Westerfield railway station
Encyclopedia
Westerfield is a railway station in Westerfield
Westerfield
Westerfield is a village in Suffolk, England.It is located approximately two miles north of the centre of Ipswich. The village is served by Westerfield railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....

 Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, 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...

. The station is a junction of the Felixstowe Branch Line
Felixstowe Branch Line
The Felixstowe Branch Line is a railway line from Ipswich to Felixstowe in Suffolk. The line follows the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Westerfield, and then diverges to the south. Passenger services are operated by National Express East Anglia...

 to Felixstowe
Felixstowe railway station
Felixstowe is a railway station serving the town of Felixstowe in Suffolk, England. The station is the terminus of the Felixstowe Branch Line east of .It was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1898...

, and the East Suffolk Line
East Suffolk Line
The East Suffolk Line is an un-electrified secondary railway line running between Ipswich and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England. The traffic along the route consists of passenger services operated by National Express East Anglia, while nuclear flask trains for the Sizewell nuclear power stations are...

 to Lowestoft
Lowestoft railway station
Lowestoft railway station, formerly known as Lowestoft Central railway station, is a staffed railway station serving the town of Lowestoft in Suffolk. It is the terminus of the Wherry Line from Norwich and the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich. It is the easternmost station on the National Rail network...

 6 km (3½ miles) east of Ipswich
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line 68¾ miles east of London Liverpool Street towards Norwich...

. 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 reported that 25,384 people lived in the catchment area for the station

Currently the station is served by National Express East Anglia. All services are operated by diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s of Classes 153
British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...

, 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...

 and 170. The Felixstowe line is operated as an hourly shuttle service to Ipswich, there is an hourly service to Saxmundham and every 2 hours this service continues to Lowestoft. Through the bushes behind the up platform can be seen the original platform and station building of the 'Felixstowe Dock & Railway Co' station.

Opening

In about 1847 the Ipswich & Bury Railway had secured the rights to built the line from Ipswich to Woodbridge
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...

 but works were delayed for financial reasons. The Ipswich & Bury Railway was absorbed by then Eastern Union Railway
Eastern Union Railway
The Eastern Union Railway was an early English railway, initially sanctioned by Act of Parliament on 19 July 1844, with authorised capital of £200,000 to build from Ipswich to Colchester. Further Acts of 21 July 1845 and 26 June 1846 authorised further increases in capital of £50,000 and £20,000...

 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
Beccles
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...

 to Halesworth
Halesworth
Halesworth is a small market town in the northeastern corner of Suffolk, England. It is located south west of Lowestoft, and straddles the River Blyth, 9 miles upstream from Southwold. The town is served by Halesworth railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line...

 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 and the route opened on the 4 December 1854. It continued north to Haddiscoe
Haddiscoe
Haddiscoe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 30 km south-east of the city of Norwich, but only 10 km west of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft.The civil parish has an area of...

 on what is now part of the Wherry Lines
Wherry Lines
The Wherry Lines are railway lines in England, from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. These lines pass through The Broads. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.11 and is classified as a rural line...

.

On the 1 June 1859 the line was opened as far south as Westerfield and Ipswich and north to Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

.

The Station described

The station is situated to the east of the Ipswich to Westerfield Road which crosses the East Suffolk Line
East Suffolk Line
The East Suffolk Line is an un-electrified secondary railway line running between Ipswich and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England. The traffic along the route consists of passenger services operated by National Express East Anglia, while nuclear flask trains for the Sizewell nuclear power stations are...

 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
Felixstowe Branch Line
The Felixstowe Branch Line is a railway line from Ipswich to Felixstowe in Suffolk. The line follows the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Westerfield, and then diverges to the south. Passenger services are operated by National Express East Anglia...

 opened in 1877. The Felixstowe railway company had offices on the southernmost platform which are still extant today as a private residence although they 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.

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
Radio Electronic Token Block
Radio Electronic Token Block is a system of railway signalling used in the United Kingdom. It is a development of the physical token system for controlling traffic on single lines.- How it works :...

 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.

History

The station opened for traffic on June 1, 1859.

In 1862 the Great Eastern took over operation of the line.

In 1877 the Felixstowe Branch opened.

In 1885 an ambitious Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish 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.

