Colne Valley and Halstead Railway

[v · d · e]Colne Valley and Halstead Railway
Legend Stour Valley Railway Haverhill (passenger) Haverhill (CVHR) (goods) Birdbrook Whitley (Closed 1863) Yeldham Sible and Castle Hedingham Halstead Earls Colne White Colne Chappel and Wakes Colne Gainsborough Line

The Colne Valley and Halstead Railway (CVHR) is a closed railway between Haverhill, Suffolk and Chappel and Wakes Colne, Essex, in England.

History

A mid Victorian era photograph showing a Colne Valley and Halstead Railway 2-2-2WT at Halstead engine shed.

A railway in the Colne Valley was first proposed in 1846 when the "Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway Company" was incorporated to build a line from Marks Tey on the Eastern Counties Railway to Sudbury, with branches to Halstead and from Colchester to Hythe. A later extension to Bury St. Edmunds and Clare was also approved, however a shortage of funds resulted in only the Stour Valley Railway to Sudbury and Sunshine Coast Line line to Hythe branch being built.^[1]

In 1856 the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway Company was formed by local people to build a line from Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station to Halstead. It was authorised on 30 June 1856, and opened on 16 April 1860 between Chappel (north of Marks Tey) to Halstead, a distance of 6 miles (9.7 km).

A 13 miles (21 km) extension was authorised on 13 August 1859 and opened in stages:-

• 1 July 1861 Halstead–Castle Hedingham
• 26 May 1862 Castle Hedingham–Yeldham
• 10 May 1863 Yeldham–Haverhill (CVHR)

Physical connection with the Stour Valley Railway at Haverhill was provided in 1865 and although close relations were maintained with the GER, the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway remained completely independent, until it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in the 1923 regrouping. The CVHR station, renamed 'Haverhill South', was closed to passengers in 1924 but remained open for goods until 1965.

Heritage Railway Preservation

The line continued to remain open until 30 December 1961, when passenger traffic ended. In 1965 freight traffic ended, and the line was taken up a year later.

Since 1973, A mile of track has been preserved having been reconstructed during 1973-75 period as the Colne Valley Railway, including Castle Hedingham station.

There's hope one day the line could someday extend towards Yeldham as the old railway station has recently been cleared for both a path and possibly for a future extension.

References

1. ^ "The Colne Valley & Halstead Railway Co. Ltd". http://cvrps.users.btopenworld.com/cvhr.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 

External links

• Marks Tey–Bures–Sudbury Rail Line (1849–1990)
• The Sudbury Line Website News and Information about the Sudbury Branch