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.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outwell Village | Upwell Tramway | Terminus | ||
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.
Famous quotes containing the words railway and/or station:
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
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