Happisburgh
Happisburgh (pronounced Haysboro) in reality is a small resort on the north east Norfolk coast. Behind the lighthouse on the high ground to the south of the little town spread acres of rich agricultural land and in the growing season Happisburgh sits surrounded by a sea of sugar beet.
In 1896 the Great Eastern Railways’ directors met to discuss proposals to extend the line from North Walsham, first to Happisburgh, then south east along the coast towards Great Yarmouth. Unfortunately the GER decided that the proposal for the line to Happisburgh would not pay and so the town was never served by a real railway.
However, Happisburgh is the setting of the MRC’s 7mm scale exhibition layout. For the purposes of the model, we have assumed that the proposed route eventually left the Norwich to Yarmouth line at Acle and ran up the coast through Horsey and Sea Palling to terminate at Happisburgh. With construction completed, we then imagine that another branch was built, curving northward to join the Cromer to Mundesley line at Paston. Thus the emphasis is on GER’s services to Great Yarmouth and Norwich rather than the M&GN’s to Mundesley and Cromer.