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Upwell railway station (Upwell Tramway)
Encyclopedia
Upwell railway station was a station in Upwell
, Norfolk
on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
. It was opened in 1883 to carry passengers and agricultural wares to Wisbech
where they would go to market, or be shipped off to other towns or cities. It remained open to passengers only till 1927, when competition from motorised buses forced this service to end. It carried on with the goods, carry produce from the surrounding farms.
It was finally closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching Axe
which saw large segments of the British railway network shut down. The line to Wisbech
was taken up, and the stations converted or demolished. The village signs in Upwell
still bear a picture of a tram, a nod to the heritage of the settlement. It was during several visits that the Reverend .W. Awdry
, author of the Railway Series, was inspired to come up with the character of Toby the Tram Engine
modelled on the trams that worked the line.
Today not only is the Upwell Tramway gone, but so are the main lines that used to serve Wisbech. Today the farm produce travels almost entirely by road.
The site of the former station has recently been converted into a car park for the health centre (doctors' surgery) in Upwell.
Former Services
Rev. W Awdry used to live in the old vicarage in Emneth, from the window in his attic he could see the Trams acting. This led to him inventing Toby the Tram Engine
and later on Mavis.
Upwell
Upwell is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 2,456 in 1,033 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tram, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway...
. It was opened in 1883 to carry passengers and agricultural wares to Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
where they would go to market, or be shipped off to other towns or cities. It remained open to passengers only till 1927, when competition from motorised buses forced this service to end. It carried on with the goods, carry produce from the surrounding farms.
It was finally closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
which saw large segments of the British railway network shut down. The line to Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
was taken up, and the stations converted or demolished. The village signs in Upwell
Upwell
Upwell is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 2,456 in 1,033 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk...
still bear a picture of a tram, a nod to the heritage of the settlement. It was during several visits that the Reverend .W. Awdry
W.V. Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE , was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, better known as the Reverend W. Awdry and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.-Life:Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire in 1911...
, author of the Railway Series, was inspired to come up with the character of Toby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tram engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher; he also appears in the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends...
modelled on the trams that worked the line.
Today not only is the Upwell Tramway gone, but so are the main lines that used to serve Wisbech. Today the farm produce travels almost entirely by road.
The site of the former station has recently been converted into a car park for the health centre (doctors' surgery) in Upwell.
Rev. W Awdry used to live in the old vicarage in Emneth, from the window in his attic he could see the Trams acting. This led to him inventing Toby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tram engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher; he also appears in the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends...
and later on Mavis.