Felixstowe Beach Railway Station - History

History

The Felixstowe Railway and Pier opened on 1 May 1877 but there were no stations between Orwell and the terminus at Felixstowe Pier as the station near the beach at Felixstowe was not ready in time, although it did open soon after. The company had been promoted by Colonel George Tomline who owned property near the station. He was criticised by the Suffolk Chronicle for building the stations where he thought "people ought to be, rather than where people actually live". It has been claimed that it was location was chosen to be away from his rival John Chevalier Cobbold's Ordnance Hotel, which was close to the railway on Languard Road. The station had goods facilities and also the line's engine shed.

The Great Eastern Railway (GER) bought the line on 5 July 1887. The engine shed was soon closed but is believed to have been used for coaling and watering of locomotives for some time after. Eventually this was undertaken at Felixstowe Town station which was equipped with a turntable. There was a large three-road shed adjacent to the engine shed and in 1894 a carriage painting facility was opened and this dealt with the painting of around 200 carriages each year. This structure burnt down in the 1930s.

The station was enlarged in 1888 but a new and more conveniently sited Fexlixstowe Town station opened on 1 July 1898. The original station was renamed Felixstowe Beach and the direct line from Ipswich was closed with the result that all trains now had to reverse in the new station.

The GER became a part of the London and North Eastern Railway on 1 January 1923, and this in turn became the Eastern Region of British Railways on 1 January 1948. Passenger trains beyond the Beach station to Felixstowe Pier were withdrawn from 2 July 1951. The low lying area around the station was inundated by a fatal flood on 1 February 1953.

On 2 November 1959 daily passenger services were withdrawn between Felixstowe Town and Felixstowe Beach, thereafter they were run only during the summer until the end of the 1967 season when it closed completely. Public freight facilities had been withdrawn on 5 December 1966 but the line remained open for freight traffic to the docks. This soon became much heavier than following the opening of a new container terminal in 1967. On 13 May 1970 a new direct line to avoid the need to reverse Felixstowe Town.

In 1971 the original signal box was closed and replaced by a prefab structure located by the level crossing gates. In 1976 the sidings at the station were removed, leaving just a single track and the unused platform. The line was resignalled in 1999 and has since been controlled from Colchester Panel Signalling Box. It was decided to maintain the line as far as Felixstowe Beach to passenger standard in case a service to there is resumed in the future. The station building was demolished by the Strategic Rail Authority in April 2004 but left the platform intact. Suffolk Country Council considered proposals to reopen the station in 2006.