Ipswich 1st railway station (site), Suffolk

Image: © Nigel Thompson Taken: 28 Jul 2021

Opened in 1846 by the Eastern Union Railway, later part of the Great Eastern Railway, as the terminus of the line from Colchester, this station closed to passengers in 1860 when the current Ipswich station opened. It was informally known as "Croft Street" or "Stoke Hill" station. For many years after, this was the site of an engine shed and wagon repair shop. The area has now been completely redeveloped for housing. View south on Bruff Road from approximately the site of the buffers. Old maps show there was a small station building immediately to the right, set back off Croft Street. A terminus just off the main line would have been highly inconvenient operationally as trains had to reverse in and out of this station until the current through station was built. No trace remains, except in the road name. Peter Bruff was the resident engineer of the EUR at the time of opening.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0