SOUTH LYNN BRIDGES & HARBOUR JUNCTION
Hello and welcome to the page about Norfolk's disused railways. This page specifically focuses on the Harbour Junction at King's Lynn and the surrounding bridges and signals.
The Harbour junction in King's Lynn was once located just outside the central station and the M&GN station in South Lynn.
The junction connecting the M&GN at South Lynn to the main King's Lynn station and the Lynn-Ely line was always bustling with activity.
During the summer, the junction got busy as several trains heading towards Hunstanton from the M&gn network joined the Lynn-Ely line and continued their journey towards the Norfolk coast.
On the opposite end of the Harbour junction, there used to be a brief freight line that connected to the South Quay in Kings Lynn. Sadly, this railway was shut down back in 1968.
A page dedicated to this line can also be found on this website.
In later years, the M&GN shut down in 1959, but the junction continued to operate for freight transportation to the South Lynn beet factory.
After passing the Junction, towards King's Lynn, there was another junction for the now-closed Campbell's soup factory.
There are still some points remaining on the track bed which can be observed while travelling on the A47. However, it is not possible to access them by foot. So, please don't try to capture photographs of these inaccessible points.
I believe Campbell's shut down in 2007 when the railway ceased operations. I'm uncertain if you possess any information on this matter. Kindly reach out to me via the contact page or send a tweet to @Norfolksdisused
It has since been suggested by Lewis Collard that the Campbells sidings may have closed back in 1991, coinciding with the end of Speed link services. Thank you, Lewis, for this valuable information.
Near the harbour junction, there was a signal box that controlled the junction that housed a 36-frame system.
When I stumbled upon Lewis Collard's detailed page about the bridges and signals that were left behind in June 2020, I knew I had to visit this site. During my initial visit, I took photographs of the bridges, but I was unaware of the remaining buttresses from the M&GN. Therefore, I revisited the site in February 2023 to locate the old buttress that once crossed the Lynn and Ely line.
After discovering this, I realized that there might be a signal at the location. Thanks to the South Lynn M&GN Railway Heritage Group on Facebook, I was able to locate the old signal on Good Friday in 2023. Over the Easter weekend of the same year, I returned to the site and found some remnants of the old signal as well as some sections of the original track still in place.
I want to express my gratitude to these pages and their owners for the valuable assistance they provided in creating this page.
South Lynn M&GN Railway Heritage Group
PAST MAP
PRESENT MAP
50/50 PAST & PRESENT MAP
"The maps used have been sourced from The National Library of Scotland. We extend our sincere thanks to them for their generous contribution."
My Google Maps.
Harbour Junction
A historical map showing the Harbour junction with the position of Harbour junction signal box.
I want to express my gratitude to Tony Watson, who allowed me to add his photos to this website via the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway M&GN Facebook page. I am thankful to Tony for generously sharing these photos of Harbour Junction with me.
Please do not reuse these photos i had permission to reuse these.
Harbour Junction track Layout from the signal box.
Thanks to Tony Watson
A Cambridge King’s Lynn Class 47 service passes by Harbour junction signal box.
Thanks to Tony Watson
Harbour Junction layout (early 1980’s)
On the left side of this photo, you can see the Harbour line to King's Lynn Quay, which was partially operational for freight traffic until the 1980s and closed in 1968 to the South Quay. Additionally, a semaphore signal is visible in the picture, which stands today in King's Lynn (Seen further down the page). On the right side of the photo, there is a small siding and a line that previously served the now-defunct Campbell's factory at King's Lynn. Some parts of the points still exist off the main line. Furthermore, the line is still doubled in this picture. However, it is now single-tracked after the electrification of the main line from King's Lynn to Cambridge.
Thanks to Tony Watson
In the early 1980s, Tony Watson captured a photo of the old signal at Harbour Junction, which was located off the South Lynn Branch. This signal has since been replaced with a modern one. However, some parts of the modern signal could still be seen during a visit in 2023.
