When 'The Reshaping of British Railways' was published by British Railways in March 1963, it listed within its pages hundreds of stations nationwide that were considered uneconomic to operate.

The stations of the Stour Valley line (Chappel & Wakes Colne, Bures, Sudbury, Long Melford, Glemsford, Cavendish, Clare, Stoke, Sturmer, Haverhill, Linton, Bartlow and Pampisford) were all listed and recommended for closure.

This site aims to show what effect the proposals of the report had on the line and the communities of the towns and villages it served.


 

 

The story is told using archive news items from the following local newpapers:

East Anglian Daily Times
Haverhill Echo
Suffolk Free Press

The main pages are illustrated with photographs by Mary Woodgate

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If you have any information or photographs from this era that you would like to see included on this site, please e-mail: david.underwood@btinternet.com

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I am grateful to the following:

 The East Anglian Daily Times, Haverhill Echo, Suffolk Free Press and National Archive for allowing me to reproduce their archive material

Mary Cowle, Jonathan White, Mary Woodgate and Cambridge Newspapers for giving me permission to use their photographs

The late Andy Rush for allowing me to select and use photographs from the collection of the late George Pring, which forms part of the 'Railway Record of the British Isles'

Peter Walker, Great Eastern Railway Society Webmaster, for his help and guidance

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David Underwood, Colchester, Essex