Upwell railway station

Wisbech & Upwell Tramway
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Wisbech North Wisbech Quay Goods Stations River Nene Wisbech EastWisbech Line Bramley Line Elmbridge Boyces Bridge Outwell Basin Outwell Village Upwell

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 1928, 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 and shortly afterwards the line to Wisbech was taken up. The village signs in Upwell still bear a picture of a tram recognising the heritage of the settlement.^[1] 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.

Reverend 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 the characters Toby the Tram Engine and later on Mavis in Thomas the Tank Engine.

References

Coordinates: 52°36′00″N 0°13′27″E / 52.60000°N 0.22417°E / 52.60000; 0.22417