Turves 31st March in 2021

Railways around Peterborough & The National Rail Network & Heritage railways in the UK

GBRf class class 66783 is heading for Peterborough on the 31st March 2021, Turves is a small hamlet or village, that is between Whittlesea and March.

Freightliner class 66523 on train at one of of the four level crossings at Tuves on the 31st March 2021.

Cross Country was was still only runing a hourly service between Birmingham and Cambridge at this time. The EMT Norwich service was also every hour at least as the Uk was still in a nearly a year on with the Goverment still telling people not to travel unless it was for work. Social distancing measures at Turves is easy with miles of of fen and no one about.

There is still a signal box at Turves which is called Three Horse Shoes. The signal box also worked the Three Horse Shoes junction and sidings that were here when the freight only branch to Burnt House and Benwick was still open.

The Benwick branch was used for agricultural produce from the local farms. The branch closed in 1964 as most of the traffic was going by road.The closed branch line to Benwick started from Turves near the signal box.

The Three Horse Shoes signal box is still open (2016) and is retained as a block post. It has had all new PVC windows fitted and a new steel staircase replacing the wooden one.

Between Turves and March The surrounding fields here are flat and very large. We are in the fens and the land is often below sea level or only about foot above it. Years ago this fen land was often under water, be for the land was drained. You can see for miles.

Turves is about three miles from Whittlesea and is but a very small village (Hamlet) with just a few houses miles from anywhere. There are about five level crossings at Turves all now with automatic lifting barriers here. The March road crossings the railway line about four times in about two miles

The railway line between Peterborough and March runs from Peterborough railway station and then across the River Nene past the NVR and under the ECML, past the site of Peterborough East station.

Peterborough East was the main Great Eastern Railway Peterborough station for this line. This station was closed and all services transferred to the Great Northern Peterborough North station, now called just plain Peterborough.

The railway line heads out of Peterborough to Kings Dyke were there are brick works. There is a signal box at Kings Dyke on the main Peterborough Whittlesea road. The first and only station is at Whittlesea which is still open. There is a signal box called Whittlesea here.

The railway line heads out across the fens to March. At Turves a small hamlet or village there is a signal box called Three Horse Shoes.

The railway station at March is still open and there is a Network Rail Infrastructure Yard on the site of the old Marshalling Yard at Whitemoor.