Heacham railway station
Encyclopedia
Heacham was a railway station which served the seaside village
of Heacham
in Norfolk
, England
. Opened in 1862, the station served as a junction where services left the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line for Wells
on the West Norfolk Junction Railway which opened in 1866. The station closed with the Hunstanton line in 1969.
Services to Wells started and terminated in a bay platform
to the east of the line, while trains to Hunstanton and King's Lynn departed from a two-faced bay platform just to the west. The station was rebuilt at least twice, with the Great Eastern Railway
adding platform canopies, a turntable and improving the platform buildings. More substantial modifications were carried out by the London and North Eastern Railway
in 1937 as Heacham had by then become a significant holiday destination, and it was necessary to extend the passing loop
to accommodate 13-coach trains. A lattice girder footbridge linked the platforms, while a signal box
was situated on the down side. Arriving passengers could find lodgings for the night in the nearby "West Norfolk" hotel. In 1960, the station was allocated a camping coach
converted from a Pullman car
, which was fitted with a full kitchen, two sleeping compartments and a room with two single beds.
The post-war boom experienced by the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line was not felt on the West Norfolk Junction Railway whose inconveniently-sited stations contributed to declining passenger traffic. Passenger services from Wells were eventually withdrawn from 31 May 1952, but the line remained open to freight. However, following the North Sea flood of 1953
, the track between Wells and Holkham
was so severely damaged that British Rail
considered it not worth repairing and the line was closed completely between these two places. The King's Lynn to Hunstanton line survived seventeen more years before itself closing in 1969 amid falling traffic and service cutbacks.
first class carriage from the Battlefield Line Railway
in 2006 with the aim of converting it into further holiday accommodation. The old signal box survived for many years, but was removed to make way for a housing estate.
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
of Heacham
Heacham
Heacham is a village of 4,707 inhabitants, located in north-west Norfolk, England, between King's Lynn, to the south and Hunstanton, about to the north, on The Wash.- History :...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Opened in 1862, the station served as a junction where services left the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line for Wells
Wells-On-Sea railway station
Wells-next-the-Sea railway station served the small seaside port of Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk, England. It was opened in 1857 by the Wells & Fakenham Railway, later part of the Great Eastern Railway's Wymondham to Wells branch, and became a junction in 1866 with the arrival of the West...
on the West Norfolk Junction Railway which opened in 1866. The station closed with the Hunstanton line in 1969.
History
Situated around a mile to the west of Heacham village, the station was constructed to tap into the thriving holiday market which had developed in the nineteenth century. A favourite resort of Queen Alexandra, the village attracted large numbers of caravans and chalets to its shingly foreshore. The King's Lynn to Hunstanton line proved an instant success, and encouraged the construction of a second line, the West Norfolk Junction Railway from Heacham to Wells, which opened in 1866, thereby making Heacham a junction station.Bay platform
Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...
to the east of the line, while trains to Hunstanton and King's Lynn departed from a two-faced bay platform just to the west. The station was rebuilt at least twice, with the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
adding platform canopies, a turntable and improving the platform buildings. More substantial modifications were carried out by the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
in 1937 as Heacham had by then become a significant holiday destination, and it was necessary to extend the passing loop
Passing loop
A passing loop is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at a station, where trains or trams in opposing directions can pass each other. Trains/trams in the same direction can also overtake, providing that the signalling arrangement allows it...
to accommodate 13-coach trains. A lattice girder footbridge linked the platforms, while a signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
was situated on the down side. Arriving passengers could find lodgings for the night in the nearby "West Norfolk" hotel. In 1960, the station was allocated a camping coach
Camping coach
Camping coaches were offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom as accommodation for holiday makers in rural or coastal areas.The coaches were old passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which were converted to provide basic sleeping and living space at static locations...
converted from a Pullman car
Pullman train (UK)
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company.-Origins:...
, which was fitted with a full kitchen, two sleeping compartments and a room with two single beds.
The post-war boom experienced by the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line was not felt on the West Norfolk Junction Railway whose inconveniently-sited stations contributed to declining passenger traffic. Passenger services from Wells were eventually withdrawn from 31 May 1952, but the line remained open to freight. However, following the North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
, the track between Wells and Holkham
Holkham railway station
Holkham was a railway station which served the coastal village of Holkham in Norfolk, England. Opened by the West Norfolk Junction railway in 1866, it closed with the line in 1952.- History :...
was so severely damaged that British Rail
Eastern Region of British Railways
The Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
considered it not worth repairing and the line was closed completely between these two places. The King's Lynn to Hunstanton line survived seventeen more years before itself closing in 1969 amid falling traffic and service cutbacks.
Present day
The station buildings have mostly survived and, as from 1993, were converted into holiday accommodation, with a camping and caravan site on the old trackbed. The owners of the site acquired a British Railways Mark 1British Railways Mark 1
British Railways Mark 1 was the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways. Following nationalisation in 1948, BR had continued to build carriages to the designs of the "Big Four" companies , and the Mark 1 was intended to be the...
first class carriage from the Battlefield Line Railway
Battlefield Line Railway
The Battlefield Line Railway is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, England. It runs from Shackerstone to Shenton , via Market Bosworth, a total of...
in 2006 with the aim of converting it into further holiday accommodation. The old signal box survived for many years, but was removed to make way for a housing estate.