Disused Stations: Tollesbury

Tollesbury Station Gallery 3: c.Late 1940s - c.1950

A rather work stained Class J69 LNER No. 8636 departs Tollesbury. Colour photographs of the line when passenger trains still operated are rare but unfortunately it is not known if this is a genuine colour or a subsequently colourised black and white photograph. Station Road level crossing can be glimpsed behind the train and the building in the left background is part of Great Downs Farm.
Photo by John Potter

In 1949 Class J69 No. 8636 sits on the siding opposite Tollesbury station complete with train. The passenger stock is ex-Stoke Ferry No. 62262 and ex-Wisbech & Upwell No. 60461. On this occasion the familiar Gresley Full Brake has been replaced by a different vehicle. The train is either dropping off or collecting wagons, following which the train will procede over the level crossing for further shunting and running round. The locomotive retained LNER livery and number until November 1950 when she became British Railways No. 68636. She would survive in service until January 1959.
Photo from Terry Dunn

Six wheel Brake Third LNER No. 62261 at Tollesbury on 26 June 1948. Dating from 1896, it was originally GER No. 337 and then became Stoke Ferry branch No. 11. Note there was only one passenger door on each side. The Stoke Ferry branch was conductor/guard-operated, therefore this vehicle came to Kelvedon requiring no internal modification. However, the Stoke Ferry branch had standard height platforms so vehicles transferred to Kelvedon required modification. This was done by altering the suspension and fitting smaller diameter wheel sets, this being reasonably obvious in this photograph. The buffer beams had as a result to be raised slightly but the underframes remained a little higher from the rail compared to the ex-Wisbech stock and this is evident here. The only other modification was the fitting of steps more suitable for the low platforms. Soon after this photograph was taken this vehicle would become British Railways No. E62261. With its sister E62262, which was not identical, it would see use on the final passenger train in 1951. It was not withdrawn until October 1951 but is unlikely to have seen any use in the interim. There was a second identical vehicle, No. 62908, which ended its days on the Thaxted branch until that line was rocketed into modernity by the provision of ex-main line bogie corridor stock.
Photo by H C Casserley

In early British Railways days Class J67 No. 68607 has arrived at Tollesbury. She will shortly proceed over the level crossing onto the Pier extension to run round her train. Coupled to the locomotive is ex- Wisbech & Upwell bogie car No. 60462, still with LNER style numerals. The path at bottom right was the station entrance.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

Class J67 No. 68607 awaits departure from Tollesbury. She was renumbered from 8607 in December 1948 but still carries the interim 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' on her tanks. The photograph possibly dates from the late 1949 - early 1950 period when the locomotive was allocated to Colchester.
Photo by Dr I C Allen

Class J67 No. 68608 waits at Tollesbury with a mixed train. She carries the early 'Cycling Lion' device which was the British Railways variant of the then standard British Transport Commission device. Only one point of passenger access is at the platform, this being necessary with mixed trains to avoid the rear fouling the level crossing. Both grounded carriage bodies are visible, with that on the left having a small hut placed against its end. It has a flue and therefore contained a stove but why this was thought necessary and with the hut apparently an appendage to the carriage body is not known.
Photo from Gerry Mason

In 1950 a quite lengthy mixed train waits at Tollesbury before departing for Kelvedon. There are six open wagons of which one is particularly well loaded, the Gresley Full Brake and at least one passenger vehicle. The goods brake van, an LNER 20 ton example, has its number in a somewhat non standard position just below the cantrail. Despite the LNER headers on the two posterboards, the Great Eastern Railway title on the Trespassers warning sign has been painted over. The LNER generally did not bother, at least not on the former GER lines, but British Railways had a fad for doing it and there was seemingly no valid reason, legal for example, for doing so. Many former Southern Railway signs simply had the word 'Railway' painted over, leaving a lop-sided appearance which looked quite odd.
Photo from John Mann collection

A Class J67 believed to be No. 68616 whiles away the time at Tollesbury with what is ostensibly a mixed train in August 1950. By this date there were two Down and three Up trains, all running as Class B mixed. The 'missing' Down train was a Class K goods, departing Kelvedon at 6.40am and with empty coaching stock attached for the first Up train of the day, 8.30am from Tollesbury. Unfortunately which train is shown in this photograph is not known. If it was the 10.10am ex- Kelvedon it sat at Tollesbury for no less than two hours before departing at 12.50pm. In the Down direction this train did not call at the wayside sidings (Heath, Church etc) but did call if required in the Up direction. If this is the train seen here it may explain why no goods wagons are present other than the brake van.
Photo from Gerry Mason

