The Bill for the Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR) received Royal Assent on 10 May 1844. The line was to link with an Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) project of a line from Newport in Essex to Brandon in Suffolk. Once complete, the line would enable trains to travel from Norwich to London. Work started on the line in 1844. The line and its stations were opened on 30 July 1845. Spooner Row station opened with the line and was, as now, situated east of Attleborough station and west of Wymondham station. The line ran from Ely to Trowse, in Norwich. The link into Norwich was delayed due to the need to build a bridge over the River Wensum that kept the river navigable. One month before the N&BR opened a Bill authorising the amalgamation of the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway with the N&BR came into effect and so Spooner Row station became a Norfolk Railway asset.