NHER 52496 (Monument record) - World War Two railblock on the Norfolk Railway

November 2009. Norfolk NMP.
A World War Two railblock is evident as a group of structures visible on aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), centred at TG 2185 0525. It was positioned along the Norfolk Railway (NHER 13571; also known as the Norwich and Brandon Railway, NMR TG 20 NW LINEAR 1085), in a strategic location to the west of a rail bridge crossing the River Yare. It was one of several railblocks located along this railway line, and there appears to have been a particular concentration in this area to the south of Norwich, where the numerous rail bridges crossing the rivers and low-lying ground were presumably of strategic significance; others nearby include NHER 52497 620m to the west and NHER 53255 1.25km further along the line to the east. Many of the other railway lines leading to and from Norwich were equipped with similar defences (for example NHER 52494 on the Ipswich to Norwich or Norwich to Diss Railway, NHER 13578, 940m to the east).
The railblock appears to have consisted of multiple lines of sockets spanning the railway line into which anti-tank rails or similar obstacles could be inserted (only the sockets are visible and have been mapped as ‘Extent of Area’). These are flanked by two large concrete blocks at their eastern end. The latter are still visible on aerial photographs taken in 1961 (S3), but it is not known whether any element survives today.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 30 November 2009.