Dersingham railway station explained

Dersingham
Status:Disused
Borough:Dersingham, King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Country:England
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:2
Pregroup:Lynn and Hunstanton Railway
Great Eastern Railway
Postgroup:London and North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Years:3 October 1862
Events:Opened
Years1:5 May 1969
Events1:Closed

Dersingham was a railway station on the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line which served the village of Dersingham, a few miles north of King's Lynn, in Norfolk, England.

History

The station was opened on 3 October 1862 by the Lynn and Hunstanton Railway.

The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1935 to 1939 and may have had a coach visiting in 1934.[1]

The station closed along with the line on 5 May 1969.[2]

At 8 miles 17 chains (13.22 km) from, Dersingham marked the halfway point of the Hunstanton line. It was situated in possibly the most attractive section of the route, where the line ran through extensive woodlands, between pine trees and rhododendrons, with the sea visible on the left.[3]

Architecturally, the station resembles, with a small main station building on the up platform and a small waiting room provided on the down platform; both had Great Eastern–style canopies. A small goods yard adjoined the main station building, and a standard Great Eastern gabled signal box was sited on the southern end of the down platform. A level crossing lay at the northern end of the station and, in common with other stations on the line, convenient lodging accommodation, a solidly built Carstone inn known as "The Alexandra Hotel", was to be found opposite the station approach.[4]

Present day

The station buildings, including canopies, signal box and both platforms, have largely survived since the station's closure. The platform and outbuildings are in use as offices and stores for Semba Trading, a builder's merchant, while the main station building has been converted into a private residence.[5]

References

52.8485°N 0.4937°W

Notes and References

  1. Book: McRae, Andrew. British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region) . Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One) . Foxline . 1997 . 1-870119-48-7. 10 .
  2. Book: Hurst, Geoffrey. 1992. Register of Closed Railways: 1948-1991. Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Milepost Publications. 0-9477-9618-5. 59 (ref 2637).
  3. Book: Jenkins, S.C. . The Lynn & Hunstanton Railway and the West Norfolk Branch . 1987 . Oakwood Press . Headington, Oxford . 0-85361-330-3 . 93.
  4. Jenkins, S.C., op. cit. p. 93.
  5. Jenkins, S.C., op. cit. p. 133.