Disused Stations: Tollesbury

Tollesbury Station Gallery 4: c.1950 - 5 May 1951

Another view of No. 62261 at Tollesbury but this time facing its inner end. By now it had received an 'E' prefix to its number (for British Railways Eastern Region) but still in LNER style. The end door to allow the conductor-guard to pass between vehicles can be seen as can the difference in buffer height compared to the ex-Wisbech car on the left. The buffers of the latter were pitched at standard height, the difference in heights showing the adaption of the ex-Stoke Ferry cars for the Kelvedon & Tollesbury was very much a compromise. Such details may be a cure for insomnia for some people but are of interest to modellers. Note the sagging roof; by 1951 all passenger cars on the line displayed some form of age defect either sagging roofs or bowed bodies. The wheelbase was 20ft (10ft + 10ft) and in this view the outer axles are conveniently positioned on rail joints, thereby showing one of the 20ft lengths of rail common on this line. Odd rail lengths were common anywhere, especially near pointwork, but the Kelvedon & Tollesbury seemingly abounded in odd lengths including on the running line (in this view E62261 is sitting on the siding). No. E62261 was withdrawn in October 1951.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

Sometime after July 1950 Class J67 No. 68616 awaits departure from Tollesbury. The low platform nuisance is well exemplified here and especially in relation to the steps fitted to the leading ex-Stoke Ferry vehicle. This was of course well before the days of accessibility regulations and people simply 'got on with it' as best they could. People seldom made a fuss and staff were always willing to assist if necessary. The man posing beside the locomotive was probably an enthusiast, with the photographer no doubt being his accomplice.
Photo from John Mann collection

An apparently deserted Tollesbury station looking south-east during the line's twilight years. Today the site of the station is obvious from the air but less so on the ground. The houses on the right, 58/60 Station Road, serve as a guide for those on foot while the houses to the right of the water tower are Washington Terrace, Waterworks Road. Towards the left and over the level crossing the bufferstop on the headshunt of the second double-ended siding is visible. The urinal, directly ahead of the camera, was, although screened off, open to the elements as were all of them along this line and indeed at many other rural stations. The open door of the carriage body conveniently shows its internal handle. The casing of the mechanism on vehicles of its era had the carriage number stamped onto it and many years later when grounded bodies were rescued for preservation surviving door mechanisms, which were usually of brass, were a way of identifying the bodies. Unfortunately however, the identities of none of the grounded bodies on the Kelvedon & Tollesbury are known, they having rotted way or were burned long before the preservation movement gained momentum. The body seen here shows signs of being from the same batch as that which became Brake Third No. 62262 before it was converted for conductor-guard operation.

Copyright photo from John Alsop collection

Sometime in British Railways days Brake Third No. E62261 sits in the platform with what appears to be the Full Brake. In the siding sits one of the ex-Wisbech & Upwell bogie cars so what is happening is unclear as there would no need to uncouple the two passenger cars for running round or when shunting wagons. One might conclude that the ex-Wisbech car had become defective and left on the siding. This would explain why the Full Brake is coupled ahead of the Brake Third. On the right the dock is oozing disuse as nature takes over. None of the posters are readable although that on the left is clearly promoting travel by rail to some far flung and supposedly exotic destination. The colour artwork of these posters was quite something. One does have to wonder, however, the worth of displaying these posters at underused rural locations where they would not exactly be seen by crowds of people.
Photo from John Mann collection

This photograph is rather mysterious for a number of reasons. It shows, sometime in British Railways days, an unidentified Class J15 with a mixed train. The location is the double-ended siding beyond Tollesbury station, the train having shunted and run round in readiness for the return to Kelvedon. There were restrictions on Class J15 over this line, in particular when running tender first which this example would have done in the Down direction. In addition, passengers were not permitted to travel on trains over this section while shunting and running round were in progress although this rule was ignored for the final passengers in 1951. Note the track components lying alongside the siding. Given these mysteries one has to wonder if this photograph actually dates from after closure and the train was running for engineering purposes or for scrap merchants as part of the tendering process (this latter was a common occurrence) although this would not explain the presence of the van. In the background the line curves towards Tollesbury Pier and descends on yet another 1:50 gradient. The Pier extension was of course abandoned by this time apart from a section used for wagon storage, although when this ceased is not known. Had the early proposal to extend the line instead to West Mersea the line in the background would have curved to the left instead of to the right. The buildings to the left are Great Downs Farm, yet another farm owned by Wilkin & Sons. The site is today, 2024, occupied by an importer of tropical fish for aquariums.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

