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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Gorleston-on-Sea Railway Station

Gorleston-on-Sea railway station served the town of Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk, England. It was a stop on the Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railway's Yarmouth-Lowestoft line that closed in 1970.

History

Built in 1903, the route ran from Lowestoft Central in Suffolk to Yarmouth Beach in Norfolk.

The station buildings included a large brick goods shed, signalbox, footbridge and an extensive coal depot. Following the closure of the Beccles to Yarmouth South Town line to passengers in November 1959, express trains from London Liverpool Street to Great Yarmouth were rerouted via Lowestoft where they reversed, before running along the coast line through Corton, Hopton-on-Sea and Gorleston-on-Sea. However, this diversion did not last long before some of the London trains were again rerouted into Yarmouth Vauxhall.

In 1966, all stations on the line were made into unstaffed halts. In 1968, Wherry Lines claimed that an inquiry into the proposed closure of the line found that it served between five and ten thousand people per week and was running at a loss of £34,000 each year.

By 1970, the route was deemed uneconomic; despite a local effort to keep the line running as a tourist attraction, full closure came on 4 May that year. After a lifespan of almost 57 years, Gorleston-on-Sea station closed along with all other stations on the route except Lowestoft Central.

The station buildings were demolished several years after closure.


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Gorleston North   Norfolk and Suffolk
Yarmouth-Lowestoft Line
  Gorleston Links

The site today

There are now no traces of the station, as the site is now occupied by the A47 by-pass road.

References

  1. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 107.
  2. ^ "Gorleston-on-Sea Railway Station". Berneyarms.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Lowestoft to Great Yarmouth railway to be celebrated 53 years on". BBC News. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  4. ^ Thomson, Emily (26 August 2021). "Do you remember Gorleston's old railway station?". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 21 January 2025.

52°34′12″N 1°43′30″E / 52.5699°N 1.7251°E / 52.5699; 1.7251