30051
The Grade II Listed Norwich Railway Station (formerly Norwich Thorpe Station), Norwich, Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Cambridge, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
At one time there were three railway stations in Norwich. Norwich Thorpe which is the current station now simply named Norwich - though still known locally as "Thorpe Station", Norwich Victoria which was once the terminus for certain passenger services from the London direction until 1916 as well as a goods station until demolition in the 1970s, and Norwich City which was the terminus for the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line from Melton Constable which closed in 1959.
The original station was opened by the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR) which was the earliest railway in Norfolk, England. Its Act of Parliament of 18 June 1842 authorised the issue of £200,000 worth of shares to build a line between the two, via Reedham and the Yare valley. The Chairman was George Stephenson and the Chief Engineer was his son Robert. Construction started in April 1843 and the 20.5 miles were completed in a year, with an inspection/inaugural run on 12 April 1844 and a ceremonial opening on 30 April 1844, followed the next day by the beginning of regular passenger services.
The Norwich and Brandon Railway arrived in the station in 1845 and this offered a route to Liverpool Street via Cambridge and Bishops Stortford. Four years later the Eastern Union Railway started services to Norwich Victoria and two years later services from Ipswich started serving the better placed station. By the 1860s the railways in East Anglia were in financial trouble, and most were leased to the ECR; they wished to amalgamate formally, but could not obtain government agreement for this until 1862, when the Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed by amalgamation. Thus Norwich Thorpe (and Victoria) became GER stations in 1862.
With traffic growing it was apparent a new station was required and this was built to the north of the original station in the 1880s and is the structure standing today. The old terminus then became part of expanded goods facilities. The new station was built by Messrs Youngs and Son, of Norwich, from designs by Mr J Wilson, the company‘s engineer, at the cost of £60,000. It had a circulating area with a high ceiling and the roof was supported by ironwork supplied by contractor Barnard Bishop and Barnard. The roof extended partly down the platforms which were then covered by canopies for part of their length. There were initially five platforms and engine release roads between platforms 2 and 3 and 4 and 5. These allowed the locomotive to be detached from the train without the need for a shunting locomotive (known as a station pilot) having to shunt the carriages out of the station. The attractive station building was built around a central clock tower (the clock was supplied by Dixons and Co of London Street Norwich) with two storey matching wings either side. A portico was built onto the clock-tower section.
On 1 January 1923 the GER amalgamated with several other railways to form the London & North Eastern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921 which saw many of the 120 railway companies grouped into four main companies in an effort to stem their losses. During World War II the station was bombed in June 1940 and April 1942.
The nationalisation of Britain's railways saw the operation of Norwich station pass to British Railways Eastern Region. Platform 6 was added in 1954 and in 1955 a modern booking hall was added. During the late 1950s steam was phased out from the East Anglian Network as diesels took over.
When the station closed briefly for electrification works by the Eastern Region in 1986, Trowse railway station, a disused suburban station, was put back into service as the temporary terminus of the line. It closed again when Norwich re-opened. The signalling was also modernised at this time and the track layout simplified.
30051
The Grade II Listed Norwich Railway Station (formerly Norwich Thorpe Station), Norwich, Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Cambridge, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
At one time there were three railway stations in Norwich. Norwich Thorpe which is the current station now simply named Norwich - though still known locally as "Thorpe Station", Norwich Victoria which was once the terminus for certain passenger services from the London direction until 1916 as well as a goods station until demolition in the 1970s, and Norwich City which was the terminus for the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line from Melton Constable which closed in 1959.
The original station was opened by the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR) which was the earliest railway in Norfolk, England. Its Act of Parliament of 18 June 1842 authorised the issue of £200,000 worth of shares to build a line between the two, via Reedham and the Yare valley. The Chairman was George Stephenson and the Chief Engineer was his son Robert. Construction started in April 1843 and the 20.5 miles were completed in a year, with an inspection/inaugural run on 12 April 1844 and a ceremonial opening on 30 April 1844, followed the next day by the beginning of regular passenger services.
The Norwich and Brandon Railway arrived in the station in 1845 and this offered a route to Liverpool Street via Cambridge and Bishops Stortford. Four years later the Eastern Union Railway started services to Norwich Victoria and two years later services from Ipswich started serving the better placed station. By the 1860s the railways in East Anglia were in financial trouble, and most were leased to the ECR; they wished to amalgamate formally, but could not obtain government agreement for this until 1862, when the Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed by amalgamation. Thus Norwich Thorpe (and Victoria) became GER stations in 1862.
With traffic growing it was apparent a new station was required and this was built to the north of the original station in the 1880s and is the structure standing today. The old terminus then became part of expanded goods facilities. The new station was built by Messrs Youngs and Son, of Norwich, from designs by Mr J Wilson, the company‘s engineer, at the cost of £60,000. It had a circulating area with a high ceiling and the roof was supported by ironwork supplied by contractor Barnard Bishop and Barnard. The roof extended partly down the platforms which were then covered by canopies for part of their length. There were initially five platforms and engine release roads between platforms 2 and 3 and 4 and 5. These allowed the locomotive to be detached from the train without the need for a shunting locomotive (known as a station pilot) having to shunt the carriages out of the station. The attractive station building was built around a central clock tower (the clock was supplied by Dixons and Co of London Street Norwich) with two storey matching wings either side. A portico was built onto the clock-tower section.
On 1 January 1923 the GER amalgamated with several other railways to form the London & North Eastern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921 which saw many of the 120 railway companies grouped into four main companies in an effort to stem their losses. During World War II the station was bombed in June 1940 and April 1942.
The nationalisation of Britain's railways saw the operation of Norwich station pass to British Railways Eastern Region. Platform 6 was added in 1954 and in 1955 a modern booking hall was added. During the late 1950s steam was phased out from the East Anglian Network as diesels took over.
When the station closed briefly for electrification works by the Eastern Region in 1986, Trowse railway station, a disused suburban station, was put back into service as the temporary terminus of the line. It closed again when Norwich re-opened. The signalling was also modernised at this time and the track layout simplified.