The Felixstowe branch line is a railway branch line in Suffolk, England, that connects the Great Eastern Main Line to and its port.
The line is in length from to Felixstowe. The stations and all passenger services are operated by Greater Anglia. The passenger services originate at but the branch itself starts one station further along at Westerfield. The line also carries freight trains operated by DB Schenker, Freightliner and GB Railfreight, to the port of Felixstowe.
The line was opened by the in 1877, although the first station in Felixstowe was not in the town but at the company's pier on the River Orwell. The railway was sold to the Great Eastern Railway in 1887. A station near Felixstowe town centre was opened in 1898 and this has been the only station in the town since 1967. Freight traffic has increased significantly since that time, leading to the opening of a second route to the port in 1987.
passenger service frequency on the line is typically one train per hour in each direction between Ipswich and Felixstowe. The timetabled journey time from one terminus to the other is 26 minutes.
Description
The Felixstowe branch is an unelectrified, single track secondary line with a maximum line speed of , although lower limits apply at some places. It has a W10 loading gauge but W9 rolling stock is excluded.
Westerfield railway station is from where the passenger trains to Felixstowe start their journey, although the milepost reads as the line is measured from London. It has two platforms, both of which are accessed from the road that passes over the level crossing at the west end of the station. Both up and down Felixstowe trains today share the up platform with East Suffolk Line trains towards Ipswich; the down platform is used by East Suffolk Line services to and beyond. When the Felixstowe line first opened the trains terminated in another track on the southern side of the up platform, alongside which is the old Felixstowe Railway and Pier Company building, now no longer used by the railway. Felixstowe trains curve to the right at Westerfield Junction as they leave the station to join the Felixstowe branch line.
The line climbs for a short distance at 1 in 85 and swings towards the south, coming back into the suburbs of Ipswich. At milepost 73 ( from Westerfield) the line starts to drop down towards the three-arch Spring Road Viaduct, the only significant engineering feature on the branch. The train now enters a section of double track through station ( from Ipswich station by train, but only on the map) where trains can pass. The line now leaves Ipswich for the last time. Just beyond milepost 78 the train passes the site of station which was closed in 1959.
As the train slows for the approach to ( from Westerfield) a line branches off on the up side then runs parallel over the level crossing and through the station before it curves away from the branch. This is the Port of Felixstowe's line to their North Freightliner Terminal which was opened in 1987. Passenger trains in both directions now use the former down platform. The derelict station building is on this, but the Trimley Station Community Trust want to see it repaired and used as a community facility. Less than one mile further on another line diverges on the up side. This is the original route of 1877 which also carries freight trains to the port. The passenger line, however, passes beneath Garrison Lane to terminate at station, opened in 1898 and from Westerfield. The single platform is on the down side of the train and can accommodate six carriages.
If we were to follow the North Curve we would find it passes through the old station ( from Westerfield) which was closed in 1967. After passing over a level crossing the line splits into a group of sidings known as Felixstowe Creek. At the far end of these is Felixstowe Dock Junction where Network Rail's tracks end and those of the Port of Felixstowe start. Here most trains curve around into the South Freightliner Terminal but lines also diverge on the up side to the older part of the docks. It is possible to follow these to the North Freightliner Terminal and then back to Trimley, but this would involve crossing numerous level crossings on the way through the dock area.
History
The first railway proposed for the small coastal town of Felixstowe was the by the (28 & 29 Vict. c. ccciii), to run from the GER station at Westerfield to Hog Lane in Felixstowe. Tramways were authorised by the , and the . Together, they were proposed from Ipswich station to Landguard Common (near the mouth of the River Orwell) and Fagborough Cliff where it would connect with the ferry to Harwich. One of the tramways' promoters, Colonel George Tomline, suggested instead that a proper railway should be built instead, running from Westerfield to a pier to be constructed at Landguard Common that had been authorised by the Felixstowe Pier Order 1873. The (38 & 39 Vict. c. cxlv) was granted for this scheme on 19 July 1875 under the name of the Felixstowe Railway and Pier Company. Two years later the name was changed to the Felixstowe Railway and Dock Company when the (42 & 43 Vict. c. clxxvii) authorised the construction of a dock at Languard Common close to the pier with an access channel and railway lines.
