Norwich City | |
Status: | Disused |
Borough: | Norwich, Norwich |
Country: | England |
Coordinates: | 52.6345°N 1.2877°W |
Platforms: | 4 |
Original: | Lynn and Fakenham Railway |
Pregroup: | Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway |
Postgroup: | Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Eastern Region of British Railways |
Years: | 2 December 1882 |
Events: | Opened |
Years1: | 2 March 1959 |
Events1: | Closed to passengers |
Years2: | 24 February 1969 |
Events2: | Closed to freight |
Norwich City railway station was located in Norwich, Norfolk, England and was closed in 1969.[1]
The station was opened in 1882 by the Lynn and Fakenham Railway, and later became the southern terminus of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (MG&N) line from Melton Constable. The station became well-used, with services to Cromer and through-carriages to a range of destinations including Peterborough and Leicester.
The station was badly bombed in the Baedeker raids of 1942[2] when the main building was largely destroyed. Thereafter, the station operated from "temporary" buildings constructed on the site.[3] Later in the war, in 1944, a B24 Liberator bomber of the USAF clipped the tower of St Philips Church and then was deliberately steered to crash into the station's sidings and coal yards to avoid the surrounding houses. The pilot and crew were all killed.[4]
The station was closed to passengers on 2 March 1959 along with most of the Midland & Great Northern system, although the station remained in use for goods traffic until 1969.
The old Norwich City station stood where a roundabout is situated on the Inner link road A147, which links Barn Road with St Crispins Road close to Anglia Square.[5] [6] The present Norwich railway station is about 1 mile away, to the southeast.
The amateur group Friends of Norwich City Station (FONCS) has been set up to preserve what is left of the station and surrounding buildings. Current work is focused on the platform area. The Platform 1 wall has been discovered and the bay area has been cleared of undergrowth. The hope for the future is to uncover all the railway related parts to the area and turn it into a memorial garden. They are also documenting all those who served the station. Interpretation boards will be erected, some illustrating old photographs of the site. M&GN benches are hoped to also accompany these.[7]