The station was opened in 1882 as part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway's (M&GN) branch from the main line at Melton Constable to Norwich City.

Only one year prior to opening, the Great Eastern had inaugurated its own station at Reepham which, unlike Whitwell, was conveniently sited to the settlement it purported to serve.

[4] The M&GN suffered in the post-Second World War period which saw much freight transfer to road and greater car ownership, leaving the line with its summer and schools traffic.

In the face of spiralling losses, British Rail made the decision to close the majority of the line, leaving Whitwell open for freight until 1964.

[8] It was, however, acquired by the Wyatts who planned to establish an alpaca colony on the site and applied to Broadland District Council for permission to convert the station into a residence and reuse the goods shed as a workshop and storage area.

[13] Having formed the Whitwell & Reepham Railway Preservation Society Limited (with 100 members as of November 2008), Mike Urry has planned the project's future in three phases.

In 2016 a 7+1⁄4 in (184 mm) gauge railway was added at the top field camp site, operated by Stafford class “Tihany” and LNER K2 Loch Ranoch.