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
Ipswich engine shed
Ipswich engine shed was an engine shed located in Ipswich in Suffolk in the UK on the Great Eastern Main Line located just south of Stoke tunnel and the current Ipswich railway station. Locomotives accessed the site from Halifax Junction which was also the junction for the Griffin Wharf branch of...

. 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.

On May 3, 1902 Westerfield almost became a four way junction when a sod cutting ceremony for the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is a heritage railway in Suffolk, which in its heyday it was a branch line which ran for just from Haughley to Laxfield, Suffolk. The line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1924 and the last trains ran on 26 July 1952...

 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
Debenham
Debenham is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in Eastern England. In the 2001 census the population recorded was 1,728...

 and a short section of this line was built at the Debenham end. It was never completed.

During this time it is known that excursion trains travelled from such places as the Framlingham Branch
Framlingham Branch
The Framlingham Branch was a six mile long single track branch railway line that ran from Wickham Market railway station on the East Suffolk Line to via three intermediate stations, , , and .-Opening:...

 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 & North Eastern Railway.

During World War 2 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).

In 1948 the railways were nationalised and British Railways took over operation of Westerfield Junction.

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 July 13, 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
Freightliner
Freightliner can refer to* Freightliner Trucks, a heavy vehicle manufacturer in the United States* Freightliner Group Limited, a European rail-freight operator* Freight liner , describing a cargo ship operating to a repeating schedule...

 trains being seen increasingly at Westerfield.

In 1985 The layout was changed in connection with the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block
Radio Electronic Token Block
Radio Electronic Token Block is a system of railway signalling used in the United Kingdom. It is a development of the physical token system for controlling traffic on single lines.- How it works :...

 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.

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
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...

 (which later became Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 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 train the “One Railway” franchise owned by National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...

 take over although this was renamed National Express East Anglia within a year.

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 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 it’s close proximity. The plans came to nothing.

Historic Train Services

Trains started serving Westerfield from 1859.

In 1877 the station opened as a terminating station for the Felixstowe Branch Line
Felixstowe Branch Line
The Felixstowe Branch Line is a railway line from Ipswich to Felixstowe in Suffolk. The line follows the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Westerfield, and then diverges to the south. Passenger services are operated by National Express East Anglia...

 with four trains arriving and departing each day. The bay platforms were built ofr this purose as was the office fro the Felixstowe dock and Railway Company. 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...

 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.

In June 1922 there were 7 weekday services to the East Suffolk line and 10 to the Felixstowe branch. On Sundays there were 2 services to the East Suffolk and 6 on a Sunday.

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.

Current Train Services

The following services currently call at Westerfield:
Operator Route Material Frequency Notes
NXEA (Harwich International
Harwich International railway station
Harwich International is a railway station serving Harwich International Port in Essex, England. The station is located on the electrified Mayflower Line from Manningtree to Harwich Town...

 -) Ipswich
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line 68¾ miles east of London Liverpool Street towards Norwich...

 - Westerfield - Woodbridge
Woodbridge railway station
Woodbridge is a railway station serving the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk. The station is located on the East Suffolk Line .-History:...

 - Melton
Melton railway station
Melton is a railway station serving the village of Melton in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line...

 - Wickham Market
Wickham Market railway station
Wickham Market is a railway station located in the village of Campsea Ashe in Suffolk, approximately two miles east of Wickham Market itself. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....

 - Saxmundham
Saxmundham railway station
Saxmundham is a railway station which serves the town of Saxmundham in Suffolk, England. It is located on the East Suffolk Line and is 36 km east of Ipswich....

 - Darsham
Darsham railway station
Darsham is a railway station which serves the villages of Darsham and Yoxford in Suffolk, lying midway between the two communities, each of which is about one mile from the station. It is located on the East Suffolk Line between Lowestoft and Ipswich...

 - Halesworth
Halesworth railway station
Halesworth is a railway station serving the town of Halesworth in Suffolk. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line.It is the nearest station to the town of Southwold, although some passengers from Southwold prefer to use Darsham station.The station is served by National...

 - Brampton
Brampton (Suffolk) railway station
Brampton is a railway station serving the villages of Brampton and Redisham in Suffolk, which is approximately 1½ miles away. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....