You can find a picture of what remained of the newer signal and maybe the base from this old signal on this web page.
Thanks to Tony Watson
South Lynn Branch looking towards Harbour Junction (early 1980’s)
Thanks to Tony Watson
A Class 37 freight service passes the Harbour junction signal box.
The Class 37 looked to be carrying silica sand, so I was guessing it's a service from Middleton Towers quarry.
Middleton Towers freight trains use the old King's Lynn to Dereham line that remained open as far as Middleton Towers for freight use and is still used to this day when this page was published in 2023
I have since kindly been told that this service would be carrying limestone for the sugar beet factory; many thanks for the information, Tony Watson.
I found this picture with the help of the King's Lynn and area Model by J T Colquhoun's Facebook page.
Thanks to Mark Brammer for the use of this photo.
The Lynn Habour branch signal
This semaphore signal was at the start of the King’s Lynn Harbour railway that went to the South Quay that opened in 1849 and closed in 1968 up to Wisbech road, and i have been told that the line remained in place until the 1980s
Thanks to South Lynn M&GN Heritage Group this signal is expected to remain as it stands on Network rail land and will hopefully be turned into a historical railway monument.
Please look above for the link to this great Facebook page.
Once again Thanks to Tony Watson we are able to see a Photograph of when this signal was in use Tony’s picture tells us in his comments thanks to Facebook Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway M&GN group.
“The signal Originally had 2 signal arms, this was its final guise with 1 arm in the late 70’s early 80’s.”
Thanks to Tony Watson
During my first visit to South Lynn in June 2020, I took these photos of the Semaphore signal. The signal still stands, but it is now surrounded by a fence.
The site where this signal sits is now being turned into a medical centre.
M&GN Bridge PmY2-53
This bridge took the M&gn from South Lynn to Fakenham, with Gayton Road being the next stop.
The line went off after Fakenham & to many other destinations across Norfolk, including Great Yarmouth Sheringham Cromer & Norwich via Melton Constable.
The M&GN closed in 1959, and part of the line as far as East Rudham ran until 1967 for freight use; chances are this bridge remained in use until the 1970s for freight use.
I first visited this bridge in June 2020 and then revisited in February 2023 to get the buttresses left not far after this bridge and where the M&GN crossed over the Lynn Ely line.
In February 2023, I revisited this site and rephotographed this bridge.
Close to the M&GN bridge, I also found these spigot mortar mounts sitting just beside the bridge.
South Lynn station side.
M&GN Bridge buttress
The M&GN crossover bridge
The M&GN railway used to cross over the Lynn Ely railway line at South Lynn by means of a bridge that carried the M&GN over the top. Today, all that remains is a buttress that was once part of a farm crossing just before the main crossing that went over the Lynn Ely line. When visiting the area in 2023, we found that the only remaining structures between bridge PMY2-53 are part of the old embankment and this buttress. The main crossover bridge at South Lynn was demolished many years ago, long before the electrification of the Lynn-Ely line.
Also, I found a disused plate layer close to the buttress hut for the Lynn Ely line.
50/50 Modern and historical maps showing the M&GN bridge and Buttress.
The pointer seen below shows where the buttress supported the railway bridge that crossed over the farm crossing before crossing over the Lynn Ely line.
The old M&GN track bed shortly after the PMY2-53 bridge.
The remaining buttress at South Lynn once carried the M&GN over a farm access track and then followed by another bridge that carried the M&GN over the Lynn Ely line.
This is where the M&GN would have once run many years ago. However, when I visited in 2023, this Industrial estate now takes its place.
This disused plate layers' hut is located by the main line, near the M&GN bridge. It was likely used by the Lynn Ely railway.
South Lynn Link Bridge.
This bridge would have served many different purposes in its life. Not only did it act as a link between both of King's Lynn's Stations,
The South Lynn M&GN station and the central Lynn-Ely railway station in the Town centre.
