Contractors refurbishing March railway station in Cambridgeshire have discovered a Victorian ticket ledger dating from when the station first opened more than 130 years ago.
The ledger, dated April 1885, contains handwritten entries of all the passenger luggage and parcels sent from the station. Workers from rail refurbishment contractor Total Property Support Services (TPSS) found the ledger when it fell from a disused loft space while they were removing rotten woodwork.
Contractor George Thorne said: “I was up a scaffolding tower taking the ceiling down and the ledger came through the lath and plaster ceiling.”
The workers also found another ledger, a series of British Rail Red Star consignment notes, and a record card, dating from 1989; three small log books from the 1800s; a Victorian Great Eastern Railway sack; and documents more than 100 years old detailing goods trains passing through the station with records of the signal boxes contacted by telegraph and the confirmation records.
Rail firm Greater Anglia plans to display the ledger – known in the 1800s as a ‘Day Book’ – in the new station buildings once the redevelopment work is complete.
Area customer service manager, Anita Stuart, said: “We couldn’t believe it when the contractor showed us the ledger. It was like finding hidden treasure.
“It’s lovely to have uncovered this link to the past as we take March station forward to become a station fit for the needs of rail travellers now and in the future.”
Work is being undertaken at March to remodel the entire station with the creation of an open-plan ticket hall and waiting area, accessible modern toilet facilities, retail outlets, and an upgraded and extended car park.
The major upgrade is part of £9.5m regeneration of Fenland’s railway stations, being delivered through Fenland District Council’s Railway Station Masterplans project.
The project aims to improve passenger facilities at the three Fenland stations – Manea, March and Whittlesea – along the Ely to Peterborough Hereward Line.
The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