 - Beccles
Beccles railway station
Beccles is a railway station on the East Suffolk Line and serves the town of Beccles in Suffolk. There is generally a two hourly service to Lowestoft and Ipswich .-History:...

 - Oulton Broad South
Oulton Broad South railway station
Oulton Broad South is one of two railway stations serving Oulton Broad, a suburb of Lowestoft in Suffolk, England.The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line...

 - Lowestoft
Lowestoft railway station
Lowestoft railway station, formerly known as Lowestoft Central railway station, is a staffed railway station serving the town of Lowestoft in Suffolk. It is the terminus of the Wherry Line from Norwich and the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich. It is the easternmost station on the National Rail network...

Class 170 Every 2 Hours Service to Harwich 1x per day
NXEA Ipswich
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line 68¾ miles east of London Liverpool Street towards Norwich...

 - Westerfield - Woodbridge
Woodbridge railway station
Woodbridge is a railway station serving the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk. The station is located on the East Suffolk Line .-History:...

 - Melton
Melton railway station
Melton is a railway station serving the village of Melton in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line...

 - Wickham Market
Wickham Market railway station
Wickham Market is a railway station located in the village of Campsea Ashe in Suffolk, approximately two miles east of Wickham Market itself. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....

 - Saxmundham
Saxmundham railway station
Saxmundham is a railway station which serves the town of Saxmundham in Suffolk, England. It is located on the East Suffolk Line and is 36 km east of Ipswich....

Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...

Every 2 Hours Not Sundays
NXEA Ipswich
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line 68¾ miles east of London Liverpool Street towards Norwich...

 - Westerfield - Derby Road - Trimley
Trimley railway station
Trimley is a railway station serving the village of Trimley St Mary, near Felixstowe, in Suffolk, England. The station is situated on the Felixstowe Branch Line east of Ipswich.The station is served by National Express East Anglia.-History:...

 - Felixstowe
Felixstowe railway station
Felixstowe is a railway station serving the town of Felixstowe in Suffolk, England. The station is the terminus of the Felixstowe Branch Line east of .It was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1898...

Class 153
British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...

1x per hour

Bus service

  • 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.
118/119 Far East Travel Ipswich - Westerfield - Witnesham - Framlingham. Monday to Saturday. Every Hour.

Freight Trains

As the Felixstowe Branch is very busy with freight trains for the Port of Felixstowe
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port, dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo. It was developed following the abandonment of a project for a deep-water harbour at Maplin Sands. In 2005, it was ranked as the 28th busiest container port in the...

 many locomotives pass through the station. DRS also operate a freight service to Sizewell Nuclear Power Station
Sizewell nuclear power stations
Sizewell nuclear power stations are two nuclear power stations located near the small fishing village of Sizewell in Suffolk, England. Sizewell A, with two magnox reactors, is now in the process of being decommissioned, while Sizewell B has a single pressurised water reactor and is the UK's newest...

.
  • Class 66
    British Rail Class 66
    The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...

     operated by Freightliner
    Freightliner
    Freightliner can refer to* Freightliner Trucks, a heavy vehicle manufacturer in the United States* Freightliner Group Limited, a European rail-freight operator* Freight liner , describing a cargo ship operating to a repeating schedule...

    , DB Schenker
    DB Schenker
    DB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...

    , GBRf
    GB Railfreight
    GB Railfreight is a British freight train operating company. Formerly called First GBRf, its new owner Eurotunnel bought the company in May 2010.-History:...

    , Direct Rail Services
    Direct Rail Services
    Direct Rail Services is a freight operating company created by British Nuclear Fuels Limited. The company started rail operations in 1995 using five heavily refurbished Class 20/3 diesel locomotives. Since then it has expanded greatly, and has acquired many more locomotives, most bought...

  • Class 70
    British Rail Class 70
    The British Rail Class 70 was a class of three 3rd rail Co-Co electric locomotives. The initial two were built by the Southern Railway at Ashford Works in 1941 and 1945 and were numbered CC1 and CC2. Electrical equipment was designed by Alfred Raworth and the body by Oliver Bulleid. CC2 was...

    operated by Freightliner

Future

Electrification of the line to Felixstowe has been mooted for many years but has not yet come to fruition. There are plans to increase line capacity on the Felixstowe branch which will see additional freight services routed through Westerfield.

External links

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