FOBS Monthly News - March 2010
Funds needed. Help FOBS to raise £2000 by June! This is what we need to pay the insurance Brandon Station building for a year. If we get that we can sign a short-term lease which lasts up to June 2011, and perhaps re-open a few of the rooms. This will show that not only the Friends but local people in general care for this historic building. Dating from 1845, it was the first station to serve a town in Suffolk and represented the completion of the first line from London to Norwich. At once it opened up new horizons.
You could be in London in just over three hours by the fastest train - instead of at least four times that long by stagecoach - and there were five trains daily. Local farmers and the fishermen of Yarmouth and Lowestoft could transport their wares to the London markets in a fraction of the time previously needed. In the 20th century, Brandon station had a significant role in World War II. Bombs were offloaded day and night and taken to a depot near Elveden. Troop trains came here right up to the 1960s.
In the in 1960s the station became unstaffed and the goods shed was closed. The train service became less convenient. But in the last few years it has had a renaissance. The 2008 passenger figures have just been published and show Brandon with a staggering total of 76,781 people passing through. This is the result of the hourly Cambridge-Norwich service which, with the nationwide connections at Ely, is a great attraction.
With local support and goodwill the station can be revived. If we can show that it has both of these, prospective funders will look upon us with interest. It only costs £5 a year to join the Friends. Small donations would be welcome too - if two hundred people gave £10 we'd get our insurance money and you would have a stake in the station!
Landscaping
On the last Saturday in March we started to clear up the piece of land next to the car park, where the old goods shed used to stand. This initiative is one of a number of community projects which Network Rail, who own the land, are promoting around the country. All volunteers have a safety briefing and wear high-visibility jackets bearing the words ‘Network Rail Volunteer.’ The project leader, Tony Wojtasz, directed a team led by Paul Lamball, (see picture) who gave his free time to do the work in addition to his day job at SP Landscaping of Brandon, who kindly lent their equipment. Paul was assisted by his son Harry, the youngest member of FOBS, and four other volunteers.
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Our Network Rail Volunteers with Project Leader Tony Wojtasz.
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Tornado
On 28 May the currently most famous steam locomotive in Britain is coming through Brandon. Tornado was built entirely through voluntary donations and took fourteen years to build, being completed in 2008. She has become a celebrity through an appearance last year on Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson on the footplate.
Article Written by Stephen Dean:
Tel:01842 815372 or Email:stephendean@decanimusic.co.uk