All, most interesting -- my thanks. I spent my childhood and adolescence a little way west from that part of the world -- though have done little exploring of Kings Lynn outside of its strictly-rail purlieus.
A matter of some interest, re the Docks line, arose in these Forums' "Railway General Knowledge" quiz last year -- involving something totally new to me.
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/railway-general-knowledge.58883/page-253
It turned out that as at the start of World War II, several railway undertakings outside of the post-1923 "Big Four", were taken under overall state control; one of which was the Kings Lynn Docks Railway. A totally new bit of information to me -- I'd always imagined that the various lines in Kings Lynn interfacing with water / seaborne transport, had been simply "Great Eastern, thence LNER, end-of". It would appear, though, that the Docks branch (I take it that the Harbour branch, further south, was indeed "straight" GER then LNER) was at least a notionally independent undertaking, up until 1948 -- a picture in one of the linked items here, bears the wording "Kings Lynn Docks & Railway Company 1893". I read things -- maybe wrongly -- that actual working of the Docks branch was carried out, pre-Groupng, by the GER; and it is stated in a linked item: "After the Grouping, the LNER became responsible for working the Docks branch, and shunting of dock traffic under agreement with the docks company". However -- one seems to keep learning of more rail outfits which, in name anyway, escaped Grouping in 1923. (As often discussed on these Forums, surprisingly much also escaped nationalisation in 1948.)
Would be interested in any further info re the Kings Lynn Docks line and its long independent status.
