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Wolferton was a railway station on the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line which opened in 1862 to serve the village of Wolferton in Norfolk, England. The station was also well known as the nearest station to Sandringham House, and royal trains brought the royal family to and from their estate until its closure in 1969. After spending some time as a museum, the station is now preserved in private hands. The signal box and part of the station are listed buildings, Grade II *.〔 (And three other database entries: 1077592, 1168875 and 1342433)〕 == History == In February 1862, a large estate at Sandringham was purchased in Sandringham as a private residence for the young Prince of Wales. The eventual residence, Sandringham House, was only 2¼ miles from the site of the Lynn & Hunstanton Railway's projected Wolferton railway station, and the directors much welcomed this unexpected development. The royal patronage of the station prompted its reconstruction in 1898 when extensive Tudor-style platform buildings were constructed at a cost of £8,132, including the royal waiting rooms on the Down platform which were fitted out with oak-panelling, couches and easy-chairs. The Up platform's buildings are similarly impressive, even including a small clocktower. Both platforms are equipped with standard Great Eastern platform canopies, and the ornate platform lamps are topped with miniature crowns.〔Jenkins, S.C., op. cit. p. 90.〕 A 40-lever brick and sandstone signal box was situated to the south of the platforms, controlling the northern extremity of the doubled section between Wolferton and King's Lynn, while the single-line section north was controlled by electric train tablet.〔Jenkins, S.C., op. cit. p. 90.〕 The goods yard was on the Down side and was served by three sidings; four more sidings were to be found on the Up side. The station's facilities also included a spacious carriage dock, an ornate goods and coal storage building and a small gas works which provided sufficient gas to light the entire station.〔Jenkins, S.C., op. cit. p. 90.〕 Traffic mainly consisted of produce from the royal estate which included farms producing corn, vegetables and flax. Coal for Sandringham House and the outlying villages was also a regular source of traffic. Royal traffic to one side, Wolferton served a relatively rural area (population 234 in 1901) and was never a busy station except during Sandringham House parties. Prior to announcing the closure of the line in 1969, British Rail had enquired as to whether the Queen would be interested in purchasing the royal waiting rooms, which may have become expensive to maintain. She declined, but agreed that King's Lynn would be Sandringham House's nearest railhead, thereby opening the way to the line's closure.〔Jenkins, S.C., op. cit. p. 116.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wolferton railway station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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