Place Trowse Grid reference TG243071 Pre-grouping Great Eastern Railway | Area City of Norwich Original company Norfolk Railway Platforms in use 2 | |
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Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways Similar Starston railway station, Narborough and Pentney r, Swainsthorpe railway station, Whitlingham railway station, Docking railway station | ||
Trowse was a station on the Great Eastern Main Line just south of Norwich. It was opened around the same time as Norwich Thorpe, and was intended to provide a short commute from the outer suburbs of Norwich.
The Bill for the Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR) received Royal Assent on 10 May 1844. Work started on the line in 1844 and the line and its stations were opened on 30 July 1845. Trowse station opened with the line and was situated west of Hethersett station. The line temporarily terminated at Trowse. The link into Norwich was delayed due to the need to build a bridge over the River Wensum that kept the river navigable. One month before the N&BR opened a Bill authorising the amalgamation of the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway with the N&BR came into effect and so Trowse station became a Norfolk Railway asset.
On 15 December 1845 a swing bridge over the River Wensum was opened so Trowse ceased to be a terminus and the line from Brandon entered Norwich Station five months after the original line had opened. The Norfolk Railway also opened a line from Trowse towards Yarmouth so freight trains could avoid Norwich Station.
It was closed during the Second World War as a cost-cutting measure. It was re-opened for a brief spell in 1986 when Norwich was closed for electrification works and it served as the line's northern terminus. When the main station re-opened, Trowse shut again.
It is still largely in place, and could be reactivated should it ever be desired. Its close proximity to Norwich station makes this unlikely at present.