The railway was opened on 1 May 1877. Starting from Westerfield railway station, it served stations at Derby Road (Ipswich), (built primarily to serve the home of Colonel Tomline near Nacton), Felixstowe (not today's station, but one near the pier at Landguard Common). Tomline was criticised in the Suffolk Chronicle for building the stations where he "thinks people ought to be, rather than where people actually live". When a station was opened nearer to Felixstowe it was at , close to land Tomline was looking to develop but not well placed to serve the more established part of town. It is claimed that it was also sited here to be away from the Ordnance Hotel, owned by his rival John Chevalier Cobbold.
Great Eastern Railway (1879–1922)
On 1 September 1879 the Great Eastern Railway (GER) took over operation of the line, although the Felixstowe company retained ownership until 5 July 1887 when under the (50 & 51 Vict. c. lxvii) it sold the railway to the GER while retaining the dock (which had opened for traffic in April 1886) and associated railway lines, changing its name by the act to the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company to reflect its main interests. In May 1887 another act of Parliament, the Felixstowe and Bawdsey Ferry Railway Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. xxvi), was granted for a line from Felixstowe to Felixstowe Ferry but this was never built and the scheme was abandoned in 1892 due to lack of capital.
From October 1879 some trains to Felixstowe ran through from where connections with the GER main line were more convenient. and was running trains through to Ipswich. An additional station was opened at on 1 May 1891. Three years later the old Felixstowe engine shed near the Beach station was reopened as a carriage painting depot; about 2,000 carriages were painted here each year until it was destroyed by a fire in the 1930s.
On 13 July 1891 Empress Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and a relative of Queen Victoria, arrived on a train at Felixstowe Beach station. She and five of her children stayed in the town on holiday until 6 August. This gave the town a boost as a holiday resort. Although the population of the town in 1891 was only 3,507 development was increasing along the higher ground north of the Beach station. In order to better serve this end of the town, the GER obtained powers in the Great Eastern Railway (General Powers) Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. lii) in June 1893 for a short deviation to the line. A terminus station was built on what is now Hamilton Road. This was opened on 1 July 1898 and named Felixstowe Town station. The direct line from Trimley to Felixstowe Beach was closed and all trains therefore had to reverse at the Town station before continuing their journey. A new 'Orwell Hotel' was opened at the same time opposite the station entrance.
More hotels opened in the town around this time including the luxury Felix Hotel on the sea front in 1903 which, in 1919, was purchased by the GER and operated as a railway hotel until it was sold in 1952. A promenade was built along the seafront in 1903 and a pleasure pier opened in 1905. Lord Claud Hamilton, the chairman of the GER, was invited to open the new Spa Pavilion in 1909. The developing resort was by now served by direct trains from London Liverpool Street station. In 1905 the 10:00 service from London (which had been introduced the previous year as a non-stop service to ) called at Westerfield to detach carriages for Felixstowe. It was only allowed two minutes to do this (reduced to a single minute in 1908), and the Felixstowe portion continued on its way just three minutes later. A non-stop train each way between Liverpool Street and Felixstowe Town was introduced in 1906. Another fast train was introduced in 1907 with a single stop at .
Traffic increased to such a degree that in August 1912 powers were obtained by the railway company to double the line from Westerfield to Felixstowe Town. The railway had been built wide enough for this back in 1877 except for the Spring Road Viaduct in Ipswich which would need to be rebuilt. This work did not happen as World War I broke out. Felixstowe was a prohibited area and the local population was encouraged to leave the area, hotels were converted into military hospitals, and additional sidings were laid in the docks to handle the increased freight traffic.
It is known that a 9.2" coastal howitzer was based in the area between 1914 and 1915. Its precise location is unknown but believed to be in the pier station area.
London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947) In 1923 the Great Eastern Railway became a part of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). Passenger traffic regained its pre-war volumes; Derby Road station being especially popular as it connected with the Ipswich tram system and many extra trains started there. The LNER received new powers in the London and North Eastern Railway Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6. liii) to double the line from Westerfield to Felixstowe Town and enlarge the station there. While an additional platform was provided at Felixstowe in 1939, the second track along the branch again failed to materialise due to the outbreak of World War II.
Fewer through trains were run from London than before World War I, but from 1929 until 1939 there was a regular 'Eastern Belle' Pullman service. This train had been operating as the 'Clacton Pullman' but in 1929 was rescheduled to run from London to different LNER resorts in East Anglia resorts each weekday, which resulted in it coming to Felixstowe once a fortnight. It left Liverpool Street at 11:00, took less than two hours to reach Felixstowe, and returned at 19:35. The fare was 5 shillings.