Visiting some remnants of the Lynn & Wisbech railway at Magdalen, part 2

Previously, I had visited the remnants of bridge MMR/2333 in Magdalen to document them, as their demolition seemed to be imminent. On my day off today, I revisited them.

Site of MMR/2333, East side. Nothing remains.

Site of MMR/2333, West side. Only the increased elevation at the top of the soil that has replaced it hints at the presence of a railway

They are gone. It's good to document these things while you can.

The other bridge abutment mentioned in that post has gained some railings. Perhaps the intent was to make a nice viewing platform. Or perhaps they were put in place by one of those government departments whose purpose is to prevent people falling off things. It is still a lovely place to observe the Ouse.

Viewing platform, made of a former bridge abutment, on the River Great Ouse.

About 300 metres to the East of where we started as the crow flies (and about a mile and a half as the person walks) is my favourite bridge.

The Magdalen railway bridge, intact and spanning the Great Ouse relief channel.

I have been here more times than I could reasonably count. Every time I revisit it, I still love admiring all of its little details. Such as the remnants of track ballast:

Bridge deck of the Magdalen railway bridge, showing some fine remnants of track ballast.

Or, at the eastern end of the bridge, the small patch where this has been eroded and has exposed some brickwork:

Bridge deck of the Magdalen railway bridge, showing brickwork where the ballast has been eroded.

Or the expansion gaps like this one and the countless hot rivets:

And the railings on the bridge (the silver square fencing is a latter addition, which is again probably the work of some government department that dislikes things falling off other things):

Expansion gap on the bridge deck of the Magdalen railway bridge

And, at the foot of an embankment nearby, what seem to be original railway fence posts:

A line of old railway fence posts, sitting at the bottom of a former, somewhat-eroded embankment

An old railway fence post, with the Magdalen railway bridge just about visible in the background.

This never gets old!

I am unsure about the history of this bridge. Its deck seems quite Victorian in style. Yet, the Great Ouse Relief Channel it spans was only completed in 1964. I speculate, but do not at all know (and would like to know), that the deck may have been transplanted from some other railway that was closed. This bridge only had a very few years in railway service before the line to Wisbech was closed.

Just a few yards to the East of this bridge, is what I call the Secret Bridge. I disknow that it is actually much of a secret, and it certainly is not now. But, the much larger bridge is well-photographed and this much smaller one, which is well-hidden by undergrowth and has a span a little wider than a modern car, is not.

The "Secret" bridge, with much undergrowth surrounding it, somewhat obscuring it to the casual passer-by

That's not a great angle. but while the other end of this little bridge is accessible by foot, it's difficult to get a good photograph in full sunlight, while the sun is shining into your camera:

The "Secret" bridge; alas, I was shooting into the sun, so it was hard to get a good exposure.

Underneath:

And that, on a warm and sunny April day, was a nice walk. I was pleased I had the foresight in the past to photograph something that is now gone, and I am always pleased to visit my favourite bridge.

Another railway fence post, among some golden grassy undergrowth, with the Secret Bridge defocused in the background.

Published on 2021-04-19 and filed under