But it would have also taken trains from the North & The Midlands Towards Hunstanton on Express day excursion trains.
This bridge could have also taken traffic from the M&GN towards the King’s Lynn Docks and the Harbour Railway line at the South Quay and also the King’s Lynn to Dereham and Norwich Railway line.
In its last days, this old bridge was used as a shuttle line from the old British sugar factory, which has now been demolished.
The sugar beet factory stood roughly where Palm paper now stands.
The start of this Junction can be seen when crossing over the railway on the A47, and you can make out where the Points once sat as small parts of them remain on the track bed next to the central Lynn, Ely line and were connected up when the line was double lined with the points sited on the removed track.
This, to me, was the most exciting bridge I discovered with lots of help from disused railway fans, whom I can’t thank enough.
At first, in June 2020, this was the first bridge I visited and photographed as it was at the start of the Nar Valley walk. However, I returned in February 2023, rephotographed this line, and knew also there was an old signal somewhere in South Lynn. After researching online with help from a Facebook group, I was lucky enough to Photograph the remains of the old signal hidden away in the Overgrowth.
Please do not attempt this as with further investigation, this land belongs to Network rail and is very close to the main line. So I suggest that you refrain from trying to access this land.
All pictures you see here can be reused with pleasure, and please feel free to ask if you would like any images free of charge. I am more than willing to help.
King’s Lynn Link Bridge photographed in June 2020
South Lynn Link Bridge revisited in February 2023
I revisited this site in 2023 to find the Buttresses I missed when I first visited in 2020 and rephotographed this bridge
South Lynn Link line track bed and signal
I once again revisited this section of the South Lynn railway line that linked up the M&GN and the Lynn, Ely line at South Lynn, knowing that once a long time ago, thanks to Lewis collards great page, there was an old part of a signal left behind in the overgrowth and thinking it was so overgrown there would be no access and thanks to other railway explorers once again this was to be found once more.
So over the Easter weekend of 2023, I went off again to South Lynn.
This is Network railway land and is best not tried to be reached as when we visited, we were under the assumption that it was not Network railway land.
Random parts from South Lynn Railway
We found this old remain close to where the signal stands, still determining what it could have been.
If anybody has any ideas, please contact me or tweet me.
@NORFOLKSDISUSED
Could this be part of the old Semaphore signal?
South Lynn Track Bed and Tracks
A short piece of the track remains close to the Lynn Ely fen line.
Looking at google maps, the end of this railway track will be what you can see when passing over the A47 bridge close to the Saddlebow entrance at King’s Lynn.
I did not walk too far to see where the railway ended, as this was close to the main line fence.
Harbour junction Line Side Hut
We stumbled upon an abandoned hut near the old track, hidden among the overgrown vegetation.
This old line side hut-plate layers hut was sited close to the semaphore signal on the South Lynn branch.
In the 1980s, a freight train carrying Campbell’s soup was seen on the South Lynn branch. It was headed towards the soup factory located at the Hardwick Industrial Estate. This train would have entered the main King's Lynn to Cambridge line and would have crossed over the main line at a junction leading to the Soup factory just ahead.
Thanks to Tony Watson
During our visit in 2023, we came across the remains of an old line-side hut near the main line. However, we refrained from exploring any further as it would have required us to get too close to the main line fence.
The Second South Lynn signal.
We found this old signal in the overgrowth close to the Line side hut and relatively close to the main line.
We never went further than where this signal was as it was getting too close to the main line fence.
This signal was left behind from the closure of the Harbour junction line that linked up the M&GN to the Lynn, Ely main line, and this signal would have been installed long after the closure of the M&GN as back in those days, a semaphore signal would have controlled train coming on and off the M&GN.
(Pictures of the semaphore signal have recently been soused and can be seen at the top of this web page)
The original signal would have been similar to the above Semaphore signal on this web page that remains and is left behind from the Harbour line.
