News archive
December 2004
National Network
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge
and
Miniature
Away from the tracks
National Network
DfT
decision
spells the end for lime-green trains to Lime Street
Two of Norfolk’s train operating companies are set to disappear, ending
National Express’s total control of East Anglia’s rail services.
When Central Trains’ current agreement ends in 2006, the franchise –
the
UK’s third largest – will not be re-advertised. Instead, its routes
will
be distributed to five neighbouring TOCs, with Virgin Cross-Country in
the
frame to take over Norwich – Liverpool trains. Central Trains put a
brave
face on the decision. Managing director Nick Brown acknowledged his
disappointment
but said “we now have a concrete base on which to plan and work for the
future.”
Also to be abolished is the Great Northern franchise. Currently
operated
by WAGN, GN trains, including the hourly King’s Lynn – Cambridge –
King’s
Cross service, will be transferred to an enlarged Thameslink.
The moves are part of the plan, announced by Secretary of State for
Transport
Alistair Darling on October 19, to reduce the number of franchises.
DfT’s “Community” lines to include
Norfolk
branches
Four local lines are among those which the Department for Transport
plans
to designate “Community Rail Lines”. Transport Secretary Alistair
Darling
does not want to close lightly-used rural railways, but he does want to
cut
their subsidies. He has backed recommendations from the SRA which would
make them more sustainable by increasing passenger and freight use,
pruning
costs, and involving the local community.
The 56 routes to become Community Rail Lines account for about 1200
miles
of railway. In our area they are: Norwich to Sheringham; Norwich to
Lowestoft;
Norwich to Yarmouth via Reedham; Ipswich to Lowestoft. All are
supported
by Community Rail Partnerships, or about to be. The SRA is well aware
of
what such support can mean. “Nowhere is this more apparent,” it says,
“than
the Bittern Line in Norfolk, where passenger numbers have increased by
162%
since the establishment of the partnership.”
86s say goodbye – and clock up
Norwich-London
record
On October 30 oneAnglia ran an all-day Farewell Special to mark
the
departure of class 86 electric locomotives from Great Eastern main-line
duties. For the final Norwich – London high-speed run, no. 86235 Crown
Point clocked up the fastest-ever journey between the two cities.
Despite a heavy
train and a TPWS-enforced slow approach into Liverpool Street, driver
Bob
Batt and Crown Point reached the London terminus in just 1hr 22mins
8secs,
slicing 1min 15sec from the Liverpool Street to Norwich record achieved
on
May 5 1987. (picture)
. The tour began at Liverpool Street and covered around 700 miles. A
second
locomotive, 86246 Royal Anglian Regiment, was also used on most
of
the tour – highly appropriate, reports Richard Adderson, as
this was
the first 86 to come to Norwich, and the first one to be dedicated to
GE
main line workings when electrification had reached only as far as
Ipswich.
Brief Encounter nearly goes up in
smoke
The celebrated Brief Encounter railwayana-themed restaurant at
Wymondham
station had a lucky escape on November 16. Fire broke out in an office,
but it was spotted by passengers waiting for an early-morning train to
Norwich
who raised the alarm. Four fire crews managed to bring it under
control,
and train services were not affected.
“Big boxes” start using Ipswich tunnel
In the early hours of October 7 GB Railfreight’s 0030 Hams Hall to
Felixstowe
train was the first commercial service to convey high-cube (9’ 6” size)
containers
on standard-height wagons through the recently-enlarged Ipswich tunnel.
30 or so containers, 11 of which were high-cubes, were hauled through
the
tunnel at 05:00 by loco no. 66708.
NR puts on leaf-busting demo
As autumn gales started to bring down the leaves, Network Rail went out
of its way to demonstrate how it tries to prevent leaf-fall delays to
the
region's trains. In the early hours of November 2 the press was invited
to Spooner Row, near Wymondham, to see NR’s anti-leaf armoury in
action. It includes petrol-driven rail scrubbers, portable sand-sticks
and sand-prams
to spread sand or sandite on the rails, and “orange cleanse” liquid,
dispensed
from backpacks, which dissolves the hard and slippery surface created
by
crushed leaves.
Later that day Anglia TV showed the leaf gang in action, as well as a
Class 170 dmu passing Wymondham South Junction Box.
Users quizzed on rail-bus interchange
plans
Passengers have been asked for their views on proposals to improve the
bus
link between Norwich station and the city centre. Outside the station
there
are plans for each bus stop to have a raised platform. A large
sheltered
waiting area, sited between bus stops on the forecourt and those on
Thorpe
Road, will contain seating, wheelchair spaces, ticket vending machines
and
information screens.
The proposals were on display at Norwich station from November 15-20.
New info screens for Fen Line
Amey Datel is to install customer information screens at King's Lynn,
Littleport
and Waterbeach stations. The work is due to be finished next year. The
Fen Line Users’ Association has asked WAGN to ensure that the King’s
Lynn
screens display arrivals as well as departures.
