Station Name: FEERING HALT[Source: Darren Kitson]
halt_old4.jpg) In the autumn of 1950 Class J67 No 68608 approaches Feering Halt with a mixed train for Kelvedon. The train is on a 1:50 rising gradient but will be on the level at Feering Halt. The gradient visible in the background was also 1:50 and indeed the line had several 1:50 gradients, being the result of keeping costs to a minimum during construction. Behind the train is a stretch of level track and the strip of land to its left was the site of Brooklands Siding, abandoned during the 1930s. The spur to Threshelfords Farm had run across the field seen here centre left. Photo from John Mann collection  The LNER header on the right is deceiving, this photograph being taken after Nationalisation on 16 April 1949 as a Tollesbury - Kelvedon train waits at Feering Halt. The fireman has closed the gates to road traffic and it is likely the fireman was about to board the locomotive which is totally unidentifiable. The train is formed of Brake Third E62261 and one of the ex-Wisbech bogie cars. The scene absolutely shouts lack of maintenance during wartime, a situation which lingered well into postwar years as austerity measures continued. At some point during the 1950s the level crossing gates were given a repaint and the diamond-shaped warnings replaced by the more familiar red discs. To the left a permanent way hut sits beside the line which had a number of these, usually located at or close to stations. Photo by W A Camwell 
Feering Halt looking north west towards Kelvedon.
Photo
from Michael Proctor
halt_old7.jpg)
In August 1950 a Kelvedon-bound train pauses at Feering Halt. The passenger vehicles are E62262 and E60461. The impression is gained of the photographer being known to the chap looking out of the carriage; perhaps they were travelling together and the photographer hopped off to take the photograph. There would have been plenty of time as the level crossing gates are still closed to the railway. The fireman would leave the locomotive to open the gates on what until 1967 was the A12 road, the train would draw forward over the crossing and the guard would dismount and close the gates. We are looking at what was the drivers' end of the former omnibus body and by this time the screens either side of the driving position had disappeared - they had literally fallen off.
Photo from Jim Lake collection 
Feering Halt looking north west. An LNER notice board stands adjacent to the crossing. Somebody appears to have chalked information on the rear of the board, probably the timetable.
Photo from John Mann collection  This undated view of Feering Halt will date from the final years of its life. It appears Feering's running-in board never received an enamel nameplate and the name was simply painted onto the board. By the time of this photograph the name had faded practically into oblivion and photographs known to have been taken in 1947 show it in this condition. The leaning post adjacent to the oil lamp anchors a guy wire from the level crossing gatepost. The camera being relatively close to the former omnibus body allows some extra detail to be seen. At the bottom of the chassis is what looks like a remnant of an arch. If so it would have been where the rear axle was positioned. The rear wheels on these vehicles were outside the body as opposed to being within wheel arches which in due course became the norm. At lower left the platform upon which the driver's seat was once mounted is still present. Many of these early vehicles had full width driver's seats and a couple of passengers could also be accommodated at busy times. This feature disappeared as designs evolved from normal control to semi forward and forward control.Photo from Mike Morant collection  Feering Halt looking north west towards after closure to passengers in 1951. The notice board adjacent to the crossing has been removed but everything else appears to be still in place.
Photo from John Mann collection  The remains of Feering Halt believed photographed late in 1955 and looking towards Kelvedon. All that was missing at this time was the grounded omnibus body and the running-in board mounted upon it. Even the oil lamp, or at least its casement, and the posterboard were still present. The posterboard was probably still in use, advertising excursions and 'Travel by Train' inducements to exotic destinations from of course the nearest main line stations. The displaying of such posters along lines closed to passenger traffic was not uncommon and another example could be found at Inworth.
Photo from Leiston Works Railway 
On 6 October 1960 the Tiptree goods train has just crossed what was then the A12 road at Feering Hill. The former Feering Halt was on the other side of the level crossing. Viewed from the goods brake van, we are also given a rare view of the reverse side of Kelvedon Fixed Distant signal. The train is on the curve leading to the main line connection, which it would reach just seconds after this photograph was taken. The locomotive by this time would have been a diesel shunter and possibly D2211 as seen elsewhere in a series of undated photographs. The cutting seen here has long since ceased to exist. It was infilled, the surface levelled and housing built upon it.
Photo from Leiston Works Railway  The Railway Enthusiasts Club railtour of 6 April 1957, further described elsewhere, pauses at Feering Halt on its way to Tiptree. Modern generations would be aghast at the thought of travelling in open wagons with access via ladders but decades ago nobody thought anything of it and accidents were rare. When a mishap did occur it was usually minor and dismissed simply as being 'just one of those things' and in cases where non passenger stock was used tour organisers and participants would be subject to a disclaimer. By 1957 there was little to see at Feering Halt, not that there was much to see when it was still in use, so one wonders why there was a need to dismount from the wagons when remaining in them would have provided better views. By this time even the grounded former omnibus body which had been used as a waiting shelter had disappeared. British Railways would have had no requirement for the dilapidated wooden body so its possible fate was as firewood for a local resident. If so BR would have sold it for a nominal sum of a few shillings. At this time the road over the level crossing was still the A12 and would remain so until 1967. It is today the B1024.
Photo from William Boyle collection  Another view of the Railway Enthusiasts Club open wagon railtour of 6 April 1957 at the remains of Feering Halt. On the right stands a permanent way hut, several of which were positioned along the line as was normal practice everywhere at one time. Linesmen (or Platelayers) had their own sections of track which they patrolled, making adjustments and minor repairs as necessary. The Kelvedon & Tollesbury also had a Wickham motor trolley, kept in a shed at Tiptree.
Photo by Brian Connell  With the closed Feering Halt behind the camera, this is the view along the weedy track towards Tiptree from the diesel-hauled goods train towards the end of the line's life. The level crossing just ahead took a footpath over the line. The path meets the Inworth Road (B1023) at what is now Threshelfords Business Park, the former and once rail served Threshelfords Farm. The one-time Brooklands Siding, from which a spur led across the fields to the farm, was in the mid distance to the left. It was here during the Second World War that a train was attacked by a Luftwaffe aircraft, or rather the aircraft attempted an attack. There was no damage, injuries or fatalities and the train continued to trundle on its way.
Photo by Mick Smith 
Looking south east from the site of Feering Hill level crossing at the site of Feering Halt in July 2024. No 88 Feering Hill and part of 86 stand on the site of the halt.
Photo by Nick Catford halt.jpg)
Wisdom Art Prints is a Tiptree based studio, illustrating and producing the highest quality greeting cards and art prints. Artist Robert Wisdom has been illustrating professionally for over 45 years. Robert has a particular interest in his local railway, the Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Railway, and has illustrated all the stations
Print by Robert Wisdom
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