Crossing request stop. Outwell Village depot was located by the old course of the River Nene and adjoined by St Clement's church on the other side. It originally had four sidings and was equipped with coal chutes to transfer coal to barges for distribution through the Fens. The depot had a small office building built from red brick and an old van body for storage. The brick office still stands, but most of the depot site has since been built over by modern housing. The name of the cul-de-sac/access road is "The Tramway". Motorists passing through Wisbech along Elm High Road near to the fire station may notice a small stretch of grass and trees, which marks the course of the Wisbech Canal, which ran between the River Nene at Wisbech and Outwell Creek on the Middle Level Navigations. The canal succumbed to competition from the tram, though Outwell and Upwell still have some of their canals left. Accidents Despite the line's rural nature and the relatively low speed of its trams, there were frequent accidents, a number fatal, and it was noted that horses were often terrified of the tram. Numerous deaths involved people attempting to get on or off the tram while it was moving. In 1897 the coroner, at the inquest into the death of a seven-year-old boy called Harold Atkin, commented that Wisbech and Upwell boys frequently endeavoured to get on the carriages while they were in motion for the purpose of having a free ride, and that the company should consider stringent steps to stop the practice. Another boy, Leonard Francis Watson aged 15, was killed a few months later whilst boarding a tram. In fiction The Rev. W. Awdry was for about 12 years the vicar of Emneth, a village near Wisbech, and he drew much inspiration from the tramway for stories in his Railway Series children's books. In the book Toby the Tram Engine the character Toby, his coach Henrietta and later in the book Tramway Engines Mavis the Quarry Diesel are introduced, all three of whom are based on the type of stock used on the tramway. Toby subsequently appeared in many more of the books and also became one of the main characters in the spin-off television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. References Bibliography Further reading External links Wisbech and Upwell Page at the LNER Encyclopedia Tram transport in