Norfolk Railway Society: News archive April 2002

News archive April 2002

Eastern counties’ bumper steam weekend
Tour operator Past-Time Rail plans a three-train "Great Eastern Steam Weekend" over the coming May Bank Holiday (4th - 6th May). Each train will leave from and return to Liverpool Street, and will use LMS Black 5 4-6-0 no. 45407 or BR class 4 2-6-0 no. 76079 for haulage. On Saturday 4th May The Easterling will run to Lowestoft via Norwich and back via the East Suffolk line. The following day Harwich Town and Felixstowe will be the destinations of The Lifeboat Express. Finally on Monday 6th May The Cockney Coaster will steam to Southend Victoria and Southminster.
Standard class adult fares are £55.50 for The Easterling, £65 for The Lifeboat Express and £45 for The Cockney Coaster . Details from Past-Time Rail on 0871 871 4119 or www.past-timerail.co.uk .
Also in service over the May Bank Holiday will be First Great Eastern 's vintage Class 306 emu. On 4th May the unit will operate extra Liverpool St - Shenfield services, and on 6th May it will work between Shenfield and Southend Victoria and along the Southminster branch.

Heritage Lottery bonanza for Bressingham's Royal Scot
Bressingham Steam Museum has been awarded £339,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund, primarily for the restoration of LMS 4-6-0 no. 6100 Royal Scot to working order. Built in 1927, Royal Scot was the first of the eponymous class and paid a celebrated visit to the USA and Canada in 1933. She was rebuilt in BR days with a taper boiler, and after withdrawal went on display at Butlin's Skegness camp before moving to Bressingham in 1971. Bressingham intends to retain the LMS livery and run Royal Scot on main-line railtours.
The award will also help to fund the restoration of Bressingham's ex-LB&SCR Stroudley Terrier 0-6-0T Martello, another ex-Butlin's loco, and the upgrading of the museum's standard-gauge line.

Central Trains offers month of half-fare travel
Railcard holders can enjoy 50% off selected Central Trains return journeys for a month. Running from 27th March - 27th April, the offer gives Senior Citizens’, Family or Young Persons’ Railcard holders 50% - instead of the usual one-third - discount off Cheap Day, Supersaver and Saver Returns.

“Middy” plans month of celebrations
In July steam will return to the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum in style, with a month-long series of anniversary events.
An Edwardian weekend (6th/7th) will mark the centenary of the railway’s arrival in Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford, and the following Sunday (14th), there will be a re-enactment of the journey made by Lord Kitchener, the MSLR’s first passenger. Finally the 50th Anniversary of the MSLR’s closure will be commemorated from Fri 26th to Sun 28th July.
Star exhibit - subject to its successful recommissioning in mid-May - will be J15 0-6-0 no. 65462, courtesy of the M&GNJRS. The J15 will provide motive power in a variety of identities during the month; during the last weekend it will impersonate 65447 which hauled the “Middy’s” last train. A simple shuttle service, the MSLR’s first steam-operated passenger trains since it closed in 1952, will operate over the Museum's short track, with historic rolling stock providing passenger accommodation.
Admission, entitling the visitor to one ride, will be £5.00 (£2.50 child, £12.50 family).

Spinnin’ States spin back to Norfolk
Past-Time Rail has announced it will run more Spinnin' State tours, where no less than six classes of loco head the train in turn. Dates are 22nd June, 21st September, and a day in December to be fixed. The route is: Euston (dep.09:30) to Rugby (class 92); Rugby to Nuneaton via Coventry (class 66); Nuneaton to Peterborough (class 60); Peterborough to Norwich (class 56); Norwich to Ipswich (class 67); Ipswich to Kings Cross (arr. 21:15) (class 58). Standard class adult fare is £43.00. Details from Past-Time Rail .

Shutters close at Great Yarmouth’s bookstall
Great Yarmouth station said goodbye to its bookstall on 22nd March when David Watson, who had managed it for 32 years, retired. The bookstall, once run by WH Smith, may have been the last traditional station bookstall in East Anglia.

New home sought for Wisbech coach
A historic coach which once worked along the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway is looking for a new home.
Coach no.7 is one of two composite bogie coaches, with longitudinal seating and a balcony at each end, built at Stratford in 1884. After W&U passenger services ceased in 1928 it was transferred to the Kelvedon & Tollesbury line, and eventually became an onion store.
Since 1982 its home has been the Rutland Railway Museum at Cottesmore. In 1983, it made a grand return to Wisbech to take pride of place in the railway’s centenary parade. Now the museum, which focuses mainly on quarry railways, is rationalising its collection, and coach no. 7 is one of the exhibits it proposes to sell, preferably to a registered museum. Among the organisations to have registered an interest before Cottesmore’s April 30th deadline is the North Norfolk Railway .

