railography photo galleries : United Kingdom : 017 Ely - Peterborough : 26-D-1134 : (4 of 22)

Fen Hopper

755411 passed Eastrea, east of Whittlesea, with 2E76, the 11:58 Ipswich - Peterborough passenger, on 5 March 2026.

The fens are around or just below sea level so water won't flow naturally to the sea and, without human intervention, a large area of eastern England would gradually flood. The farmland here is some of the most productive in the country and a network of man made drainage channels has been built to feed excess water to a number of pumping stations which lift it to a height from where it can drain into the Wash. One of these drainage channels is visible just to the left of the train.