On 19 September 1950 LNER liveried Class J68 No. 8638 waits at Tollesbury with a mixed train. The two passenger vehicles are E62261 and E60462. Class J68 was a later Alfred Hill variant of James Holden's Classes J67 and J69. Both of the latter began life as GER Class R24 whereas J68 began life as GER Class C72. The only sign of life in this scene is a member of the footplate crew conversing with the conductor-guard.
Photo from Jim Lake Collection

Class J67 No. 68616 waits at Tollesbury with a mixed train for Kelvedon. The period will be the latter half of 1950 when this locomotive was allocated to Colchester shed and was a regular performer on the line. The mixed formation is typical; one ex-Stoke Ferry and one ex-Wisbech carriage, the Full Brake and some goods vehicles at the rear. Despite the passenger cars being fitted with additional steps, boarding and alighting was still very much a case of "mind the gap". People rarely made a fuss over this sort of thing in those days; in the postwar period there was an attitude which went something like "Hitler was unable to finish me off so I'm damn sure [this or that] won't". It was both commendable and unsurprising. By the time of this photograph, Tollesbury station was looking decidedly neglected and the grounded body on the left shows signs of being repeatedly patched up. Of interest is that in an earlier life it was one of those carriages with a half compartment at one end, on the right in this case. Such carriages were quite common and the half compartment had just one seat across the width of the compartment instead of the more usual two facing each other. Passengers sat in these narrow compartments staring at a solid wall although there may have been a mirror and/or a couple of watercolours to stare at.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

No. 68616 is again seen in 1950 and perhaps on the same occasion as the previous view. Probably photographed from the end of the station platform she appears to have just finished shunting goods wagons. The Gresley Full Brake is sitting on the running line, no doubt hiding the passenger cars from the camera. For the return to Kelvedon, goods wagons will need to be at the rear of the train so the next step will be to collect the vehicles on the running line and proceed over the level crossing where reforming and running round the train will take place.
Photo from John Mann collection

Class J67 British Railways No. 68608 awaits departure from Tollesbury with a passenger train. The photograph is likely to have been taken in September 1950, when this locomotive is known to have been on the line in the unkempt condition seen here including the marks around the bottom of the smokebox. She was also a Colchester locomotive at this time. By this date all trains apart from the early morning goods were booked as mixed workings, therefore the absence of a Brake Van at the rear of the train is of note. Either there was no goods traffic on this day, which is unlikely, or the van had been left elsewhere such as at Tiptree. It is thought this was occasionally done when there was no goods traffic at locations beyond Tiptree or D'Arcy as it greatly simplified the running round at Tollesbury. No. 68606 was another ex GER locomotive to end her days at Staveley ex Great Central shed, being withdrawn from there in October 1958.
Photo from John Mann collection

Brake Third British Railways No. E62262 seen here at Tollesbury. This vehicle began life in 1896 as a First/Third Composite and became No. 10 on the Stoke Ferry branch. When transferred to the Kelvedon & Tollesbury it was converted to a Brake Third and modified to suit, to a point, the low platforms of the light railway. At some point in time it was renumbered to 63355 and then to 62262. It is thought to have arrived at Tollesbury still numbered 63355, gaining its final number soon afterwards. By design or coincidence, with the exception of the ex-Wisbech 4-wheelers which had their own 604xx number sequence the stock which survived on the line until 1951 were all numbered in the 6xx61 and 6xx62 sequences. The conversion to 24-seat Brake Third saw the van section occupying what had been the First Class area, the giveaway being the larger window to the right of the van doors. There were originally two of these windows, with a single door and narrower window where the ducket was fitted. This vehicle also underwent the same modifications as with No. 62261 to lower its height. The steps and curved handrail on the end of the vehicle were to access the roof and lighting. This vehicle was withdrawn in October 1951.
Photo from John Mann collection

Click here for Tollesbury Station Gallery 4
c.1950 - 5 May 1951

[Source: Darren Kitson]

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Station Name: TOLLESBURY