This newer signal would have been used in the lines in later days controlling freight trains for the sugar beet factory at the Saddlebow industrial estate.
Sadly, all that remains is the signal pole, the ladder, and some wire and. also we found an old bulb cover and maybe one of the bulbs from the old signal.
The signal box itself has gone.
In this first picture, you can make out the signal next to the track; in this picture, you can see how overgrown some parts are.
The second South Lynn Signal.
This would have been where the signal was once attached many years back before the signal, one way or another, disappeared.
All that remained in early 2023 was this wire showing where the signal once was.
We found these parts of the old signal in the overgrowth.
Possible Signal base or bridge support?
Not too far from the signal, closer to the bridge side of the track bed, we found this old brick support down the railways track bed bank.
What was it used for?
Maybe the old supports from a semaphore signal.
Looking at historicical maps this is most likely part of an old support for a bridge.
If anybody knows, please feel free to reach out to me..
Around South Lynn Station.
South Lynn Station was the second railway station in King's Lynn, located on the south side of the town. It was used by the M&GN railway for transportation to Sutton Bridge and Melton Constable. South Lynn was connected to the King's Lynn to Cambridge line via a shuttle line that linked up to the Harbour junction crossing the bridge seen above.
South Lynn station was opened in 1866 and served the surrounding area until its closure in 1959. Although the station itself has been demolished and no longer exists, freight movements continued to the beet factory and other nearby industrial units after its closure for a while after.
Palm paper now stands roughly where the Sugar Beet factory stands.
Once again, Thanks to Tony Watson for donating these pictures from the South Lynn area from when the railway was in use for freight use.
It appears that these are the remains of the old turntable located in South Lynn.
Thanks to Tony Watson
At South Lynn, there are freight wagons that appear to be carrying coal.
Thanks to Tony Watson
Redundant railway buildings at South Lynn
In the back ground you can see the BT buildings that are still standing to this day.
Thanks to Tony Watson
Close to the Saddle-bow bridge that carries the road over the railway, one can see the South Lynn stop sign and engine sheds. The bridge was constructed after the closure of the M&GN.
The bridge remains to this day and pictures follow below.
Thanks to Tony Watson
The Saddlebow road railway bridge
This modern bridge was built long after the M&GN closed and the A47 was opened and was used to take Saddlebow road traffic over the old railway line that was used as far as the Sugar Beet factory.
In the distance in this first picture you can see palm paper this is where the old beet factory once roughly sat and close by was the old site of South Lynn station.
In the railway's final days, the track viewed from the Saddlebow Bridge displays the last remaining track used by the beet factory.
Attribution: Paul Miller-Wikimedia
After the remaining railway track had been removed
Attribution: Paul Miller-Wikimedia
The track bed viewed the other side of the railway bridge facing towards the Harbour Junction.
Attribution: Paul Miller-Wikimedia
Thanks to Paul Miller for the above photos; please visit his page for more excellent railway photography...
Paul Millers Wikimedia page
Railway tracks at South Lynn
These two pictures of some old railway track left behind were found at the now grain silo site on the Saddlebow industrial estate and were most likely left behind from what looks like some sidings from the M&gn at South Lynn.
At first, I thought they were from the sugar beet factory, but looking at old maps, the factory was far from where the sidings were.
Until I went onsite to the silos, I never knew these railway tracks were there, so it was a nice pleasant surprise.
These pictures were taken in August 2020; I’m unsure if they remain or have been covered.
We owe thanks to Lewis Collard once again for uncovering that these tracks were formerly used as sidings for Fen Grain company.
50/50 maps showing the modern and historical maps of the grain silos and also showing where the M&gn sidings ran years back.
Google map position of the old tracks
"The old tracks left behind from the South Lynn Railway."
Various parts
Bridge PMY 1-46
While driving through South Lynn, I stumbled upon a railway bridge code etched on a buttress near the previous location of the South Lynn Station - although quite far from the alignment of the former railway.
