Thurston railway station

Thurston railway station serves the village of Thurston in Suffolk, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Greater Anglia.

Thurston
LocationThurston, Mid Suffolk
England
Coordinates52.25°N 0.8086°E / 52.25; 0.8086
Grid referenceTL918650
Managed byGreater Anglia
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeTRS
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Opened1846
Passengers
2015/16 71,930
2016/17 69,258
2017/18 72,388
2018/19 77,592
2019/20 71,562
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It is served primarily by local services between Ipswich and Cambridge.

History

Thurston station was opened by the Ipswich and Bury Railway in 1846. The main building was designed by Frederick Barnes in the Jacobean style using decorative brickwork. The building required three stories to reach the platforms from ground level owing to the station's location on an embankment. The building is Grade II listed and is no longer in railway use. Adjacent to the station building is an original bridge over the road.[1][2]

According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 10 cwt crane. H Clarke & Son had a private siding.[3]

An unusual accident

On 4 October 1850, two stationmasters were killed by striking an overhead bridge near the station, when riding on a carriage roof with their backs to the engine.[4]

A boiler explosion

On 12 January 1944, whilst working a goods train from Ipswich to Whitemoor, the boiler of USATC S160 Class freight loco no. 2363 exploded at the station after the firebox crown became uncovered, injuring both driver and fireman.[5][6]

Near-miss video

On 8 May 2010, the station made national news after a trainspotter, who was so engrossed in filming a steam locomotive special hauled by 70013 Oliver Cromwell, failed to notice the rapid approach of a Class 170 multiple unit travelling in the other direction.[7][8][9] The near miss was caught on camera. After it went viral on the internet, he was dubbed by the railway press as a "vidiot" and drew widespread condemnation from rail enthusiasts and industry professionals.[10]

Services

Greater Anglia operate hourly services to Cambridge and to Ipswich.[11]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Greater Anglia

References
  1. Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866247-5.
  2. "Thurston, Suffolk". Great Eastern Journal (103): 28–34. July 2000.
  3. Official Handbook of Stations, British Transport Commission, 1956.
  4. East Anglia's First Railways, Hugh Moffat, 1987, pages 99-101.
  5. official report by J L M Moore, Railways Archive
  6. Boddy, M.G.; Brown, W.A.; Neve, E.; Yeadon, W.B. (November 1983). Fry, E.V. (ed.). Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., part 6B: Tender Engines - Classes O1 to P2. Kenilworth: RCTS. p. 101. ISBN 0-901115-54-1.
  7. Johnston, Howard. "'Vidiot' cheats death". Steam Railway. Bauer Media (376, 28 May – 24 June 2010): 40.
  8. "Train spotter in narrow escape". BBC News Online. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  9. "Railway buff filming in Suffolk fails to see express". BBC News Online. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  10. Various authors. "That near miss video.". Steam Railway. Bauer Media (376, 28 May – 24 June 2010): 70.
  11. Table 14 National Rail timetable, May 2016
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