Record Details
| NHER Number: | 51968 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Site of World War Two rail block |
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Summary
A World War Two rail block is visible as a group of what are probably concrete sockets, set between the lines and sleepers of a railway on 1940s aerial photographs. In the event of an invasion vertical and bent rails would have been placed into the sockets in order to impede enemy vehicles such as tanks. It was sited at a strategic point on the East Norfolk Railway Cromer line (NHER 13586), where the defensive anti-tank ditch (NHER 51893) crossed the railway, 500m to the north of another such railblock on the Norwich to Yarmouth line (NHER 51969). It was reinforced by two anti-tank cubes either side of the railway line. Railblocks of a similar design have been noted elsewhere at Great Yarmouth (e.g. NHER 27412).
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 2769 0893 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG20NE |
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| Parish: | THORPE ST ANDREW, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
A World War Two rail block is visible as a group of concrete sockets on aerial photographs (S1) - (S3), centred at TG 2770 0893. It was positioned on the Norwich to Cromer line (NHER13586), at the point where Norwich’s defensive anti tank ditch crossed the railway. The lines of sockets would have held anti tank obstacles in the form of bent and vertical rails or 'pins', in order to impede enemy vehicles such as tanks (S4). It was reinforced by two anti-tank cubes either side of the railway line. Railblocks of a similar design have been noted elsewhere at Great Yarmouth (e.g. NHER 27412).
E. Bales (NMP), 10 March 2009.
Monument Types
- ANTI TANK HAIRPIN? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- ANTI TANK OBSTACLE (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- ANTI TANK VERTICAL RAIL? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- RAILBLOCK (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- TANK TRAP (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| <S1> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1945. RAF 106G/UK/789 6242-3 10-SEP-1945 (NMR). |
| <S2> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1606 2054-5 27-JUN-1946 (NMR). |
| <S3> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1947. RAF CPE/UK/2063 6195-6 14-MAY-1947 (NMR). |
| <S4> | Serial: Dobinson, C.S.. 1996. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England. Volume II. Anti-Invasion Defences of WWII.. Vol 2. |
Related records
| 13586 | Part of: East Norfolk Railway (later Great Eastern), Cromer line (Monument) |
| 51893 | Related to: Site of World War Two defensive anti tank ditch around city of Norwich (Monument) |