Worstead station

The Bittern Line from Sheringham to Norwich is, of course, part of the Norfolk Orbital Railway route. Most of its station buildings have been either demolished or sold into private ownership. Two, at Worstead and Salhouse, remain unused and largely intact, albeit boarded up and declining towards dereliction. Worstead was more recently in use, having retained a public waiting room and staff room so long as a crossing keeper remained on site. This ceased with the introduction of automatic barriers on the adjacent level crossing some years ago; a technical advance but something of a loss, in one sense, because the crossing keeper had become famous for his award-winning development of the station gardens, which frequently hit the news locally.

It seemed to us that Worstead Station potentially offered the possibility of a discrete project which could establish our presence on the already operational part of the orbital route and give us a role in the Bittern Line Partnership; an alliance of interests which has promoted the Bittern Line with exceptional success. Working through our registered charity, The Melton Constable Trust, we could seek to raise money for the restoration of the building from sources such as the Heritage Lottery which could not support the main task of railway building.

Worstead is an example of an attractive and largely unaltered Great Eastern Railway village station. It is small and, therefore, manageable. The aim would be to incorporate into it an office/meeting room for the Norfolk Orbital Railway and the Melton Constable Trust and a re-opened passenger waiting room which would also house an historical display and a small community information facility. A variety of ideas are being considered for the provision of an income stream to deal with ongoing maintenance.

Since September 2010, we have been in negotiation with Network Rail around the possibility of taking a 99 year lease on the building (but not the platform) and have been encouraged with the response.
We have also informed Worstead Parish Council of the possible project and received its written support. We are also seeking the support of other bodies concerned with historic buildings and railway history. Their support will help eventual funding applications significantly.