THE LYNN AVOIDING LINE

Welcome to my page about the King’s Lynn avoiding line.

The Lynn Ely Railway opened in 1846, and in August 1861, the Lynn Sutton Bridge Railway, also known as the Bourne and Lynn Railway, was authorised by parliament. It opened in 1864 and is shown on historical maps as the Bourne and Lynn Railway. It started its services from the original wooden station in King’s Lynn, which was later replaced by a brick station built by Robert Skipper of Dereham in 1871, which still exists today.

Departing King's Lynn, the Sutton Bridge railway line used the Lynn Ely line and headed to the southern edge of the town to Harbour Junction. From there, the line diverted towards Sutton Bridge, with the next station being West Lynn. However, the single-platformed station at West Lynn was short-lived, and there is minimal historical information about this old station.

It is estimated to have been open from 1866 to 1886. After West Lynn, the line called at Clenchwarton, Terrington, and Walpole, before arriving at Sutton Bridge.

On the northern side of King’s Lynn, the King’s Lynn to Hunstanton railway line opened in 1862, and the Lynn Fakenham Railway opened in 1879 between Gaywood and Great Massingham. This is shown on historic maps as the Eastern & Midlands railway. The Lynn Fakenham line originally ran from a junction that branched off the Lynn Hunstanton Railway at Gaywood, between King’s Lynn and North Wootton. The line was extended to Fakenham in 1880, expanding further to Melton Constable, Great Yarmouth, Cromer, and Norwich City station and in later days, all these became part of the M&GN.

The Lynn Fakenham railway called at Grimston Road, Hillington, East Rudham, West Raynham & Fakenham.

King’s Lynn was becoming very busy with the Lynn Ely Line (1846), the Lynn Dereham Line(1846), the Hunstanton Branch (1862), and the Wisbech-March branch (1848) that branched off the Lynn Ely Line at a junction at Magdalen Road (now called Watlington). Freight traffic was also present at King’s Lynn with the docks branch that opened in 1870 and headed towards the docks from King’s Lynn Junction, where the Lynn Hunstanton, Dereham, and Ely-Sutton bridge lines diverged onto their dedicated lines.

An initial plan proposed constructing a new station on Austin Street in King’s Lynn. The envisioned railway line would have diverged from the Hunstanton line at a point known as Salters Road Junction, located near the junction for the Lynn-Bawsey-Fakenham line. The line would have briefly utilised the Docks railway before continuing its dedicated route to Austin Street. However, this line was never completed, no traffic was observed, and it was ultimately abandoned and dismantled.

A through route was required to link the Lynn Sutton Bridge line to the Lynn Fakenham line and divert traffic from the main King’s Lynn Town station and King’s Lynn Junction. 1885 the Lynn avoiding line was opened for freight, followed by passenger services in 1886. That same year, South Lynn Station was also opened for passenger use, coinciding with the closure of West Lynn Station. The new loop line ran from Bawsey and circled around King’s Lynn to the south side of the town, leading to the newly established South Lynn Station.

Along this new line, a station named Gayton Road was constructed and opened in 1887. A new bridge was erected to allow the line to cross over the Lynn-Dereham line between King’s Lynn and Middleton Towers. Consequently, the previous connection from Gaywood Road Junction, situated north of King’s Lynn, to Bawsey was closed.

The 3-mile and 22-chain route between Gaywood and Bawsey was kept intact for potential diversionary and excursion traffic, but it was ultimately removed as it was never utilised. Part of the old Sutton Bridge line at South Lynn continued to serve as a junction for shuttling trains from South Lynn Station to King’s Lynn Town Station. This included many excursion trains to the Norfolk coast via the Hunstanton branch until the M&GN closed in 1959. The junction remained operational for freight use until the late 1980s or early 1990s, serving the southern side of King’s Lynn and the nearby beet factory.

The Lynn Avoiding Line was the final connection that linked the eastern lines, which reached Norwich in 1882 and Cromer in 1887, directly to the lines west of King’s Lynn.

The Lynn Loop, starting from Bawsey, crossed a small bridge over the Gaywood River, then passed through what is now a scrap metal recycling yard before arriving at Gayton Road station a two-platformed station with a waiting room and station masters house and its dedicated signal box. The station remains, but it is overgrown and potentially boggy. Both platforms are still there, but all the buildings have been removed, and only a small part of the waiting room wall remains. The line then continued through Bawsey, which was later excavated for silica sand and is now used as Bawsey Country Park. passing under two bridges that still stand to this day, the railway soon after entered a cutting. I discovered a buttress that was used as a railway crossing for a farm track, but the land on both sides has now been infilled. The railway continued, passing over the Lynn to Dereham railway. Part of this bridge remains and still has the buttresses on both sides with the overpass removed, and the Dereham line at this point is still in use for freight services towards Middleton Towers, passing over this bridge, the Lynn avoiding line railway passed over a few small drain crossings.

Today, the old railway track bed is used as a farm track.

The avoiding line would have run around the edge of the after-constructed Hardwick Narrows industrial estate, crossing over the Lynn Ely railway via a bridge on a raised track bed. Shortly thereafter, it would pass over another bridge that spanned the River Nar. After this final bridge, the railway would cross a junction that once connected the Lynn Sutton Bridge railway from the Lynn Ely line at Harbour Junction. Soon after, the railway would head into South Lynn station.

Marking the end of the Lynn loop line

Nothing remains of South Lynn station; however, two bridges that cross the river stand just before the station. One bridge was part of the Lynn Loop, and the other was part of the original Lynn Sutton Bridge line. The bridge from the old Lynn Sutton Bridge railway track may be the original or could have been replaced at some point in the railway's history. Additionally, some of the railway tracks that were once part of the Lynn Sutton Bridge railway track bed are still visible. This line was later used for the South Lynn to Lynn Town shuttle, transporting passengers and freight from the M&GN at South Lynn to the Lynn Ely line. It continued to handle freight movements until the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although small track sections are still visible today, they are heavily overgrown.

Additionally, the bridge that once spanned the Lynn Ely line was demolished. One buttress on the Hardwick Narrows side and another closer to South Lynn station remain, as does the raised track bed on the South Lynn side.

Much of the track bed from South Lynn to Sutton Bridge is now repurposed as the A17 bypass, and all the intermediate stations are no longer there. All that remains is the Cross Keys swing bridge or Sutton Bridge, which is still in use carrying the A17 road traffic.