The Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR) was the earliest railway in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was formed after it became apparent that it would be a number of years before the

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on the first nine miles at the Lond ...

would extend their railway into Norfolk. Its

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

of 18 June 1842 authorised the issue of £200,000 worth of shares to build a line between the two towns in its name, via Reedham and the Yare valley. The act laid out fees for the carriage of coal (which would arrive at Yarmouth by sea), bricks, iron, stone,fish and cotton as well as passengers.

People

The chairman was

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the ...

and the chief engineer was his son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

assisted by

George Parker Bidder George Parker Bidder (13 June 1806 – 20 September 1878) was an English engineer and calculating prodigy.W. W. Rouse Ball (1960) ''Calculating Prodigies'', in Mathematical Recreations and Essays, Macmillan, New York, chapter 13. Early life B ...

whilst the main contractor was

Morton Peto Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (4 August 1809 – 13 November 1889) was an English entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, and, for more than 20 years, a Member of Parliament (MP). A partner in the firm of Grissell and Peto, he ...

. Shareholders included Sir Edmund Henry Knowles Lacon, John Edward Lacon (banker), Charles John Palmer (solicitor) and William Hurry Palmer (shipbuilder).

Opening

Robert Stephenson calculated the line would take around 18 months to build at a cost of £7,000 per mile. Construction started in April 1843 by contractors Grissel and Peto and the 20.5 miles were completed in a year although the cost was £10,000 per mile rather than the forecast £7,000. An inspection/inaugural run on 12 April 1844 and a ceremonial opening on 30 April 1844, where a train ran from Norwich to Great Yarmouth carrying 200 guests and a brass band followed by "an elegant collation" followed by a return journey of 44 minutes and more lavish festivities in the evening.

Operation

Regular passenger operation began on 1 May 1844 with a passenger service of seven trains each way. As well as the station at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, which was located next to the existing Norwich station and later served as a goods depot, there were five intermediate stations on the line at: *

Brundall Brundall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located on the north bank of the River Yare opposite Surlingham Broad and about 7 miles (11 km) east of the city of Norwich. History Brundall's name is of Anglo- ...

* Buckenham * Cantley * Reedham *

Berney Arms Berney Arms is a settlement on the north bank of the River Yare, close to Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. It is part of the civil parish of Reedham, in the district of Broadland, and lies within The Broads. It comprises a rail ...

The terminus at Great Yarmouth later became Yarmouth Vauxhall railway station. The Y&NR acquired five locomotives and 15 carriages to operate the service. The Y&NR was the first railway in the UK to install block signaling making use of the Cooke & Wheatstone Electric telegraph for this purpose. Members of the public were also allowed to use the system to send messages which the company would then deliver to the recipient.

Merger

The Y&NR was merged with the

Norwich & Brandon Railway The Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR) was the second railway in Norfolk, England, after the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR). Its Act of Parliament on 10 May 1844 authorised it to build a line between Norwich and the small town of Brandon, actual ...

on 30 June 1845, just prior to the opening of the latter, to form the

Norfolk Railway The Norfolk Railway was an early railway company that controlled a network of 94 miles around Norwich, England. It was formed in 1845 by the amalgamation of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway opened in 1844, and the Norwich and Brandon Railway, n ...

, itself a founding constituent of the Great Eastern Railway amalgamation in 1862. The route is now part of the

Wherry Lines The Wherry Lines are railway branch lines in the East of England, linking to and . There are 14 stations including the three termini. They form part of Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.11 and are classified as a rural line. The line ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarmouth and Norwich Railway Early British railway companies 1842 establishments in England British companies established in 1842 Railway companies established in 1842