Exhibition to feature 100 'lost railway images'

A black and white image of an old train on a railway line running through a field. A sign on the front of the train reads 'Yarmouth'. To the left of the railway line there is a bench with a sign above it that reads 'Berney Arms'.Image source, David Pearce
Image caption,

The exhibition featured more than 100 railway photographs taken over the past 50 years of the Bittern Line and Wherry Line

  • Published

A free exhibition will feature more than 100 "lost images" of a railway line.

The Left at the Junction exhibition premieres in the Parcels Office at Lowestoft railway station in Suffolk on Monday.

Photos from across five decades on the Wherry Lines, external from Norwich via the Broads National Park to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, as well as from the Bittern Line, external from Norwich to North Walsham, will be on display.

The collection was produced by David Pearce, who said the exhibition mainly focused on the trains in "everyday scenes".

David Pearce smiles at the camera while standing next to a black and white image of a man standing in a railway operator room. David has white grey hair and wears a burgundy polo T-shirt.  Image source, Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership
Image caption,

David Pearce, an acclaimed railway photographer, was commissioned to put the exhibition together

A black and white image of the Lowestoft railway station from decades ago. A train with a sign on the front reading Ipswich rests at a platform. Image source, David Pearce
Image caption,

Photos of Lowestoft station were included in the exhibition

"The focus of the exhibition is very much on the trains themselves, mostly in everyday scenes, but sometimes seldom seen," Mr Pearce explained.

"For their time, the passenger trains featured might have been considered modern, but now are looked upon, perhaps, with nostalgia, regret even at their passing, or possibly relief that those 'old rattle-traps' have given way to quicker, quieter and more comfortable journeys."

A black and white image of a railway yard with various different train lines and a signal box with steps leading up into it. A railway worker stands next to the railway line passing something to a train driver who leans out of a carriage.Image source, David Pearce
Image caption,

Admission into the exhibition is free and there is no need to book in advance

The exhibition is open from 10:30 BST to 16:00 every day until August 23, apart from 17 August when it is closed.

Between 11 and 14 August, Lowestoft station also welcomes the Railway 200 Exhibition Train, as part of a national celebration of the 200th anniversary of the modern railway.

The train visiting, called Inspiration, will have four carriages where people can discover the past, present and future of the railways.

Emma Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, said the exhibition would "excite, enlighten and inspire".

Get in touch

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk?