Sheringham railway station (North Norfolk Railway)

Sheringham is the name of a preserved railway station in Sheringham, Norfolk. It was once part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network and closed in 1967 when a new station was opened by British Rail approx. 200m eastwards. Since July 1975 it has served as the eastern terminus of the North Norfolk Railway. In March 2010, the link to Network Rail was reinstated.

Sheringham
Station on heritage railway
Station platform
General information
LocationSheringham, North Norfolk
England
Coordinates52°56′30″N 1°12′29″E / 52.9418°N 1.208°E / 52.9418; 1.208
Grid referenceTG156430
Owned byMidland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
North Norfolk Railway
Managed byEastern & Midlands Railway
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Platforms3
Key dates
16 June 1887Opened (Sherringham)
1897Renamed (Sheringham)
2 January 1967Closed upon opening of new BR station.
13 July 1975Reopened as heritage station
Midland & Great Northern
Cromer Branch
Cromer Beach
To Norwich
West Runton
Sheringham
Weybourne
Holt (North Norfolk Railway)
Holt
Melton Constable
The view from the 1905 road bridge

History edit

The station was first opened on 16 June 1887 by the Eastern and Midlands Railway as part of the Cromer Branch linking the Norfolk Coast to the junction at Melton Constable railway station. In 1893 this was merged into the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Network. On 6 April 1964 in the wake of the Beeching Report, the line to Melton Constable was closed to passengers. Withdrawal of goods services from that line (as well as from Sheringham itself) followed on 28 December 1964. Sheringham station remained open for passengers until 2 January 1967, when it was closed upon the opening of a new station for passengers on the opposite side of Station Road, enabling the level crossing to be closed.

On 13 July 1975, the station was re-opened as part of the North Norfolk Railway, which runs along the old Cromer Branch route as far as Holt railway station. Another Sheringham railway station exists on the National Rail network, just across the road from the NNR station.[1]

Connection to the National Rail network edit

 
Sheringham Signal Box

Between 2007 and 2010, work was undertaken to reinstate the original level crossing across the road to allow trains from Norwich to run onto the North Norfolk Railway heritage line tracks. BBC Look East reported on 17 December 2007 that Network Rail supported the level crossing plans to allow occasional use for trains to cross between tracks. It was announced by the North Norfolk Railway on 16 December 2008, that work was going to start on the new level crossing in January 2009. These plans were later delayed until 2010 due to various problems, including: lack of funding, electricity cables needing to be moved, the county's highways department concerns with the implications of road closure to create the crossing.[2]

 
The second train to use the new level crossing, Saturday 24 April 2010

Work began on 8 January 2010, with the moving of the NNR headshunt to slew into line with the Network Rail section. The link was reinstated on 11 March 2010, when the first passenger carrying train over the new crossing was steam locomotive ‘Oliver Cromwell’ hauling a train from London Liverpool Street.[3][4] Occasional uses by charter trains and visiting rolling stock are anticipated to not exceed 12 times a year.

Preceding station    Heritage railways Following station
Terminus   North Norfolk Railway   Weybourne
Disused railways
West Runton
Line closed, station open
  Midland and Great Northern
Cromer Branch
  Weybourne
Line and station open
  Future services  
Terminus   Norfolk Orbital Railway
North Norfolk Railway
  Weybourne
Line and station open
  National Rail
Interchange with Sheringham on the Bittern Line

References edit

  1. ^ North Norfolk Railway - Sheringham Station
  2. ^ "North Norfolk Railway - Latest News". www.nnrailway.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 August 2009.
  3. ^ NNR Sheringham Level Crossing.
  4. ^ "North Norfolk Railway gets reconnected to National Rail". BBC News. 11 March 2010.