BBC Archive: Lynn-Dereham closure, June 1969

[jamesontheroad]

The BBC Archive YouTube channel has found another fascinating film in the stacks.

Filmed in the years after the Beeching Plan, Terence Carroll’s documentary records the final two days of the 26 mile line between King's Lynn and East Dereham. It was first broadcast as Gone Tomorrow: The End of the Line on BBC Two, 2 June, 1969.

Quite poignant to watch, as I knew Swaffham very well as a kid in the 1980s and 1990s, and the town has undoubtedly declined with the loss of the railway, major employers and (more recently) the livestock market.

 

[dgl]

The BBC Archive YouTube channel is certainly bringing up some gems at the moment. Nice to see things from the archives getting an airing.

 

[daodao]

@jamesontheroad

Thanks for bringing this fascinating programme from over 50 years ago to the forum's attention. The Dereham-Lynn line was not recommended for closure in the original 1963 Beeching report. It was one of a number of secondary through routes, particularly in the East of England, subsequently closed by the BR board in the late 1960s, with the backing of the Labour government of the time that was keen on the "white heat of technology" and viewed the railways as backward. The route is currently served by a half hourly express bus service, so with the benefit of hindsight, its closure may not have been the optimal decision.

Incidentally, given that my moniker is a picture of the former Dunham station near to where I live, it was interesting to learn about another station called Dunham in another part of England.

 

[yorksrob]

This popped up on my youtube feed and I ended up watching it yesterday. A brilliant piece of TV, and it was nice to see Swaffham station in action, having had a wander around it on holiday a couple of years ago.

Needless to say, the line would be well used today had it not been closed.

 

[unslet]

Great little film. 2 things strike me. The neat permanent way and lineside just before closure and the lack of passengers on the trains. Different times, as they say.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

Quite poignant to watch,

Very much so. Particularly sad to see the derelict Melton Constable in the last minute or so, and although not part of the film's main focus, was a major location/part of the old M&GN in its time, complete with Locomotive and infrastructure works.

 

[Trackman]

Cracking little film, and in colour as well.

 

[Ashley Hill]

A great film of a transitional period. One guard in BR blue,another in black serge and the driver in lightweight green. Loved the early Met-Cam scenes and all that blue enamel. I noticed that one of the Swaffham totems had already gone walkabout.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

What a wonderfully evocative programme! Thanks to the OP for sharing.

I love old footage from the 1960s and 1970s of rural branch lines but all too often find YouTube searches rarely lead to the results I'm looking for. Does anyone have any suggestions as to any particular YouTube channels that show this kind of thing?