Ashwellthorpe
At this bleak spot in the middle of nowhere, a double track suddenly ends. Underfoot is a black mud containing shattered glass, screws and shards of blue-patterned porcelain, This site was near Ashwellthorpe in Norfolk, on a line that was supposedly closed in 1951, but part of which lingered on almost unnoticed until the 1970s. By todays standards, this was a railway crime scene, for here a major part of the UKs rolling stock heritage was destroyed. Hundreds of redundant carriages, including Pullman cars and prematurely retired DMUs, were propelled here from Wymondham Junction, run off the end of the track, gutted by fire and the metal reclaimed for scrap.
Location: Ashwellthorpe (former)
Original line: Wymondham to Forncett Line (Great Eastern Railway)
Photographer: Mark Dufton
Contact photographer: Mark Dufton
Date: 27/02/1977
Image number: 19494
