SOUTHMINSTER
(All 29.5.1984 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)
The Southminster branch always seemed a rather surprising branch survival to me considering that Southminster had a population of under 2000 in the 1980s. True, the line serves the march larger town of Burnham-on-Crouch, but it would have been just as easy to retain the route to the far larger town of Maldon. Perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why the branch ended at the smaller town?
Back in 1984 the line was operated by DMUs, and retained a lot of original railway infrastructure. This was my only visit to this line - has anybody more up to date shots?
LINKS
Rail Thing - Eastern and North Eastern Regions
Rail Thing - 80s UK Railscene
Rail Thing - British Railway Stations and Buildings
Rail Thing - Classic British Rail
According to Wikipedia (under Maldon Station entry) the passenger service from Woodham Ferrers to Maldon was closed at the outbreak of war in 1939 and never reinstated. Note that the link was from WF, not from Southminster. The line lasted until 1969 with a once weekly freight
ReplyDeleteWhen the line was built, Southminster was far larger than Burnham on Crouch, and was the main town in the Dengie. Line never went beyond Southminster, although there were abortive plans to extend towards Bradwell - which woulld have been useful in relation to nuclear waste traffic. The government insisted that the OSuthminster branch was built for strategic reasons. I lived in Southminster 1993 - 1998 and used the line at times. The box & goods shed etc had gone by then, and line had been electrified. It's indeed a shame that the lines to Maldon were closed & rights of way sold off.
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