News archive March/April
2006
National Network
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and
Miniature
Away from the tracks
National Network
Farewell
to WAGN as First Capital Connect gets to work
A name which for nearly a decade has been part of West Norfolk’s travel
scene was consigned to history on Saturday April 1. At 02.00 WAGN surrendered
the franchise for the King’s Cross – Cambridge/King’s Lynn and Peterborough
lines to First Capital Connect, part of FirstGroup, whose new north-to-south
franchise includes these routes. Two days later unit no. 365505 carrying
new FCC vinyls was observed at work on King’s Cross – Cambridge – King’s
Lynn services.
First says it is committed to “improving the whole journey experience” and
promises improvements in customer information, reliability, punctuality,
cleaning standards and revenue protection.
WAGN began life in 1997 as a privatised combination of two Network South-East
subsectors. Its last public event took place at King's Lynn station on March
10, when unit no.365527 was named Robert Stripe – Passengers' Champion
. The naming marked 21 years of the Fen Line Users' Association, of which
Mr Stripe was a founder member.
GBRf’s ballast win takes lorries off our roads
More details have emerged of the new mineral flow into Norfolk
(NRS Newsletter Jan/Feb 2006)
.
Under a three-year contract with M Dickerson Ltd of Cambridgeshire, GB Railfreight
will move around 25 trainloads a year of spent ballast in box wagons from
the NR depot at Whitemoor, which GBRf manages. The ballast is unloaded in
the former EWS yard at North Walsham, from where it is sold to construction
firms. Some car parking land has been lost, but there are plans to provide
more spaces on the old canning factory site nearby.
GBRf contracts manager Paul Atack says the ballast traffic will take around
1,200 lorries off Norfolk roads.
Programme to improve Class 90 reliability
Although one’s 15-strong fleet of Class 90s are more reliable than
the Class 86 locos they replaced – in February the average loco ran 10,000
miles per casualty – there have been many instances of them losing power
and causing delays and cancellations. On several occasions multiple-units
have had to be substituted at short notice.
Now one’s fleet engineering team at Crown Point Depot has come up
with a 10-point plan to improve the locos’ reliability and performance.
The work includes such measures as modifying the AWS reset button and cab
heater switches, installing air deflectors to prevent electrical shorts,
and fitting improved thyristor bridges.
Suicide verdict returned on crossing death
On March 20 an inquest heard details of the collision at the unmanned level
crossing at Swainsthorpe, south of Norwich, in which Darrell Sheens, 45,
of Swardeston, died (NRS Newsletter
Nov/Dec 2005)
.
Mark Holmes had been driving the 13:00 Norwich – Diss train at about 85mph
when he saw Mr Sheens drive his car on to the track. He applied the emergency
brakes and sounded his horn but could not avoid hitting the car. It was
wrecked as it was pushed along the track, and the collision set the train
on fire. A British Transport Police spokesman said there were no mechanical
faults with the car or the train and the level crossing had been working
correctly.
The jury returned a verdict of suicide on Mr Sheens, 45, of Swardeston,
who was said to have been suffering from depression.
Steam treat for Brandon
The first steam-hauled train for around 40 years will call at Brandon station
on May 1. At the request of the Friends of Brandon Station, ex-LNER B1 4-6-0
No 61264 will make a special stop with the Railway Touring Co’s Norwich -
Doncaster special, called The Lincolnshire Explorer. At least 40
passengers are expected to board the excursion there.
The Friends have ‘adopted’ Brandon station for one as part of their plan
to revitalise the boarded-up and vandalised flint building. They have been
offered space at the Brandon Heritage Centre for an exhibition about the
station, and anyone with pictures or other interesting objects is asked to
contact the Friends’ chairman Stephen Dean at
stephendean@decanimusic.co.uk
More details about the Lincolnshire Explorer, whose return leg will
be diesel-hauled, can be obtained from the Railway Touring Co on 01553 661500
or www.railwaytouring.co.uk
Penalty Fares scheme now includes Norwich
With effect from Sunday April 2, one extended the area of its Penalty
Fares scheme to include all main-line trains between Liverpool Street and
Norwich. Previously the scheme only applied between London and Ipswich.
Under the Penalty Fares scheme passengers must purchase a ticket for their
entire journey before boarding a train. Any passenger without a valid ticket
for their entire journey is liable to be issued with a £20 penalty
fare (or twice the single fare to the next station, whichever is greater).
one’s Penalty Fares area now covers most of its routes, but not its
rural network.
Two-hour interval service on E Suffolk “until
at least 2012”
Passengers will have to live with a two-hourly service between Lowestoft,
Beccles and London for at least six more years. That was the message from
Mitchell Bradshaw, public transport manager at Suffolk County Council, when
he addressed a meeting of the East Suffolk Travellers’ Association on March
11. Campaigners claim that dualling a stretch of track – the “Beccles Loop”
– and doubling the line’s capacity to allow an hourly service in each direction
would significantly increase the 5,900 passengers which the line carries
a week. However Mr Bradshaw said that Network Rail would not pay the £4m
cost of the Loop until it was obliged to improve the line’s signalling in
2012.
