About Bluntisham Station
(Information taken from the fantasticly detailed Disused Stations website)
Facilities
Although named after the nearest village, this station served the villages of Bluntisham and nearby Colne. It had a single platform on the down side of the line (towards Ely) and station buildings included the stationmaster's house, booking office and waiting room. A goods loop was provided to the east of the station with a goods shed alongside the loop. Although a passenger train could pass a goods train at the loop it couldn't pass another passenger train because the goods shed left insufficient clearance. There was a signal box opposite the goods loop on the up side of the line. A single siding from the loop served a cattle dock, pens and a coal yard.
History
- 1878 – The extension of the Ely Haddenham & Sutton Railway from Sutton to St. Ives opened on 10th May.
- 1878 with intermediate stations at Bluntisham and Earith Bridge with an increase to five passengers trains per day.
- 1919-1922 - Following the First World War there was a rapid decline in passenger numbers which had always been of a secondary to freight traffic. The stations were all remotely sited from the villages they were supposed to serve and in most cases involved a long walk from the village to the station.
- 1922 – In an attempt to counteract the loss of passenger receipts, all the booking offices along the line were closed except Haddenham and tickets were issued on the trains. Although this reduced operating costs it failed to increase passenger traffic at branch stations.
- 1928 – Freight traffic remained healthy and indications were that this would increase. By now there were only three trains a day and it was therefore proposed to withdraw the passenger service.
- 1931 – On 2nd February, the station was closed to daily use by passengers, with an arrangement being made with a local bus company to provide an alternative service. The closure of the line received little mention in the local press and as so few people used the trains little inconvenience was experienced once it had closed. However, the line was later used by fruit pickers and there were two annual passenger excursions, one to Hunstanton and the other to Great Yarmouth.
- 1920s - 1930s - The branch was at its busiest between June and November. During this period train loads of fruit pickers were conveyed by special trains to the branch stations where they were picked up by the local farmers to help with fruit picking and the harvest.
- 1945-1950s - Fruit, parcels and milk traffic quickly transferred to road and gradually other items were lost from the railway to road transport which could offer a door-to-door service and by the 1960’s the majority of produce was carried by road.
- 1947 – During the 'Great Flood', Bluntisham Station was used by the army's Gloucester Regiment to transport men and materials to a breech in the bank of the River Great Ouse that was alongside the line. The breech was eventually filled with old army vehicles. During this period the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester visited the station.
- 1958 – The last of the passenger excursions to Hunstanton and Great Yarmouth ran.
- 1964 - The west end of the line between St. Ives and Bluntisham had remained open to serve the mill at Bluntisham, but this too lost its freight service from 5th October 1964. The remaining track was lifted within a year of closure and much of the trackbed reverted to farmland or because of its raised position above the surrounding fenland, as access roads.
Now
The Station building is now a private home, so please show respect by not trespassing on private property – the cache is on a public footpath not on private property! This building can be seen from the public main road next to the cache site. There is a better view of the station from the old Railway bridge a little further along the road towards St Ives (see waypoints). However due to the lack of path and very fast speed of traffic here on a blind corner, you do this at your own risk and should certainly not be attempted with children.
The site of the former goods yard is where the current shop, petrol station and other buildings are.
The Cache
The cache is a micro cache on a public footpath covered in camouflage tape in a location that is safe for children to access. This is NOT a cache and dash, please do not pull in or park at GZ, which will block a private driveway and be more likely to alert muggles to the presence of the cache. See waypoints for a much better parking spot.