Norfolk Railway Society: News archive May/June 2006

TO LONDON	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
From Norwich	£ 5	£ 10	£ 20	£ 30
From Ipswich	£ 5	£ 10	£ 17	£ 20
From Colchester	£ 5	£ 7	£ 12	£ 15

Advance Purchase tickets can be bought up to 6pm on the day before travel, but the earlier you book, the wider the choice will be.

Yarmouth sidings for sale
BRB (Residuary) Ltd has put up for sale 21 redundant freight sites, among them the Vauxhall sidings site at Great Yarmouth. The crescent-shaped site includes three long sidings and was last used for freight in 2000. BRB’s property agent Lambert Smith Hampton says, “As rail access is from the west it is necessary for the locomotive to run round trains in the station or to propel trains out of the site...the condition of the connection and infrastructure within the site require further examination.”

Norfolk County Council’s local plan safeguards Vauxhall sidings as a key marshalling and handling facility for the docks.

‘Festival’ nameplates transferred to a 90
The 2006 Norfolk and Norwich Festival was launched at Norwich station on May 3 when loco no. 90014 was named ‘Norfolk and Norwich Festival’ by John Alston, Chairman of the Festival Board of Trustees. The nameplates were previously carried by no. 86232, one of the now-retired Class 86 fleet.

It is reported that another Class 90 will be named ‘Sir John Betjeman’ at Liverpool Street in September.

First beer, now tea
‘Ale by Rail’ has been a rural routes marketing tool for some years. Now it’s the turn of the teapot. A guide encouraging people to visit tea shops by using the Bittern and Wherry lines was launched on May 19. Everyone who visits at least eight of the twelve participating shops will be awarded a prize, while those who manage all twelve have a chance to win a china tea service and two first class rail tickets on one.

Trolley removal “like taking ice cream out of cinemas”
Soon after taking over the Thameslink/GN franchise on April 1, First Capital Connect removed Thameslink and Wagn branding from rolling stock and pasted its own temporary labels on carriage sides. Now it’s gone one further – and removed the on-train refreshment trolleys. One dismayed Fen Line Users’ Association member likened it to taking ice cream and popcorn out of cinemas.

Crash survivors combine to form new unit
An unusual ‘hybrid’ 2-car Class 170 dmu is in service on Norwich – Cambridge trains. It consists of one-liveried driving car 79207 from unit no. 170207, coupled to MML (but Central-branded) driving car 79101 from unit no. 170101. The dmus were both involved in rail/road collisions last year: 170207 at Swainsthorpe level-crossing (Nov 13), and 170101 at Stonea (Aug 7), and the hybrid is formed of the two undamaged driving cars.

Doe rates meals
The catering on one’s London–Norwich trains is the best on the UK rail network – that’s the verdict of a new survey. In an assignment carried out by journalist Barry Doe for Rail magazine, one trumped GNER, First Great Western and Virgin, and received particular praise for its value for money, staff attitude and on-train announcements.

Yarmouth smartened up
Last year it was described as “an insult to Nelson”, gloomy with peeling paint and strewn with litter. Now Great Yarmouth station has benefitted from a £200,000 upgrade. Money from one, Norfolk County Council and Network Rail has given the station a re-paint, new toilets, a new waiting shelter on the platform and better platform lighting. On the forecourt, car parking spaces have been defined by white lines and bus passengers at last have a shelter.

Nuclear train in low-speed crash
Direct Rail Services Class 20s nos. 20310 and 20312 were taking an empty nuclear waste flask to the Sizewell A plant on May 22 when the train hit a Ford Focus at a level crossing near Knodishall, Suffolk. The train was travelling at between 15 and 20mph, and was able to continue on its journey after it had been checked. There were no injuries and no danger to the public.

Disabled access sought for South Norfolk stations
South Norfolk Council is to ask the railway authorities to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act and make improvements at Diss, Haddiscoe, Spooner Row and Wymondham stations, where wheelchair users and people with pushchairs find it difficult to access the platforms.

CRPs celebrate
Just six months after last September’s Community Rail Festival (NRS Newsletter Sep/Oct 2005) an ACoRP-sponsored Community Rail Day was held on Saturday May 20. However there were no special events or visiting traction this time. Instead, the Bittern, East Suffolk and Wherry Lines CRPs celebrated “another year of success” with displays for passengers and visitors at Norwich station. These and other East Anglian CRPs were also promoted at Liverpool Street station.

Norwich – London timing gets better
The punctuality of one’s main-line services improved in the first three months of 2006. Over 91% of trains between Norfolk, Suffolk, north/mid Essex and London Liverpool Street arrived “on time” (within 5 minutes – or 10 minutes for InterCity services – of the published time). This was the most punctual three-month period since the franchise changed hands in April 2004.

On one’s West Anglia and Rural services, over 88% of trains arrived within the specified 5 minutes.

New ticket machines
New self-service ticket machines have been installed at 38 stations across one’s network, Diss and Norwich among them. The 75 Scheidt & Bachmann touch-screen machines replace the previous Quickfare equipment. They can issue a ticket to any national rail destination and handle railcard discounts and season tickets. They accept cash and credit cards.