Immigration checks at Norfolk stations
In a drive to identify illegal immigrants, British Transport and Home Office
staff have carried out spot checks on rail passengers at Norwich, Thetford
and King’s Lynn. Two people detained at Norwich have been deported, and
a Sri Lankan woman whose visa had expired was detained at King’s Lynn. Many
more passengers were questioned and their identification scrutinised before
they could continue their journey.
Bridge bash halts Bittern service
Trains between Sheringham and Cromer were stopped for several days after
a “bridge bash” on February 11 made it unsafe for traffic. The bridge, over
Nelson Road at the east end of Sheringham, was partly demolished by a lorry
which scattered railings and bricks in the road. Police later traced the
vehicle and driver.
It was only after the 10:45 train from Norwich had passed over the damaged
bridge and arrived at Sheringham that the driver learnt of the crash. He
was not permitted to take the 11:46 back to Norwich, and after some hours
the dmu returned empty, crossing the bridge at 5mph. While the bridge was
under repair, replacement buses ferried passengers between Sheringham and
Cromer.
Four days later a digger being carried on a low-loader hit the rail bridge
over Norwich Road, North Walsham. Trains were halted for just over an hour
until a Network Rail assessor had pronounced it safe.
According to Network Rail, since 1998 there have been nearly one thousand
“bashes” in the Anglia region, usually put down to careless lorry drivers.
From April 2003 to date North Walsham’s three rail bridges have been hit
18 times. 10 of those were at the Aylsham Road bridge, making it the third
most “bashed” in the region. Other vulnerable Norfolk bridges are those
at Long John Hill, Norwich (7 hits) and Strumpshaw Road, Acle (5 hits).
Keep it down in Coach B, urges one
one is to follow the example of other main-line TOCs by including
a Quiet Coach in each Mk 3 carriage set. Passengers travelling in Coach
B (and the restaurant car) will be asked to show consideration for others
by using electronic equipment quietly, and not making or receiving mobile
phone calls.
Refurbished Mark 3 sets are rapidly replacing the Mark 2s on one’s Norwich
– London trains. At the beginning of March seven sets of Mark 3s were in
use and by June all 120 coaches should be available. As well as the Quiet
Coach, they include full access for the disabled, better restaurant/buffet
facilities and more reliable air-conditioning and internal doors.
On March 9 selected guests from local authorities, passenger groups and
local media were invited to sample the new stock. Joining representatives
from one, Porterbrook Leasing and Bombardier Transportation, they
travelled on the 11:00 Norwich – London train.
‘Red light jumpers’ risk their lives at Downham
Market
Although two girls were killed last December by a train at Elsenham station’s
foot crossing, drivers on the King’s Lynn line report that passengers regularly
misuse the similar crossing at Downham Market station. The green lights
show when it’s safe to cross, but some passengers persist in walking over
the tracks “on the red”, when a train is approaching.
To help curb the practice, a CCTV camera has been installed, British Transport
Police patrol the station and warning leaflets have been handed out to passengers.
The Fen Line Users Assn. wants lockable wicket gates at the platform ends,
or failing that, a footbridge or subway.
Dmus get a spring clean
Local trains should soon have smarter interiors thanks to new arrangements
brought in by one. At Great Yarmouth two cleaners will service Great
Yarmouth – Norwich trains from Mondays to Saturdays, copying what already
happens at Lowestoft. At Norwich the station team will be responsible for
cleaning Cambridge and Sheringham line trains. In addition, on-train conductors
will be encouraged to remove litter as they pass through the train.
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and Miniature
Western pannier to inaugurate
MNR steam service
Undeterred by 2005’s last-minute cancellation
(NRS Newsletter May/Jun 2005)
, the Mid-Norfolk Railway has again announced plans to run steam-hauled services.
Between April 30 and June 4, ex-BR(W) 0-6-0PT no. 9466 is due to work trains
on 17 days. Return fare for the Dereham–Wymondham return journey will be:
adults £9.50, seniors £9, children £5 and families £24.50.
Some seats can be pre-booked – call 01362 851723 for details.
The pannier tank, bizarrely described as a “shunt” by the local press, was
built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns in 1952 to a Hawksworth GWR design.
Its usual home is the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. The MNR hopes that
9466’s arrival will encourage owners of other steam locos to consider Dereham
as a base.
New page for loco fans
Planning to visit the North Norfolk Railway but not sure what’s running?
The NNR’s website now has a page giving provisional loco allocations for
train services – www.nnrailway.co.uk/whatsrunning.php
The railway stresses that this information is not guaranteed. If you plan
to see a specific locomotive, you’re advised to telephone 01263 820800 before
travelling.
