Waveney Valley Line

Railway closure.Transport in rural areas

This film begins with shots of an urban centre that may be Harleston. There are shots of a filling station and of the streets. Some of these are shot from a moving car. (Some of this sequence had faded.) The gates of Harleston Railway Station are closed across the road and a steam hauled goods train passes through. This is filmed in the distance. A steam hauled passenger train pulls into the station. There are some high angle shots of the station and a close up static shot of a notice announcing the withdrawal from the station of the passenger service from 5th January, 1953. There are shots of the station and of the signal box.Shots from the train show snow covered countryside as the train progresses along the Waveney Valley Line. It stops at several stations, not all of which are identified. Those that are include Bungay, Ditchingham, Geldeston and Beccles. At Beccles passengers alight and there are shots of the train and of the engine. After further country scenes, the train stops at another station and the departs.

Other Places

Beccles; Bungay; Ditchingham; Geldeston

Background Information

The original Waveney Valley Line was planned in 1846 to run from Diss through Bungay, Beccles and Lowestoft and on to Yarmouth. Nothing came of this. In 1853, the people of Harleston formed their own company to set up a line from Tivetshall Junction to run to their town. This opened as the Waveney Valley Railway on 1st December, 1955. It was extended to Bungay on 2nd November, 1860 and to Beccles on the 2nd March, 1963. This was the same day as the Waveney Valley Railway merged with the Great Eastern Railway. Prior to this the line had not been profitable. Its topography involved a large number of level crossings. There was little passenger traffic, as there were only two small market towns en route. Goods traffic was reasonable, although the area was in decline, both agriculturally and industrially. The line was closed to passengers on 5th January, 1953. It was closed to goods during the 1960s. From Harleston to Bungay on 1st February, 1960; from Bungay to Ditchingham on 3rd August, 1964; from Beccles to Ditchingham on 19th April, 1965 and from Tivetshall to Harleston on 18th April, 1966.For further details about the Beeching report and the closure of railways in East Anglia during the 1960s see: Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire. Sutton Bridge. 1966