North Elmham to County School Station - Norfolk Mar 2013

Having seen a previous report on North Elmham Railway Station and being in the area recently I decided to pop along and take a quick look and get a few pictures.

The Railway line it is on was a branch line was one of the longest lines in East Anglia, running from Wymondham Abbey to Wells next the Sea, through four major Norfolk towns and is now on the line that is slowly being reopened by the Mid Norfolk Railway Group..

There seemed to be a biker meet going on at a nearby motorbike shop so I didn't attempt to get in...











Whilst I was taking pictures I got talking to a dog walker who had walked up the railway line and she mentioned that you could walk right along the line to a second station a few miles away, not being one to turn down an opportunity I headed off in the direction she said. Along the line I came across another Dog walker who confirmed that the second station was there and had been in the process of renovation when it stopped, he said they had raised a lot of money for the railway and then the 'chairman' had run off with all the money ! not sure if this is true or not as I found nothing on the internet regarding it.

I finally came to the station and discovered it was in remarkable good nick, there were some carriages and and an old signal box to look at as well as the station. I couldn't get access inside either but don't think there was much to see.

The Station is called County School and a full history can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_School_railway_station

Between Spring and Autumn two old boys from the railway society open it up as a tea room to raise some money...

Wasn't a bad explore in the end and made a difference to my usual stuff..

Might have to do this walk when the weather improves. I mentioned in an earlier post that I love old railway lines/walks, so this really is a must Cheers for the post.

...and looking at the map, I wonder how far south you can walk it. Looks like a really long way!

I walked all the way to Fakenham along here in the late 80's.
Have some pics somewhere.
Great Ryborough station still exsisted,being the temporary station put there when the original was bombed in the war.
I think Fakenham station was still there too,although it may have been an earlier occassion I had a look round.
There was an old pub next door,the great eastern.
All replaced by sheltered housing now,and bridges removed along the way but still walkable in parts.
The old line to Aylsham branched off from this stretch(closed1953) still tracable if you know where to look.

good one a nice change that and pretty retro

Thanks for all the comments, will be walking the line on Sunday with the family, hoping to find some other remnants as well, bit if a sucker For railways !

OMJ - have you walked the old line from WGC to Hertford ? That's near you

Cracking stations especially County School,thanks for sharing.

steve2109 said:

OMJ - have you walked the old line from WGC to Hertford ? That's near you

Click to expand...

No, but I did the Alban Way run (14 miles) from Hatfield to St Albans and back - That was nice.

Nice work Steve. The line from Wymondham to County School was closed in 1964, and reopened some years ago by the Mid Norfolk Railway preservation Trust. County School Station was once a major junction with the Coltishall Line from Wroxham which now homes the Bure Steam Railway. It's called County School because there was a large private school nearby, which the railway served bringing pupils to board there for over a hundred years. The Signal Box has been re sited from East Winch on the old Lynn to Dereham line. Up until 2 years ago, was in a parlous sate of rottenness!. Nice to see it being used for it's original purpose though.

Thanks for the info BS, all gratefully received, can see a pack lunch being made soon and then seeing how far I can walk it, I am thinking it must go through to Dereham

Black Shuck said:

. County School Station was once a major junction with the Coltishall Line from Wroxham which now homes the Bure Steam Railway. .

Click to expand...

Thats it.The bit from Cotlishall to Reepham was kept alive into the 80's for goods traffic(served by the thelmonthorpe curve which was put in place in 1960 off the old m&gn Norwich-Melton Constable line.)
The bit from County School to Thelmonthorpe was taken out of use then.
Lots of old railway in this bit of Norfolk,the recently restored Whitwell and Reepham station is only up the road from County School.

steve2109 said:

and then seeing how far I can walk it, I am thinking it must go through to Dereham

Click to expand...

I've got an off-road motorbike you could borrow. Seems ideal in this situation

steve2109 said:

Thanks for the info BS, all gratefully received, can see a pack lunch being made soon and then seeing how far I can walk it, I am thinking it must go through to Dereham

Click to expand...

Steve the line originally ran all the way to Fakenham then on to Wells the terminus.

The Wymondham to Wells branch was a railway built in stages by the Norfolk Railway and Eastern Counties Railway between 1847 and 1857. The railway ran from Wymondham in the south, through Dereham and Fakenham to the coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea; more specifically, the line ran from Wymondham South Junction, where it met the present-day Breckland Line. Passenger services along the line lasted until 1969; the railway continued to be used for freight until 1989. The southern section of the railway now forms the Mid-Norfolk Railway, with part of the northern section serving as the narrow gauge Wells and Walsingham Light Railway. Taken from Wiki.

UE-OMJ said:

I've got an off-road motorbike you could borrow. Seems ideal in this situation

Click to expand...

Lol, no thanks mate, sounds fast to me !
You know I like a more idyllic pace at my age !

I wish I lived nearer.