For closure on 7 May 1951 the staff at Tollesbury provided a mock coffin complete with funereal floral 'tributes'. This somewhat melodramatic practice was not uncommon although it was rare for staff to be directly involved. This particular coffin appears to have been cobbled together from cardboard boxes, perhaps appropriately given the 'run on a shoestring' nature of the Kelvedon & Tollesbury. The closure notice is chalked onto a board fixed to the station building. It begins "The Railway Executive hereby give notice" followed by details of the closure date. Apparently British Railways didn't even bother to provide Tollesbury with a proper printed notice although there may well have been such pasted elsewhere, beside the station entrance perhaps. Certainly, printed closure notices are known to have been issued. The advertisement on the wall was for Mazawattee Tea. These advertisements along with many others were once very common on railway stations and on the walls of shops, often in enamel form. Once the world's largest tea producer, Mazawattee is still available today albeit only in name as the original company has long since ceased to exist. The original company did however outlive Tollesbury station - by two years.
Photo from unknown local newspaper

On the final day, Saturday 5 May 1951, the last Down train has arrived at Tollesbury. Locomotive No. 68575 had carried chalked messages for much of the day but for the final journey she was adorned with wreaths and other funereal floral tributes. Left of centre, one gentleman appears to be wiping away some tears. Perhaps he was a member of a 1951 version of the "So sad, such a shame" brigade which bedevils railway themed social media groups in the 21st century. This train, the 5.45pm ex-Kelvedon and 6.37pm ex-Tollesbury was booked as a mixed train but on this occasion it ran as passenger only. Either any wagons on the Tudwick Road - Tollesbury section had already been cleared or a locomotive was sent down the line on the Sunday or Monday for the purpose.
Photo from Essex Countryside magazine

Saturday 5 May 1951 and the final train, the 5.45pm ex Kelvedon, has arrived at Tollesbury and proceeded over the level crossing for the locomotive to run round. The train was booked to depart Tollesbury at 6.37pm, reaching Kelvedon at 7.22pm and it reputedly ran more or less to time. The train was booked as a mixed working in both directions but on this day ran as passenger-only, therefore the journey must have been very leisurely. The fact the train continued over the level crossing to run round implies wagons were present on the station siding, in which case they would be collected subsequently. Another possibility is wagons being collected earlier in the day and the train proceeded over the level crossing purely for the benefit of enthusiasts. As is well known, passengers were allowed to remain on the train over the level crossing despite this being not normally permitted. The swarm of personages on and around the station would have been a mix of passengers and local people turning out to witness the end of their station. Many of the latter likely hadn't used the train for years, if they ever had. The stack of baskets alongside the urinal was probably awaiting collection by their owners. Other items such as barrows and fire buckets would be removed subsequently, either by a train sent down the line for the purpose or by road.
Photo by JJ Smith

On the final day, Saturday 5 May 1951 No. 68578 was in the process of running round her train which sat on the other side of the level crossing. She has drawn into the platform because the points for the double-ended siding were very close to the level crossing. Nevertheless she has moved a little further than she needed to have done and perhaps at the request of the photographer who was standing on the level crossing. The chalkings on the smokebox door read "RIP Born 1904 Died 1951" and the same message was also chalked onto at least one of the tank sides. All very juvenile and not strictly correct as the Kelvedon & Tollesbury did not die completely in 1951.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

On the pier side of the level crossing No. 68578 has run round her train and appears to be about to couple up. The chalking on the side of tank announced "1904 - 1951 RIP". That on the rear of the bunker has a hint of Othello thrown in. These funereal comments and decorations were common on occasions of final passenger trains but "There be many a poor soul have to walk" was a long way from the truth in the case of the Kelvedon & Tollesbury as hardly any souls, poor or otherwise, used the trains and the local omnibus operators provided far more frequent and convenient services and indeed this was true with the vast majority of railway closures.
Photo from Kidderminster Railway Museum

No. 68578, having run round, draws her train over Station Road level crossing and into Tollesbury station. The motor car on the left is suspected of being a Jowett Javelin and this is one of two photographs of which it can be seen.
Photo from John Mann collection

The final train has now run round and is drawing into Tollesbury station, apparently still negotiating the level crossing. At bottom right, the shadows suggest somebody is making use of the urinal.
Photo by JJ Smith

The final train awaits departure from Tollesbury with passengers and onlookers in every conceivable position below the roof line. Presumably the man on the step of the first carriage did not travel to Kelvedon in that position, India style! One has to wonder just how many photographs were taken and how many survive today, many perhaps lying forgotten at the back of a drawer. These photographs give an insight into the fashions of the time with raincoats, for example, being a 'must wear' for men above a certain age while the days of the compulsory wearing of hats when outdoors, regardless of gender and age, had come to an end except on Sundays. At least two people were avoiding the crowd by observing from the left and was the dog the same one seen in one of the 1947 photographs, one wonders.
Photo by JJ Smith

Click here for Tollesbury Station Gallery 5
c.Mid 1950s - July 2024

[Source: Darren Kitson]

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Station Name: TOLLESBURY