T-shirts and discounts act as
ale-by-rail
inducements
The Bittern and Wherry Lines rail partnerships – highly commended by
the
SRA recently for their integration of cycling and rail travel – are
again
encouraging travellers to leave the car at home when they visit
Norfolk's
rural pubs this winter.
Taking part in the scheme are 25 real-ale pubs near the Bittern or
Wherry
Lines, or on the route of the BroadsHopper (Blickling
Hall-Aylsham-Wroxham-Acle)
cycle bus. Visit 20 of them between November 1 and March 31 next year,
and
you can win a one-day Bittern or Wherry Lines rover ticket. You’ll get
an
“Ale TRail” T-shirt if you go to all 25! In another scheme (“AleTrack”)
rail travellers can get 10% off two-course meals at certain rail-served
pubs
from November 1 to May 25 2005.
Both schemes were launched at Norwich station on October 26. A CAMRA
“Winter Ale TRail” leaflet is available from tourist information
centres.
Disabled campaigner’s win “won’t set a
precedent”
A Norwich wheelchair user has won a partial victory in his fight for
the
rights of the disabled.
At Thetford station the down platform is accessible only by a
footbridge
or a rough track. In March Keith Roads’s bid to make Central Trains lay
on a specially-adapted taxi to get him to the platform was dismissed at
Norwich
County Court(NRS Newsletter June 2004
). But in a test case at the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Sedley ruled
that CTs’ suggested solution – travelling in the wrong direction to Ely
and
changing platforms there – could not be called reasonable. Instead, he
ruled
in favour of Mr Roads's idea of a taxi, provided the company was given
notice.
However, he made it clear the case did not set a precedent. His ruling
suggests that disabled access is unlikely to be installed at Thetford
station;
and that the needs of each disabled person using public transport
should
be met as appropriate.
Heritage,
Narrow-Gauge and Miniature
Lottery success for Holt
group
The North Norfolk Model Engineering Club is celebrating after winning a
£5,000 grant. The club operates a 31/2” and 5”
line
at the North Norfolk Railway’s Holt terminus and wants to enlarge its
simple
out-and-back line to a P-shape. The cash boost comes from the
lottery-backed
Awards For All scheme and has helped it buy rails and plastic
sleeper
stripping to build the extension. One club member owns a miniature V2
2-6-2
loco, and while its larger classmate Green Arrow visits the NNR
it
is hoped to pose the two alongside each other.
Until its move to Holt, the NNMEC used to operate a miniature line
alongside
the Bure Valley Railway’s Aylsham station.
Tamping giant knocks MNR into shape
In late November Plasser & Theurer switch and crossing tamper
(08-4x4/4S-RT)
no. DR73918 spent just over a week on the Mid-Norfolk Railway. The
Balfour
Beatty-owned machine arrived from Norwich via Wymondham each day and BB
drivers
received training while they carried out track improvements on the MNR
running
line and in Dereham yard.
Also at Dereham is diesel-electric p-way crane no. DRS 81330 which once
worked out of Eastleigh depot. After a long renovation programme, the
crane
has been handed over in working order to the MNR and will be put to
work
once training and insurance have been arranged.
Wissington rolls again
Wissington, the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST which used to haul sugar
beet
in west Norfolk, is once again a rolling chassis. The “Friends Of
Wissington”
group reports that the cab too has been completed and taken to join the
frames
at Mervyn Mayes’s Yaxham workshops. Meanwhile machining of motion
components
continues at the NNR’s Weybourne works. Wissington’s
restoration
and return to steam was the NRS’s “charity of the year” in 2003/4.
Holiday big-engine bash on NNR
Over the Christmas/New Year period there’ll be some big-engine action
on
the Norfolk coast. The North Norfolk Railway’s Winter Steam Gala, from
December
31 to January 2, will feature the NRM's V2 2-6-2 no. 60800 Green
Arrow as well as BB 4-6-2 no. 34081 92 Squadron (which is
to remain on
the NNR for the whole of 2005) and the WD Austerity 2-10-0 no. 90075
(reported
to be for sale by its owners, the Essex Locomotive Society).
Green Arrow will also be in action from December 26 to 30,
hauling
the line’s Mince Pie Specials. Unusually, the NNR plans to run trains
on
weekends in January 2005, and these too will be hauled by the
Gresley-designed
2-6-2.
York beckons Sheringham bookstall
For many years the W H Smith bookstall has been a familiar sight at the
North Norfolk Railway’s Sheringham station. Now the wooden bookstall,
which
once saw service at Waterloo station, is to be preserved under cover at
the
National Railway Museum.
Cost of Norfolk Orbital’s plans slashed
Plans for the controversial Norfolk Orbital Railway have been revived
after
drastic reductions to its proposed costs.