The machines, says one, will cut ticket office queues and enable customers to buy tickets when the office is closed. From the collector’s angle, Richard Adderson reports their tickets to be superficially indistinguishable from others in the current range.

Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and Miniature

Work goes on at Weybourne
Recently outshopped from the NNR’s Weybourne carriage shed is Mk 1 TSO coach no. E3868. Resplendent in BR lined maroon, it re-entered service on May 20.

Two vehicles currently in the carriage shed should be ready in time for the season’s first Murder Mystery train at the end of June. BR Mk 1 Brake Gangway no. M81033, which acts as the dining train’s kitchen, suffers from wheel flats and is having its wheelset changed. Another dining train vehicle, Gresley buffet no. 51769, is receiving attention to its bodywork, after which it will re-enter service in BR ‘blood and custard’.

On the loco front, work continues on ex-SR 4-6-2 no. 34081 92 Squadron and N7 0-6-2 no. 69621. It is hoped that both the SR Pacific and B12 no. 61572 will return to traffic at the end of July. Bodywork and mechanical repairs continue on Class 37 diesel no. D6732.

May Day weekend brings Norfolk steam bonanza
The weekend of April 29 - May 1 was one to remember.

Ex-LNER B1 4-6-0 no. 61264 kicked off a series of Railway Touring Company excursions on April 29. Several NRS members were aboard The Easterling , which ran from Norwich to Liverpool Street via Beccles and back via Diss, and they report that impressive speeds were reached. The next day the B1 and diesel no. 33025 worked three shuttles from Norwich to Sheringham and back; the B1 was at the head of the first two southbound and the last trip northbound. On Bank Holiday Monday the steam visitor left the county at the head of The Fenman, an excursion to Lincoln via Peterborough. No. 33025 brought the train back in the evening.

April 30 also marked the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s much-heralded return to steam – but for five weeks only. At 10:15, hired-in 0-6-0PT no. 9466, bunker-first and with brasswork gleaming, drew the first steam service out of Dereham. The loco operated on selected days until June 4.

‘Black 5’ visit blocked
On Sunday May 7, LMS 4-6-0 no. 45231 Sherwood Forester was due to visit Norwich with a Cathedrals Express excursion from King’s Cross via Ely. However local steam enthusiastsLovers were disappointed to find Blue Pullman-liveried no. 47709 at the head of the train instead. The green Mk2 coaching stock had been unable to reach Alton, where it was due to join the Black 5, as there was an engineers’ block around Acton Wells Jct.

The timings were based on a 60mph maximum for steam, and the Class 47 had to be restrained during the trip. The Cathedrals Express was seen returning through Thetford on time just before 18.00.

Quad-art Restoration
The M&GNJRS has issued an update on its Quad-art set. no 74 which left the North Norfolk Railway three years ago for restoration by Carnforth Railway Restoration and Engineering Services.

Coach 1 is complete apart from its wiring. Coach 2’s roof needs to be completed, and have its interior finished and its windows beaded. The exterior panelling of Coach 3 has been removed, its framework made good and most doors re-hung; re-panelling is soon to start. Work on Coach 4 should begin in early July.

Restoration of the four 1924-built coaches is costing £450,000, funded in part by a £341,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The HLF has put back to March 2007 its deadline for the project’s completion.

Weybourne webcam
The North Norfolk Railway has added Weybourne to its portfolio of webcams. To see images of the station at 30-second intervals, go to webcams.nnrailway.co.uk/ . As well as Weybourne there are two cameras at Sheringham and one at Holt.

Away from the tracks

Montana on the move
A Pullman coach which in the 1960s provided a Norfolk home from home for holidaymakers is up for sale.

Wooden-bodied car Montana (car no. 156) was built in Birmingham in 1923 and saw service on the SR and BR’s Southern Region until 1960. After withdrawal it served as a camping coach at Heacham station before being sold and removed to Barnwell Jct near Cambridge. Now specialist rolling-stock agent CAR Services of Shrewsbury is selling the coach on behalf of owner Pam Thornhill. CAR says it could be used as a restaurant, bar or camping coach, or restored “to its former glory”.

However the costs of moving Montana are estimated at about £10,000. The purchaser will have to use jacks to move it to an adjacent siding. From there it has to be pushed to the nearby oil terminal, about 3/4 mile away, after which a low-loader can transport it by road to its new home.

House with a Bure Valley view
Lovers of the 15” gauge may be attracted to the old station at Buxton which is on the market. Once officially known as Buxton Lamas, the station was opened by the East Norfolk Rly in 1879, even though the complete Wroxham – County School route wasn’t finished for another three years. It closed to passengers in 1952. In the 1980s, after freight traffic along the line had ended, the Bure Valley Railway sprung up along the trackbed.

The 3-bedroomed house enjoys an excellent view over the miniature line – and its peace is disturbed by a steam whistle up to twelve times a day! It’s on sale at £225,000 through Ewing Self (01263 733881).

Travellers may settle by Marriott’s Way
It’s reported that a permanent travellers’ site could be set up on land alongside the former Whitwell & Reepham station. The site adjoins Marriott’s Way, a popular walking and cycling route created on the old M&GN trackbed. Reepham Town council would prefer to see the site used for a youth hostel.

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