Bramley’s A47 road-rail crossing reinstated
The weekend of March 25/6 produced a shot in the arm for the Bramley (March-Wisbech)
Line pressure group when the A47 Wisbech bypass was closed to allow Network
Rail to reinstate track at the level crossing. The work came about as part
of NR’s undertaking to retain a connection between the line and the rest
of the national network and keep it open for freight. Access to what NR
calls the “Wisbech siding” will be via a shunting signal.
To inform local people about progress on the project, a Bramley Line roadshow
will attend local events in April and May.
HLF to shelter quad-arts
The Heritage Lottery Fund is to help protect the M&GNJRS’s ‘quad-art’
coach set from the weather with a £303,000 grant. The Gresley-designed
teak coaches are under restoration, also helped by an HLF grant, and the
new grant will go towards building a carriage shed for them. The shed will
be built adjacent to the road bridge 3/4m north of Holt station,
and will also house other historical vehicles owned by the M&GNJRS, such
as the the Wisbech & Upwell coach and pigeon van.
Namesake funds Wickham restoration
Among the cars under repair at a Salhouse garage lurks an unexpected interloper
– a Wickham rail trolley.
Around twenty years ago the ‘Bernard Wickham’ (its engine was built by the
French firm of Bernard Moteurs) was discovered outside Wickham’s Hertfordshire
factory and bought by the South Devon Railway’s London Group. More recently
it was moved to a SDR member’s home in Norfolk while funds to restore it
were raised.
The process has been speeded up by the fortuitous intervention of a Mr Bernard
Wickham. Searching the internet for his name, Bernard found details of the
trolley, discovered more about the project and provided a donation. Now
restoration of the chassis and engine (the latter has been broadcast on BBC
Radio Norfolk) at Salhouse Service Station is nearly complete and a new body
is being built.
In-house trio powers Spring Gala
An absence of visiting locos and an unexpected failure meant that just three
locos were in action for the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Spring Diesel Gala over
the March 18/19 weekend. They were residents nos. D8069 and 50019 Ramillies
, along with a rather shabby no. 31538, entering traffic after its top-end
overhaul. No. 31235 had also been due to appear, but had to be stood down
when an engine fault could not be rectified in time.
Gala services were worked by the trio in varying combinations. Some were
powered by just one loco, an unaccustomed sight made possible by the newly-commissioned
Wymondham run-round.
Little Barford to return to Brockford
This year will see a full programme of special events at the Mid-Suffolk
Light Railway Museum. There will be no less than 14 steam days featuring
MSLR favourite, 0-4-0ST Little Barford, in steam at the Brockford
site.
The events include ‘Corn ‘n’ Coal’ over the Easter (April 16/17) weekend,
a traction engine rally on April 30/May 1, a ‘Laxfield Thunderbolt’ weekend
on May 28/29 and a ‘Rail ‘n’ Ale weekend on August 27/28.
Sheringham MD named as line chalks up passenger
record
New managing director of the North Norfolk Railway, replacing general manager
Geoff Gowing, will be Hugh Harkett. A volunteer signalman, Hugh has sat
on the MNR board for five years..
.
The NNR, named Independent Railway of the Year in the National Railway Heritage
Awards, carried a record 126,450 passengers last year, a 6% increase over
2004. In terms of passenger numbers, it’s now one of Britain’s top five
heritage lines.
.
.
Away from the tracks
Norfolk totems – and more –
on offer
An enticing selection of railwayana from our area has come to light at two
sales.
|
Two Norfolk totems appeared at
Sheffield Railwayana Auctions’ March 11 event: Dersingham (on the closed
Hunstanton branch) and Wroxham (now Hoveton & Wroxham) fetched £1,050
and £700 respectively. The same sale featured a nameboard from Hethersett
signal box (£150); a Harling road enamel plate from the old Norwich
Thorpe departure boards (£50); a horseshoe-shaped Cromer nameplate
which fitted round a station lamp globe (£200); and a LNER-era Yarmouth
South Town lamp cowling in aluminium and perspex (£160). South Town
closed in 1970.
An Eastern & Midland Railway handlamp stamped “Gayton Road” reached
the heights of £620. Although artefacts from the E&M, the M&GN’s
predecessor company, are scarce, Brian Hunt reports that other E&M lamps
can be seen at Peter Bower’s Wroxham museum.
Meanwhile, at a Midland Counties/railwayana.net postal/online auction in
early March, a ‘virtually mint’ Magdalen Road totem commanded an eye-watering
£3,100. Magdalen Road is the old name for Watlington, the First Capital
Connect station 6 m. south of King’s Lynn.
Tunstead crossing house for sale
The latest Norfolk trackside building to come on the market is the gatehouse
at Tunstead, between Hoveton & Wroxham and Worstead. The two-storey
house has three bedrooms and three reception rooms and is priced at £235,000.
Although described by the agents Howards (tel 0845 3890409) as having “no
near neighbours”, it does of course see hourly Bittern line dmus rattle past
each way during the day, with condensate and aggregate traffic for variety.
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