Waveney Valley Line

The Waveney Valley line was a branch line running from Tivetshall in Norfolk to Beccles in Suffolk connecting the Great Eastern Main Line at Tivetshall with the East Suffolk line at Beccles. It provided services to Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Ipswich and many other smaller towns in Suffolk with additional services to London. It was named after the River Waveney which follows a similar route.

The line was authorised by the Waveney Valley Railway Act on 3 July 1851. The line opened in stages, firstly from Tivetshall to Harleston on 1 December 1855, then to Bungay on 2 November 1860, and finally to Beccles. When the line was completed it was incorporated into the Great Eastern Railway. The line then became part of the LNER on 1 January 1923.

Starston and Redenhall stations were closed in 1866, only 11 years after the line opened.

Early services on the line were worked by the company’s only locomotive named Perseverance. This was a 2-2-2T locomotive built by Sharp Stewart and Co (Manchester). It did not perform particularly well and was rebuilt by the GER in 1864 as a 2-4-0T. Withdrawal was 1880/1 and the locomotive was broken up in November 1881.

Some old pictures show the following classes of engine that worked over the route:

The line was closed to passenger services on 5 January 1953. With the last passenger train from Tivetshall junction to Beccles pulled by ex GER Class C32 (LNE classification) Class F3 2-4-2 tank locomotive No 67128 (British Railways number).

A Light Railway Order was obtained in November 1954, after which there were some special services run by railway enthusiasts.

From 1960 the line was split into sections – Tivetshall to Harleston and Beccles to Bungay.

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