Dereham
Station on heritage railway
Dereham station's main building and canopy
General information
LocationDereham, Breckland
England
Coordinates52°40′44″N 0°56′51″E / 52.6789°N 0.9474°E / 52.6789; 0.9474
Grid referenceTF993130
Operated byMid-Norfolk Railway
Platforms4 (3 in use)
Other information
Station codeDERMUKF
History
Original companyNorfolk Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon & North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Key dates
15 February 1847Opened
6 October 1969Closed to passengers
12 September 1984Closed as a coal depot
26 July 1997Reopened

Dereham railway station is currently the northern terminus of the Mid-Norfolk Railway, a heritage line that operates services to Wymondham Abbey. It is located in the town of Dereham, in the English county of Norfolk.

History

The Lynn and Dereham Railway and the Norfolk Railway both obtained Parliament's permission to build lines to Dereham in 1845,[1] at the height of the so-called "Railway Mania", when railways were being built across the whole country. The Norfolk Railway, building its line from Wymondham, reached Dereham first, and opened its railway to passengers on 15 February 1847. The line from King's Lynn had to wait until 11 September 1848[2] when the Lynn & Dereham Railway built its own terminal station just before the junction with the Norfolk Railway. This station was closed in 1850 when trains were extended to the Norfolk Railway station.

The King's Lynn line was originally operated by the Lynn & Dereham Railway, but in 1848 the Eastern Counties Railway leased the Norfolk Railway the line was absorbed. In 1857 the line between Dereham and Wells opened. The entire line became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862.[3]

Derelict remains of Dereham station in 1990.

The station was built in stages, being expanded over several decades. It is provided with four platforms, with platforms 2 and 3 being set back to back. Platform 4 is a short bay platform and was originally dedicated for trains heading towards King's Lynn.

Beeching's report intended to retain the King's Lynn - Dereham - Norwich line for express trains and freight: . Despite Beeching's intentions, the line from King's Lynn was closed in 1968, leaving a Dereham - Norwich service. After withdrawal of this remaining service in 1969 the station building was gutted and used as a showroom. Freight trains continued to pass through the station to North Elmham until 1989, passenger services from Dereham to Wells-next-the-Sea having closed under Beeching's Axe in 1964.

The building was later gutted in a serious fire. The exterior of the building has since been restored and the interior replaced, with the building reopening to the public in December 2005.

Locomotive depot

By 1880 Dereham boasted a two road wooden locomotive shed and a 45-foot turntable believed to have dated from the late 1860s and known to have replaced an earlier structure. The depot operated as an outstation of Norwich. In 1888 three locomotives were based at the depot. In 1926 the engine shed was rebuilt in brick.

Dereham depot was closed as a steam shed on 19 September 1955 - when DMU stock was introduced to the line. The shed was used to stable DMU stock until 1 September 1968.[4] The shed was later demolished, and the site used for the construction of a rail-served fertilizer depot. This has since been demolished, and the site is now the Dereham Leisure Centre.

A replacement depot, on part of the former goods yard, was developed using a £100,000 grant from the European Union Leader Fund's Wensum and Coast Local Area Group.[5] In early 2020 the shed was used as an unloading point for MOD traffic.[6]

Present day

Hauled service at Dereham station

The station was reopened in 1997 by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust who since then have gradually reopened the line to Wymondham. Work is in progress in reopening the line northwards from Dereham towards County School and Fakenham. Although National Rail passenger services do not operate from the station this has been proposed for the future as part of the wider Norfolk Orbital Railway scheme,[7] and the station presently serves periodically as a National Rail freight terminal and charter destination.

The goods shed is used for restoration and storage at the moment. The Great Eastern Railway stables are unique but derelict. It is hoped a grant can be obtained in the future for restoration of this building.

The footbridge formerly from Whittlesford station was delivered to Dereham in July 2010, where it was intended to serve as a replacement to the demolished original structure. In May 2013 a planning application was submitted to Breckland District Council for the construction of the footbridge to link platforms 1 and 2.[8] The bridge has since been sold.

Second station

A contender for Dereham's second station

Early Ordnance Survey maps show a second railway station located in the South Green area of Dereham on the branch line to King's Lynn which opened on 11 September 1848. This line was originally provided with a number of stations that lasted less than a decade, and this second station does not appear in later documents and closed around 1850.[9]

A crossing keeper's cottage, which survived the closure of the branch to become a private residence, matches the design of other minor stations along the route. The entrance to the booking hall and former platform door, now converted to be windows, can be seen and compared to contemporary station buildings.[10] However, contrary evidence suggests that the station may have been provided at the level crossing closer to the station, where there were later sidings on a section of line with a tight radius curve.[11]

Signal boxes

Although the original four signal boxes at Dereham have been demolished, two of the boxes have been rebuilt since the preservation of the site. The original Dereham North box is preserved close to the village of Hindolveston.[12][13]

Location Original location Built by Notes Photograph
Dereham North Laundry Lane, Lowestoft Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railway Crossing box for Norwich Road, Dereham. Construction commenced May 2007.
Dereham Central Stratford Southern, London Great Eastern Railway As Stratford Southern, this box was originally supported on legs, allowing a siding to pass underneath. It has been rebuilt in a more conventional manner. May serve as the main station box when completed.

Trains at Dereham

Dereham railway station
1950
 to Fakenham
 Neatherd Road level crossing
Cattle docks
Norwich Road level crossing
 North signal box
Dereham station
 Goods shed
to King's Lynn
to Maltings sidings
Dereham Central signalbox
to King's Lynn
South signal box
to War Department sidings
Green Lane level crossing
Yaxham Road level crossing
to Wymondham

References

  1. ↑ Scrivenor, Harry (1849). The Railways of the United Kingdom Statistically Considered. Smith, Elder and Co. p. 334. norfolk railway act of parliament.
  2. ↑ Oppitz, 1989, page 41
  3. ↑ MNR history of the line Archived 2009-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Hawkins, Chris; George Reeve (1986). Great Eastern Railway Engine Sheds. Wild Swan Publications Ltd. p. 213. ISBN 0-906867-40-1.
  5. ↑ Frank-Keyes, Jessica (1 September 2018). "£100,000 EU grant could see Mid Norfolk Railway create up to eight jobs". Dereham Times. Norfolk. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. ↑ For the first time since 2009, Mid Norfolk Railways has helped to deliver an array of army vehicles to Dereham.
  7. ↑ Norfolk Orbital Railway
  8. ↑ Dereham station footbridge planning application Archived 2013-07-07 at archive.today
  9. ↑ "Disused Stations:Dereham Station(East Anglian Railway)".
  10. ↑ "Disused Stations:Scarning Station".
  11. ↑ "Disused Stations: Lynn & Dereham Railway".
  12. ↑ Dereham North signalbox
  13. ↑ Signal box sale reaches £11,000
Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Terminus   Mid-Norfolk Railway   Yaxham
Disused railways
North Elmham
Line open, station closed		   British Rail
Eastern Region
Wymondham to Wells via East Dereham		   Yaxham
Line and station open
Scarning
Line and station closed		   British Rail
Eastern Region
Lynn and Dereham Railway		   Terminus
Heritage Railways  Proposed Heritage railways
North Elmham   Mid-Norfolk Railway   Yaxham
  Future services  
North Elmham   Norfolk Orbital Railway
Mid-Norfolk Railway		   Yaxham
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