PMY Bridge Codes stand for and are all used on the M&GN Network
PMY Peterborough to Yarmouth
PMY 1 Peterborough to South Lynn
PMY 2 South Lynn to Yarmouth
The Cut Bridge, also known as the Marshland Freebridge, was originally constructed for road traffic and not for railway traffic. The buttresses on both sides are still visible. With the railway Bridge code visible painted on the West Side.The bridge was supported by iron concrete supports which can still be seen today from the A47 and the Clenchwarton-Wisbech road.
The latter road bridge was built alongside the old road crossing over the Ouse
So why is there a railway marking on a road crossing??
There are some ideas that suggest the bridge was built a long time ago to provide access to the railway from West Lynn. However, information on this topic is limited. According to a website, the piers of the old bridge are historically owned by the railways.
Please click the link below
https://governmentbuildings.co.uk
Thank you once again to Lewis Collard for sharing the link mentioned above.
If you have any ideas, please email me or get in touch via social media.
Historic maps from the National Library of Scotland show the Free Bridge, Cut Bridge and the M&GN South Lynn railway bridge, which used to cross the River Ouse.
50/50 map coverage showing the original road crossing and the newer crossing bridge that still is in use today, as well as the A47 Dual Carriageway bridge, which is roughly now where the M&GN bridge that crossed the Great River once sat.
Thanks to the National Library of Scotland for the Maps used
Google maps position of the old PMY 1-46 Bridge code.
The picture below shows the Freebridge-Cut bridge and the M&GN railway crossing bridge with South Lynn station in the distance.
All the bridges in this photo no longer exist. The railway bridge has been replaced with the A47 Dual Carriageway, and the two road bridges have been demolished and replaced.
Thank you to Historic England for providing the aerial photo. Please click on the photo for its source page.
The railway code PMY 1-46 was found on the Buttress of the old Freebridge Road River Ouse crossing. Does anyone know why a railway code was put on a road crossing?
The old Buttress from the Marshland Freebridge road crossing.
Photographed In 2023, a bridge support is left behind from the old road crossing.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with any information.
Possible loading bay at South Lynn.
Google maps position of the possible loading bay
Close to the bridges seen at the top of the page, we also found this concrete pad and some remains of this old brick wall.
Upon examining historical maps, it appears that there may have been an old building or pad located near the sidings of the former muck works at South Lynn, as depicted on maps dating from 1937 to 1961.
Any ideas???
Was this part of an old siding or a loading bay or possibly remains of an old building?
Please get in contact if you have any ideas.
Maps Dated 1937-1961 Thanks to the National Library of Scotland.
Thanks to Historic England, I found an aerial photo of the Muck works and the sidings from the old railway. However, I don't think the possible building or loading pad is shown in this photo.
Please click on the Aerial photo shown below for the source page.
What Remained when Photographed in 2023
"This bridge is not related to the railway."
Not far from the innovation centre lays this old bridge. This bridge is not railway related, but I have been told it was used for farm access many years back.
With the construction going on, I can't say how long this old piece of history has left.
Extons road signal box.
In between Kings Lynn Junction and the Harbour Junction signal box once sat this small signal box at Exton's road that controlled a small siding once situated there many years ago.
The box at Extons road housed a 22-frame system.
Thank you
I am grateful to all those who have visited my website so far. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any information you may have or need.
I would like to extend a special thanks to Lewis Collard for his valuable input and his website, as well as to the South Lynn M&GN Railway Heritage Group on Facebook for their assistance and support.
Later in the life of this webpage, I would like to give a special thanks to Tony Watson for generously granting permission to use his photos of the Harbour Junction from the 1980s. Thank you so much!
I would like to thank Paul Miller for letting me use his photographs from his Wikimedia page.
Your contributions were instrumental in the creation of this page, and I am truly appreciative of your help.
All pictures on this page are downloadable for free from my Wikimedia page.
Please see the link in the footer
