Middleton Towers railway station

Middleton Towers
View of the platform buildings at Middleton Towers railway station, April 2023.
General information
Location	Leziate, Norfolk England
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway Eastern Region of British Railways
Key dates
27 October 1846	Opened
1968	Closed to passengers

Middleton Towers railway station was a station in Leziate, Norfolk.^[1] It was on the line between Swaffham and King's Lynn, and closed along with the rest of the line in 1968.

History

The Lynn & Dereham Railway Bill received the Royal Assent on 21 July 1845. The line and its railway stations were opened on 27 October 1846 as far as Narborough. Middleton railway station opened with the line and was situated south-east of Lynn station and north-west of East Winch. While the line was still being built the Lynn & Dereham was taken over by the East Anglian Railway on 22 July 1847. The line reached Swaffham on 10 August 1847.^[2][3] The station was renamed from Middleton to Middleton Towers on 1 November 1924.^[4]

View of the station, facing the former line towards Dereham, April 2023.

After a large housing development was completed in Leziate in 1990, the line between Middleton Towers and King's Lynn was considered for restoration as a passenger route. With the electrification of the main line between Cambridge and King's Lynn the provision of rolling stock was a major issue.^[5]

The railway between the station and King's Lynn remains in use as a goods line, and the station has been the destination of a number of charter trains. A sand loading silo has been constructed on the former main line to Swaffham east of the station.

Middleton Towers railway station in 1972, four years after closure.

A railway heritage organisation, the Middleton Towers Restoration Group was founded in 2021 by Alex Brammer and he is working with the site owner Network Rail to restore the derelict platform buildings. The eventual aim to convert the platform buildings into a community venture, likely a tea room and heritage railway museum recognising the history of the line.^[6][7]

On 18 May 2024, an incident occurred where a passing sand train struck a level crossing gate in front of the station house, resulting in the gate being severely damaged and was later sent for scrap and replaced with a temporary gate. The gate was replaced on the 2nd November 2024, marking the 100th anniversary of the station being named.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
King's Lynn Line open, station open No scheduled passenger service.		Great Eastern Railway Lynn and Dereham Railway		East Winch Line and station closed

References

1. Allan 1996, p. 17.
2. Butt 1995, p. ^{[page needed]}.
3. Allen 1961, p. ^{[page needed]}.
4. Kilday 2018.
5. "Around the regions". Rail (132): 20. 4–17 October 1990.
6. "Village group proposes to restore Middleton Towers back to health". 14 January 2022.
7. "Fresh appeal to save Great Eastern station". Trackside. No. 42. January 2025. p. 11.

Bibliography

• British Railways Atlas 1947. Ian Allan. 1996 [1948]. ISBN 978-0-7110-2438-0.
• Allen, Cecil J (1961). The Great Eastern Railway. Ian Allan.
• Butt, R J V (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7.
• Kilday, Glen (11 September 2018). "Middleton Towers". Disused Stations. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020.

External links

Media related to Middleton Towers railway station at Wikimedia Commons

52.7336°N 0.4715°E / 52.7336; 0.4715