An earlier report (NRS Newsletter
October
2003
) had reckoned that it would cost £4m to join the Bittern Line
with
the North Norfolk Railway by reinstating the level crossing across
Sheringham’s
Station Road. A new survey from RMS Consulting says the scheme can be
achieved
for £1m. Fibre-optic signalling need not be used, it says, as the
level crossing could be operated by train drivers; additionally, the
NNR’s
Sheringham platforms could be altered to avoid the need for a new
footbridge
and lift. A second report estimates that laying track from the NNR's
edge-of-town
Holt terminus into the town could be achieved for much less than the
£3.5m
previously pencilled in.
Southall to help restore Royal Scot
The frames and wheels of LMS 4-6-0 no. 6100 Royal Scot have
left
Bressingham. In October haulage contractor Engineering Services
transported
them to Southall, Flying Scotsman's former base, for the next
stage
of the loco’s restoration. Meanwhile the boiler is being repaired at
Chatham
Steam and the tender frames are at Tyseley. To meet the terms of the
£339,000
Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the restoration has to be completed by the
end
of 2006
Dereham scrubbed from NENTA’s departure
board
NENTA’s Great Days Out excursions will not use the Mid-Norfolk Railway
in
2005. Instead, two trips – the York & Beamish Explorer on
April
16 and the Brighton & Bluebell Invader on July 9 – will
start
and finish at North Walsham, and Dereham passengers will have a coach
connection
to Wymondham.
In May this year the Dereham - Wymondham leg of NENTA’s Canterbury
& Romney Explorer had to be cancelled because the safety case
was
approved too late.
NENTA’s seven Great Days Out will be operated by either Fragonset &
Merlin or EWS. Details of the programme can be obtained from NENTA
Traintours
(Tel. 01692 406152 or www.nentatraintours.co.uk
)
Move to reopen Bramley line
Another rail reopening scheme is gathering pace just a mile or two west
of the Norfolk border. The 71/2-mile-long ex-GER line
from
March to Wisbech connects with the national network at Whitemoor Yard
and
is intact as far as Weasenham Lane in Wisbech. The Wisbech & March
Bramley
Line group is seeking to reinstate it and run trains for passengers,
tourists
and freight.
The group is considering a bid for one of the 3-car “thumper” dmus
which
have been displaced from Oxted-Uckfield services. It has been presented
with the disused Smeeth Road signal box, which was dismantled and moved
to
a temporary site on November 21/2.
Annual membership of the W&MBL group costs £10 for adults;
applications
should be addressed to PO Box 132, Wisbech, PE13 2WZ. The group
received
£76 for membership number 00001 when it was offered on the
internet
auction site eBay.
Sale results from Village Experience
The contents of the Village Experience at Fleggburgh were, as reported
in the last issue
, auctioned on October 15 & 16. £12,500 was paid for the
2ft-gauge
railway track, which included points, sidings and granite ballast,
while
the Severn-Lamb 0-4-0 steam outline loco Busy Basil fetched
£9,000. The “E&MR” platform-canopy spandrels, many of which
needed dismantling,
were valued at around £100 each. One optimist paid £900 for
the derelict standard-gauge Fowler shunter – for parts, perhaps?
The smaller railwayana was of indifferent quality, and sold much as
expected. The derisory prices realised for two “smokebox numberplates”
(one, it was
claimed, came from A4 Pacific Miles Beevor!) show that nearly
everyone
saw them to be as authentic as the proverbial nine-bob note. The North
Norfolk
Railway bought three Edmondson ticket machines.
BVR plans Birthday Gala
Next year the Bure Valley Railway is to put on a gala to celebrate the
15th
Anniversary of its opening in 1990. The gala will be held on the
weekend
of October 8/9, and the railway promises an intensive train service and
as-yet-undisclosed
visiting locomotives.
Throughout summer 2005 the BVR will again be operating every day.
New turn at Eaton Park
Latest of the developments at the miniature line in Norwich’s Eaton
Park
is a turntable. To be installed in December just outside the elevated
track,
it will take both 5” and 71/4”gauges and will feed a
number
of sidings and provide more flexible operation. The N&DSME reports
that
donations towards the multi-gauge track extension have reached
£6,000.
31 Club will safeguard loco’s future
The M&GN Society has launched the 31 Club to assist with the
purchase,
restoration and maintenance of Brush Type 2 loco no. 31207 (previously
D5631). For a monthly subscription of £10, members will have
special days
on the railway as well as newsletters and a video related to the loco.
Top
Link membership is reserved for the first 31 people who agree to pay a
subscription
of £12 a month for five years. Top Link members will get two
footplate
experience days during their 5-year membership.
31207, acquired from EWS in January this year, is reported to be in
good
condition. The plan is to repaint it in BR green, with white stripes
and
without yellow warning panels.
Away from the tracks
New owner sought for
Geldeston
station
The recent publication of Tivetshall to Beccles: The Waveney Valley
Line by Richard Adderson and Graham Kenworthy has revived interest
in this attractive
rural route whose passenger services were withdrawn as long ago as
1953. Of the line’s attractive Italianate station buildings, one to
have survived
is that at Geldeston, close to the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Now a
three-bedroom
home, it is being offered for sale at £325,000 by Flick &
Son,
Halesworth (Tel: 01986 873757).
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