How are the Mighty Fallen - Cromer Beach

This is a detail of the eastern end of Cromer Beach Station, showing the reversed M&GN spandrel of the entrance porch.

The Great Eastern (GER) had gained access to the growing resort of Cromer at High Station over the East Norfolk Railway in 1877. The GER ran the Norfolk Coast Express non-stop to North Walsham, but the station was at the top of the escarpment above the town, with a long horse-drawn journey to the beach.

In 1887 the rival Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway reach Cromer over a single track mainline from the Midlands allowing access to Cromer from Leicester, Birmingham and the North-West. They provocatively called their station Cromer Beach, as they also did at Yarmouth Beach.

The station was large and built in half timbered style to match the late Victorian Tudor style of much of the expanding resort. It had a train shed over the main platform, a large goods yard and extensive sidings for carriages from the excursions from the Midlands and its own engine shed and turntable.

The station is much reduced to a two platform terminus on the Bittern Line, with the train shed demolished, the goods yard a supermarket and the imposing station an American style diner!