio mast inelegantly attached to a Victorian structure. The box finally closed in when the signalling was upgraded in 1999 and the area is now controlled by Colchester Power Signal Box.^[13]

Services

Trains are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia and run hourly on each route throughout most of the day but start later on Sundays and are less frequent in the early morning and evening.

Since the introduction of an hourly service on the East Suffolk Line due of the completion of the Beccles passing loop, very few East Suffolk Line trains to/from Lowestoft or Saxmundham call at Westerfield Monday to Saturday. The Sunday stopping pattern however remains the same.

Trains on the East Suffolk Line from 9 December 2012 all operate through to Lowestoft via Saxmundham on an hourly service. All trains on the Felixstowe Branch Line operate through to Felixstowe.^[14]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Woodbridge		Abellio Greater Anglia East Suffolk Line Early mornings, late evenings and Sundays		Ipswich
Derby Road		Abellio Greater Anglia Felixstowe Branch Line
Woodbridge		Dutchflyer Lowestoft-Amsterdam		Ipswich
Historical railways
Bealings Line open, station closed		Great Eastern Railway East Suffolk Railway		Ipswich Line and station open

Buses

These bus services depart from outside the station:

Bus Service	Operator	Route	Notes
116	Galloway	Ipswich - Westerfield - Witnesham - Debenham.	Monday to Friday. One return journey.[15]
118/119	Galloway	Ipswich - Westerfield - Witnesham - Framlingham.	Monday to Saturday. Every Hour.

Freight

No freight is handled at Westerfield but as the Felixstowe Branch is very busy with freight trains for the Port of Felixstowe operated by DB Schenker, Direct Rail Services, Freightliner and GBRf. Direct Rail Services also operate a less frequent service to Sizewell Nuclear Power Station.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Westerfield railway station.

Coordinates: 52°04′52″N 1°09′58″E / 52.081°N 1.166°E / 52.081; 1.166