Upwell station

UPWELL

Upwell station 1900s PC.

Upwell station with G15 127 pre 1913.

UPWELL STATION 1973. Photo by Peter Howie.

FACEBOOK - RAIL THING - WISBECH AND UPWELL TRAMWAY

Info (from Wikipedia)

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 and shortly afterwards the line to Wisbech was taken up. The village signs inUpwell still bear a picture of a tram recognising 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.

Class G15 Wisbech and Upwell Steam Trams

The classic Wisbech and Upwell tram engine, which later gained worldwide fame as 'Toby' in Reverend Awdry's Railway Stories, was class G15, ten of which were built between 1883 and 1897. Designed by the GER's Locomotive Superintendent T W Worsdell they resembled a goods brake van, fitted with skirts and cowcatchers, condensing apparatus, spark arrestors, automatic governors and warning bells, to make them safe on the line's mainly roadside track. They were also fitted with controls at both ends and sliding windows all round. 

The locos were rebuilt in the early 20th century, where they were fitted with the 140 psi boilers that were used on the later J70 locos, The last G15/Y6 was withdrawn in 1952 and survived in the Stratford paint shop for another year, before being scrapped.

Picture source