North Elmham railway station is a railway station in the village of

North Elmham North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census, including Gateley and increasing slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 Census. For ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

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 ...

. The station was part of the Wymondham to Wells Branch (1847 - 1989), and is part of a section of the line being restored by the

Mid-Norfolk Railway The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" ...

from

Dereham Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the Breckland District of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles (40& ...

County School railway station ''County School railway station'' is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from Wymondham and is the norther ...

History

North Elmham Railway Station (geograph 2021091)

The station was equipped with a single passenger platform on the down line. This line was flanked by a goods loop. The station was rebuilt by the London & North Eastern Railway, with a simple brick building replacing the earlier timber-framed building. Passenger trains were not permitted to pass at this station. A collision took place close to the station on 14 December 1882.

Goods trains

North Elmham was the location for a rail served dairy, with daily milk trains operating from the station to Ilford. A shunting horse was used at Elmham to move loaded milk wagons from the down to the up side of the line for collection. The dairy closed in October 1963. The station also dealt in grain and fertilizer traffic.

Present day

Some materials are currently on site from the former Cambridge - St Ives railway to construct a new platform in preparation for the opening of the MNR's northern section for passengers. Construction of a new platform and the pace of track restoration between Hoe and North Elmham which relies on volunteer labour and charitable donations. It had been proposed that there could be an additional halt built between this location and

in the small hamlet of Hoe, a popular location for walkers. The Mid-Norfolk Railway's volunteers are instead concentrating efforts on restoring the line progressively towards North Elmham. Although there are no passenger train services near this station at this time, a Transport Works Order (The Mid-Norfolk Railway Order 2001) is in place allowing the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust to operate trains from

. Planning permission for the relaying and operation of the line between County School and North Elmham was granted by

Breckland District Council Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a l ...

on 9 November 1992, with initial tracklaying starting soon after.Engineering works to lay and re-lay track and to operate railway between County School and Breckland boundary
/ref> This grants permission, associated with the original enabling act, to operate a railway beyond the buffers north of North Elmham station (at ), where The Mid-Norfolk Railway Order 2001 ends. Engineering trains have operated as far as the level crossing beside the former station site since 2019.MNR Official Twitter news on first train to Elmham
/ref>

References

External links

Photo of station soon after passenger closure

Hertfordshire Railtours 'Anglian Vibrator' railtour at North Elmham, November 1985

Photo of level crossing and granary (under demolition), July 1990
{{coord, 52.74362, 0.95135, format=dms, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Heritage railway stations in Norfolk Disused railway stations in Norfolk Former Great Eastern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1857 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Proposed railway stations in England Beeching closures in England 1849 establishments in England 1857 establishments in England North Elmham