Holt Pioneer to leave Norfolk
Class 27 no. 27 066 Holt Pioneer, whose arrival in 1988 on the North Norfolk Railway started main-line diesel preservation in Norfolk, is reported by Norfolk By Rail to have been sold to the Keith and Dufftown Railway. The Birmingham RC&W-built loco, formerly D5368, has been displaced by more recent diesel arrivals. The NNR’s Brighton Belle Pullman dining set is also destined for the K&DR.

Anglia wins more prizes
In February local operator Anglia Railways and Norfolk County Council won the Integrated Transport Scheme of the Year award at the HSBC Rail Business Awards for 2001. The prize recognised the improvements on the Norwich to Sheringham line through the Bittern Line Partnership . AR was also named runner-up (to Chiltern Railways) in the Train Operator of the Year category. The following month, the company received a trophy at the Railway Industry Innovation Awards 2002.

Mayflower to move to MNR?
The exclusively diesel-powered Mid Norfolk Railway is reported to be negotiating to secure the loan of B1 4-6-0 61306 Mayflower , currently at the Nene Valley Railway. By coincidence B1 classmate no. 61264 was the first main-line steam loco for 40 years to grace the MNR's metals when, last November, it travelled from Wymondham to Dereham.

Hundreds stranded by major signal fault
Anglia and First Great Eastern services were thrown into chaos on Monday 26 March when signal failure in the Gidea Park area brought every train to a halt. Hundreds of passengers spent four hours or more on a static train, many more were delayed, and Railtrack could face a hefty compensation bill. Anglia Railways are asking why Railtrack had no contingency plans for hand signalling to keep trains moving.

Railways not forgotten by N&N Festival
Amongst the concerts and recitals making up this year’s Norfolk & Norwich Festival - for which Anglia Railways is again principal sponsor - two railway-themed items may be found. Train of Thought, created by artists and writers working in pairs, will present text and images inspired by stations along the Norwich - London rail route- see Coming events for dates and venues.
In addition, it seems that a Class 153 will undergo a humiliating paint-job, as Festival-goers are enjoined to “keep your eyes out for the Festival train.......a single-carriage train liveried to inspire and entertain.”

Little improvement in West Anglia punctuality
Figures released in mid-March showed a good level of reliability on WAGN ’s “West Anglia Outers” (Liverpool St - Cambridge - King’s Lynn) route. Punctuality, though, remains a problem. In the four weeks to March 3rd, only 7 out of 10 of trains ran to time.
“There have been some fluctuations”, commented West Anglia Route Director Julian Drury, “but.... punctuality remains below target, principally because of ongoing infrastructure problems.”

Anglia Railways seeks rail users’ views
To help prepare its bid and discover what improvements rail passengers and other interested parties would like to see, Anglia Railways and its parent company have published a brochure, available from main staffed stations, entitled What do you want from your railways in the future? Comments are invited on topics from timetables to fares, catering to compensation. Responses should be sent by 30th June to Anglia Franchise Ideas, c/o Jonathan Denby, Anglia Railways, St Clare House, Princes Street, Ipswich IP1 1LYor by e-mail to pr@gbrailways.com

North Norfolk gala to recreate 1960s
While the country will be celebrating the Queen’s Golden Jubilee over one long weekend, the North Norfolk Railway plans to go one better. It will devote the entire June 1st - 9th period to re-living the days of East Anglian Steam in a big way. The commemorative gala will see the railway’s B12 and J15 both back from overhaul and working together at last. Also on duty will be visiting B1 4-6-0 no. 61264, while there will be a class 31 for Brush fans.

Extra space at Stowmarket’s silver jubilee exhibition
“Our biggest and best to date” - that’s how Stowmarket Railway Club describes its forthcoming model railway exhibition. The club’s 25th Anniversary exhibition, featuring 19 layouts, will be held on Sunday 28th April, from 10:30am to 5:00pm, at the Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, Gainsborough Road, Stowmarket. Admission will cost £3 for adults and £1.50 for children and senior citizens.

Cycle parking at all Anglia Railways stations
Named Best Train Operator last year for improving bicycle facilities, Anglia Railways has completed a £75,000 project to provide secure cycle parking and storage facilities at all its stations. Over 520 new and secure parking spaces for cycles have been installed. The company has also created a web site for cyclists: www.anglia-railways.com/cycle/index.htm .

Stalham “removal” off - then on again
Work on moving Stalham Station to its new North Norfolk Railway home at Holt came to an abrupt stop in February when a Stalham councillor complained that Norfolk County Council had approved the move without referring to local residents. After the Council had consulted interested parties, the NNR was authorised to resume work in mid March, and the railway now aims to complete the clearance by the end of April.

