Colne Valley and Halstead Railway

Railway line in England

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Colne Valley and Halstead Railway

Legend

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Stour Valley Railway

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Haverhill South |  |

|  | Haverhill
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Birdbrook |  |

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| Stour Valley Railway

to Sudbury

Whitley |  |

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Yeldham |  |

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Hedingham |  |

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| Colne Valley Railway

(heritage railway)

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Sible and Castle Hedingham |  |

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Halstead |  |

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Earls Colne |  |

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White Colne |  |

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| Gainsborough line

to Sudbury

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| East Anglian

Railway Museum

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Gainsborough line

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

## History

[edit]

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 a branch to Halstead and a line 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 the line to Hythe being built.[1]

In 1856, the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway Company was formed by local people to build a branch 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) and Halstead, a distance of 6 miles (10 km).[2]

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)[2]

Physical connection with the Stour Valley Railway at Haverhill was provided in 1865, and although close relations were maintained with the Great Eastern Railway, the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway remained completely independent until it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in the 1923 regrouping.[2] The CVHR station, renamed Haverhill South, was closed to passengers in 1924 but remained open for goods until 1965.

## Heritage railway preservation

[edit]

Main article: Colne Valley Railway

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

A mile of track was reconstructed in 1973-75 as the Colne Valley Railway, including Castle Hedingham station. In 2012, the site of the former Yeldham station was cleared for a pathway[clarification needed], the most likely site for any future extension.

## Nature reserve

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A stretch of the former track north and east of Earls Colne is now the Colne Valley Local Nature Reserve.

## References

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1. ^ "The Colne Valley & Halstead Railway Co. Ltd". Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
2. ^ a b c Railway Magazine December 1958 p. 890

## External links

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

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Constituent railway companies of the London and North Eastern Railway

Constituent companies|

* Great Central Railway
* Great Eastern Railway
* Great Northern Railway
* Great North of Scotland Railway
* Hull and Barnsley Railway
* North British Railway
* North Eastern Railway

Subsidiary companies|

* Brackenhill Light Railway
* Colne Valley and Halstead Railway
* East and West Yorkshire Union Railway
* East Lincolnshire Railway
* Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway
* Forcett Railway
* Forth and Clyde Junction Railway
* Gifford and Garvald Light Railway
* Great North of England, Clarence and Hartlepool Junction Railway
* Horncastle Railway
* Humber Commercial Railway and Dock
* Kilsyth and Bonnybridge railway
* Lauder Light Railway
* London and Blackwall Railway
* Mansfield Railway
* Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
* Newburgh and North Fife Railway
* North Lindsey Light Railway
* Nottingham and Grantham Railway and Canal
* Nottingham Joint Station Committee
* Nottingham Suburban Railway
* Seaforth and Sefton Junction Railway
* Sheffield District Railway
* South Yorkshire Junction Railway
* Stamford and Essendine Railway
* West Riding and Grimsby Railway

(Full list of constituents)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

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