Railway heritage project gets boost from volunteers

Volunteers from the Great British Railways Transition Team have been in Lowestoft to carry out work on a heritage project

A heritage project highlighting a railway station's historical links to the fishing industry has received a boost from a team of volunteers.

Nine members of the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) have visited Lowestoft, Suffolk, to help restore an area which was once the centre of a major fish and aggregate business at the station.

Network Rail donated a set of railway level crossing gates, which now form a 60ft (18m) backdrop to the scheme organised by the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and Lowestoft Central Project.

Derelict buildings have also been restored and the ultimate aim of the project is to reinstate the station's concourse roof, which was removed in 1992.

Community Rail volunteers at the station worked alongside the members of the GBRTT over two days to clear vegetation, re-lay railway sleepers, paint fencing and assist with restoration work on the gates.

Members of the Network Rail signalling team dismantling the former semaphore signal, which will be restored and re-erected next year in the heritage area

Engineers from Network Rail helped to prepare a redundant semaphore signal for restoration and next year the equipment, together with ground signals and interpretation panels, will be re-erected to tell the story of the station's links to the harbour.

'Great opportunity'

On behalf of the Lowestoft Central Project, Community Rail development officer Martin Halliday said: "We were delighted to accept an offer of volunteer support from the Great British Railways Transition Team and their help has significantly advanced efforts to create our heritage quarter at Lowestoft station.

"Together with assistance from Network Rail and Greater Anglia, we are now significantly further forward with this project.

"It was also a great opportunity for us to learn more about how the railways will be changing over the coming years and to be able to share the work we have undertaken through the Community Rail movement and to share our aspirations for the future."

The ultimate aim of the heritage project is to reinstate the station's concourse roof, which was removed in 1992

Chris Mitchell, chair of the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership, said: "We are very grateful to the team from GBRTT for donating their time, experience and labour in assisting with the heritage quarter project at Lowestoft.

"Added to the support from Greater Anglia and Network Rail, this has been a fantastic collaborative effort and a real boost to the volunteer team, bringing them much closer to completing their scheme."

A spokesperson for the GBRTT volunteers added: "We were delighted to use our volunteering time to support this great initiative and grow our understanding and appreciation for community rail projects."

As part of the heritage project, new lighting has been installed, closed doorways have been restored and reopened - and a new public exhibition space has been created inside the station's former parcels office.

Plans to restore the station's concourse roof are expected to be announced later this year.

Lowestoft station was built in 1855, but the original station opened on 1 July 1847, and an extension of the railway was soon built to the town's new fish market and cattle sheds.