<b>Ely avoiding line, 1982</b><br>Now rarely used, back in the 1980s when a number of trains from the Midlands to Norwich were locomotive hauled, it was of great benefit to use this avoiding line, which avoided Ely station and so also avoided the need to run the locomotive round the train there, as reversal was (and still is) required.
The train is just about to join the main line from Ely to Norwich, on a bitterly cold January day. Some trains were still steam-heated in those days. The avoiding line still exists in the 2020s but has been singled. The signal-box on the left, and semaphore signals have also been removed.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/84225">Nigel Thompson</a>
CC BY-SA 2.0
From <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6753318">geograph.org.uk</a>