Tag: transport

Top Ten Least Used Railway Stations in Suffolk | 2 – Brampton (Suffolk)

Brampton was opened in 1854 by the East Suffolk Railway, on the same day the rest of the East Suffolk line opened.  The railway station and indeed line was absorbed into the Great Eastern Railway in 1862

It serves not only Brampton, but other villages nearby like Redisham.

Finding out any history for this station has proved extremely difficult, both in paper and internet form.  So if anyone has anything to add, please comment down below, it will be most appreciated.

It used to be a request stop, but on the day of my visit in 2021 it was not, and a check of the timetables seem to confirm that, for the time being at least, it is now a regular stop on the line.

A good set of walks in the local area get to this point, and there is even a circular walk from the station via Shadingfield, which is contained within a free walks booklet.

Passenger services at time of writing are provided by class 755 Bi-Mode units.

Passenger exit and entry figures for 2019 / 2020 were 9, 858

In conclusion, Brampton is a charming and very quiet station along this line. It is also very well maintained. The fact that it is no longer a request stop gives hope that it will remain so for a many years to come. For the enthusiast sight lines are excellent, a visit when an engineering train is due would be recommended.

Below is a video taken in 2021 as part of this series.

Top Ten Least Used Railway Stations in Suffolk | 3 – Somerleyton

Somerleyton was opened in 1847 by the Norfolk Railway.  This was taken over, like all on the surrounding lines, in the mid 1800’s by the Great Eastern Railway.  The village which it serves is around 1 mile from here.

As well as Somerleyton hall, which has featured in many films and tv shows including the crown as a replica for Sandringham, the village has another claim to fame.  It was home to the first testing of the hovercraft, which was built by Sir Christopher Cockerell.

The line moves towards Norwich over the river Waveney via the Somerleyton swing bridge, pictured below. This can yield some pretty good photos and video of trains coming to and from the station.

Even after extensive research , I could not find any documentation of sidings at this location, however there used to be a major brickworks nearby, so I would assume that they would have had a siding or two.  If anyone knows anymore, please comment below.

In fact, details about the station history are extremely sparse, I would welcome more information to flesh out this Blog, but unfortunately after a lot of looking this is all the history I could find.

At time of writing , passenger services are provided by class 755 Bi-Mode Units. Other movements are very rare, with just an occasional engineering, measurement or rail head treatment train.

The entry and exit figures for 2019 / 2020 were 10, 898.

Somerleyton is a very picturesque station, plenty of flowers and trees, plus good sweeping views of the track make it ideal for photography and videography; just check to see if an engineering train is due and it should yield a superb and unique photo. The original station building is a bonus, albeit now in private hands. Overall a superb little station which hopefully will remain open in the future.

Oh and also comment about pronunciation of this station, I am unsure of it, and wary of getting it wrong!

Below is my Vlog which I filmed during a visit in 2021 :

London Transport Museum Depot Open Day – September 2019

On sunday 29th September 2019, I visited the LTM Depot open day. The museum is in Acton, and can be reached on the Underground network via the Picadilly and District lines. The museum itself is a 5 minute walk across the road from the station.

The first thing to note as you approach the entrance was a small miniature railway which runs on event days such as this. Entrance to the site was very fluid, a quick check of my printed ticket and I was in.

You will see various large equipment from the underground network either side of you as you enter, and straight ahead there are rows of shelving stacked high to the roof with boxes. Stairs to the right of you take you up to a mezzanine level where on this day an interactive area was laid on for children. Great views can be had over the museum here, especially the tube stock.

Before you get to the actual tube trains, go up the stairs to your left. This will take you to an area which contains a fantastic amount of old signage, and various models used in planning. As seen in these photos, you can easily spend 15 minutes + up here.

Before you view the tube stock, have a look at the old equipment in front of them, old ticket machines and barriers, and signalling equipment.

The variety of tube stock here is amazing. Everything is well laid out, and you can even enter some of the old trains. The level of refurbishment is exceptional, and has quite a nostalgic feel.

To the extreme right of the tube stock is an area dedicated to buses. Again the level of care in refurbishing these is exceptional.

Outside there was an area to buy various food and drink, and a place to sit down. No food and drink is allowed in the museum for obvious reasons.

I came on a day which was all about the London Termini, and the lectures provided were excellent. I also went on an included tour of the small item store, which was fantastic and lasted around 20 minutes. You have to sign up for this on the day, but they were quite regular.

Overall I would recommend going to visit this museum during its open days, the amount of heritage equipment, stock and signage on display is astounding. They only open it on select dates, and more specific tours are held on Saturdays throughout the year. Follow the link below the video to see if anything interests you.

Below is a video which i shot on the day, which gives an overall view of the museum.

Here is the link to the depot website : https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/visit/museum-depot

Many thanks for reading, I’ll blog again soon.