Woman killed at Watlington
On 12th March a woman died after being hit by an up train just south of Watlington. No-one aboard the 5.42am train from King’s Lynn to London was injured, but passengers were taken by bus from Watlington to Downham Market to continue their rail journey. Four other WAGN services were cancelled.

New loco arrivals on NNR
To compensate for delays to the J15 and 9682, a Polish TK15 0-6-0T arrived at the North Norfolk Railway in March for a year’s stay. An early gauging run suggested that the loco is wider than anticipated. The NNR will also have the use of the Llangollen Railway’s Thomas (alias Jinty no.47298) during April.

Freightliner 86’s Rotary name renewed
On 25th February Class 86 no. 86615 Rotary International was rededicated at a ceremony at Ipswich station attended by Rotarians and Freightliner staff. Its nameplates had been refurbished, and the loco had been repainted into the current green and yellow livery.
“By asking for its name to be kept on a freight locomotive, Rotary International is demonstrating its commitment to increasing the amount of freight going by rail,” said Alan Peats, chairman of the Rail Freight Group and president of the Rotary Club Felixstowe and Landguard.

Bure Valley sheds its MD
In order “to streamline the operation and contain costs” the Bure Valley Railway has abolished the post of Managing Director, spelling redundancy for Paul Conibeare who had held this position for several years. The sudden move is believed to stem from changes to the railway’s board last October.

Norfolk pilots new rail bridge inspections
As concerns grow about safety where roads cross or run close to rail lines, Norfolk County Council , which has responsibility for nine bridges which cross Railtrack passenger lines, is working with the Health and Safety Commission to pilot a new scheme to identify high risk sites. Meanwhile, work on Dunston bridge, which carries the A140 road over the main Norwich - London line, began in mid-February, reducing road traffic to a single lane in off-peak periods. Now a feasibility study is being carried out by Norfolk County Council to see if the bridge needs a complete rebuild.

M&GN Reunion on NNR
The North Norfolk Railway plans a Midland & Great Northern Railway reunion day on April 21 and hopes that as many ex-“Jointies” as possible will attend the event. There will be a frequent train service, and a bus shuttle will run between Holt, Melton Constable and Briston. At Melton there will be an exhibition, and at Briston the M&GN archives will be on view.

Central Trains gets more cash and two-year extension
Central Trains , whose cross-country network includes the Norwich - Liverpool trains, is one of the TOCs to have suffered badly since the October 2000 Hatfield derailment. Recognising this, the Strategic Rail Authority has agreed to help it break even financially. It will pay National Express , CT’s parent an additional subsidy in return for a partly-balancing return payment and an undertaking to continue to operate services above the level required by the franchise agreements. The SRA and the West Midlands PTE are also to start negotiations with National Express to extend the Central Trains franchise by two years to March 2006.

MP in move to reopen March - Wisbech
MP Malcolm Moss is seeking business support for a £30,000 feasibility study into re-opening the Wisbech to March line for passengers. This will not be the first initiative to bring back the trains: a 1995 study by engineers W S Atkins concluded that restoring the rail link was unviable.

Engineering disrupts main-line services
An extensive programme of track maintenance took place between Norwich and Stowmarket and between Ipswich and Colchester over the four weekends from Saturday 23/24th February to 16/17th March. As a result Anglia Railways ’ normal Sunday timetable was suspended and, in an arrangement rather unfairly headlined “Weekend rail misery for passengers” in the Eastern Daily Press , coaches replaced trains between Norwich and Colchester.
Crosslink services were also altered on Saturday 23rd February. Engineering work between Hounslow and Staines caused them to start and terminate at Richmond instead of Basingstoke. In place of the usual Class 170 unit, the 0815 Norwich - Richmond and 1125 Richmond - Colchester were operated by 150 255.

Underground stock at Lenwade
Norfolk By Rail reports that London Underground 1959-stock aluminium-bodied coaches number 1307 and 2306 were at Easco’s scrapyard at Lenwade, presumably awaiting disposal.

Norfolk Orbital line “will cost nearly £35m”
An engineering study published in February has estimated that it will cost £30 million to rebuild the line from the North Norfolk Railway at Holt to the Mid Norfolk Railway at Fakenham. The proposed line leaves the NNR’s Holt site via the car park entrance, and runs on the north side of the A148. Station Road, Holt, is crossed on a level crossing, and a tunnel takes the railway under the roundabout to its old trackbed, and on to Melton Constable. Another £4m or so will be needed to re-connect the NNR with the national network at Sheringham.
Now David Bill and his Norfolk Orbital Railway co-directors are examining sources of funding, including European regeneration cash and government public transport schemes.

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