Bury and Thetford Swaffham Branch Line Overview and Guide

The Bury and Thetford Swaffham Branch Line is a fascinating piece of railway history. It was a 4 mile 2 chain (6.5 km) branch line that originated from the Bury and Thetford Railway.

The line was built to serve the village of Swaffham, which was an important agricultural centre. It opened in 1845 and was initially used for goods and passenger traffic.

The line was a single-track railway, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 100.

The route today is a shadow of its former self. The line was lifted after closure, and the route either side of Stow Bedon station has been removed, and the station site levelled.

The section of line between Stow Bedon and Wretham was intended to be used for a new road, but that plan never came to fruition. The road was not constructed, leaving the area as it is today.

Watton station has also fallen victim to redevelopment, although a level crossing gate survived on Church Road until 1983. This is a testament to the enduring legacy of the railway.

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Some sections of the line remain unobstructed, including the line from the junction with the Dereham line at Swaffham, although some bridges have been removed. This has allowed for a glimpse into the past, and a reminder of what once was.

Holme Hale station remains as a private residence, complete with signal box and signal post - although heavily extended. This is a unique feature of the route today, and a fascinating piece of history.

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Swaffham Station is situated some 14 miles 37 chains from King's Lynn. It was opened on August 10th, 1847, with two platforms in a town that had a population of 3000 in the 1950s.

The primary station buildings were located on the upside, with access to the downside facilitated by a footbridge. The station was constructed in a "Tudor" style, featuring decorative windows and Dutch-style gable ends.

On September 20, 1875, Swaffham station became a junction with goods services operating on the line from Watton and Thetford. Passenger traffic started a few months later, on November 25.

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The main platform featured a large canopy, while the down platform only had a waiting shelter. Swaffham station features double tracks passing through the platforms, accompanied by extra loops on both sides of the running lines.

On the downside, the primary goods yard has three sidings, with one of them serving a large goods shed. The other two sidings are dead-end sidings, while additional storage sidings are located towards the east.

Today, Swaffham station is hidden away and now used as what I could make out a social services centre, and on a Sunday when I visited, a few HGVs were parked up for the weekend in the old station area.

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The Bury and Thetford (Swaffham Branch) has a fascinating history, and one of the most interesting aspects is the list of stations along the line.

Swaffham, Holme Hale, Watton, Stow Bedon, and Wretham and Hockham are all closed, with no signs of reopening.

Roudham Junction railway station, on the other hand, is still open, but the station itself is closed.

If you're planning a trip along the line, you should know that Thetford is the only station that's both open and operational.

Here's a list of the stations along the line:

The Swaffham Branch was a railway route connecting a junction near Swaffham to Roudham Junction on the Norwich to Thetford line. It was also known as the Bury and Thetford (Swaffham Branch) and linked the Lynn Dereham line to the Norwich Cambridge Breckland line.

The railway line began operating in 1869. The line was quite short, only 1 mile 23 chains away from the main line.

The Swaffham Branch was closed in 1964, the same year the Thetford branch closed, and the station stopped serving passengers on September 9th, 1968. Today, remnants of the former station can be glimpsed from the passing trains off the Breckland line.

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The Narborough to Swaffham section of the Swaffham Branch was quite an interesting piece of history. The station's entrance was through a recessed door in the middle of the main building, with decorative windows on both sides.

You could tell that the station's design was carefully thought out, as the front was made flush to support the canopy. This attention to detail is something that's often overlooked in modern architecture.

The station's layout was quite unique, with a 45-foot locomotive turntable and a locomotive shed that was only accessible from the turntable. This shed was situated on an elevated position, which caused a bit of a problem for locomotives.

If a locomotive wasn't careful, it could tumble over the edge of the bank and need to be winched back up. This must have been a frustrating experience for the engineers and staff who had to deal with it.

Despite its quirks, the Narborough to Swaffham station played an important role in the Swaffham Branch. The railway line connected a junction near Swaffham to Roudham Junction on the Norwich to Thetford line.

It operated from 1869 to 1964, making it a significant part of Norfolk's railway history. Today, you can still catch a glimpse of the remnants of the former station from the passing trains on the Breckland line.

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As we leave Swaffham behind, the railway line passes under two small bridges at Procession Lane and Sporle Road. The bridge at Sporle Road still exists today, with a bridge identification number of MTD 2385 visible on Google Street View.

These bridges are a reminder of the railway's path as it continued on to the next station. After passing through the two bridges, the railway would have crossed over a road called The Street.

The railway bridge over The Street has unfortunately been demolished, but the railway track banks are still overgrown and remain as a testament to the railway's former presence.