Massingham railway station

Massingham
Location
Place	Little Massingham
Area	King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Norfolk
Grid reference	TF793248
Operations
Pre-grouping	Lynn and Fakenham Railway Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Post-grouping	Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Eastern Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
16 August 1879	Opened
2 March 1959	Closed to passengers
1 January 1966	Closed to freight
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Massingham railway station is a now closed railway station in North Norfolk. It was situated at Little Massingham and was on the line between King's Lynn and the Norfolk Coast and served the villages of Little and Great Massingham and Harpley. It was eventually closed when most of the rail routes were shut down by British Railways, and much of the network in Norfolk disappeared.^[1]

History

Originally opened by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway in the 1880s, it later was managed by the London and North Eastern Railway until nationalisation in 1947 when it came under the control of British Railways for the final twelve years of service.

A driving force behind the building of the Lynn & Fakenham railway line was the Reverend Joseph Lloyd Brereton of Little Massingham. Supporters of the project used to meet at his rectory in the 1870s. As a result of their endeavours the line was built from Lynn to Massingham and the station and line was opened on 16 August 1879. Later the line was extended and continued onto Fakenham opening on 16 August 1880.

This is a view of the station some thirty years after the trains first ran and a prominent feature is the criss-cross fencing which was found all over the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway.

This was abbreviated to (M&GN), interpreted by many as meaning the Muddle & Get Nowhere Railway. Massingham was also the only station between South Lynn and Fakenham to have a footbridge. When the line was closed the main ticket office and waiting rooms and the stationmaster's house were converted into two houses.

References

1. ↑ http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/article/ncc037183.pdf

Coordinates: 52°47′29″N 0°39′30″E / 52.7913°N 0.6583°E / 52.7913; 0.6583