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News archive November/December 2006
Felixstowe
fiasco leaves football fans fuming
Although Ipswich Town supporters were in good spirits after their team beat Norwich City 3-1 at Portman Road on November 19, a sizeable contingent from Felixstowe, reports John Yelverton, were less cheerful after wrecked travel arrangements spoiled their day. A one ‘footex’ special which was to take them to the match was cancelled at the last minute – and a bus replacement arrived too late.
Well over 100 people were waiting at Felixstowe Town for the advertised 10.34 train. However over-running engineering works caused one to send a double decker bus instead. But it only reached Felixstowe at around 11.00, by which time the crowds had melted away and virtually all had arranged to get to the match by car. The bus – which would not have had room for all the prospective passengers – conveyed just seven people from Felixstowe and one from Trimley. It reached Ipswich at 11.31, one minute after the kick-off.
The loss of revenue must have been considerable, and the loss of goodwill, which might have produced more rail journeys in the future, is even more disturbing. Clive Morris, one’s Business Director - Rural Services apologised for the fiasco, but laid the blame at Network Rail’s door.
New Norfolk rail lobby group is set up
The Inaugural meeting of the Norfolk Rail Alliance took place on November 10 at County Hall.
The Alliance is a new lobby group seeking future investment. It will initially concentrate on improvements which one’s Norwich – London line requires. Among those attending the first meeting were Norfolk MPs Richard Bacon and Ian Gibson and representatives from Norfolk County, district and borough councils. NRS member Peter Lawrence attended as Chairman of the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and was also able to convey Railfuture’s views.
The Alliance will be among the bodies attending a formal ‘grilling’ of one and Network Rail on December 15.
Liverpool – Norwich through journeys saved
The clamour to retain through trains between Liverpool and Norwich has paid off. In a document issued in October, the DfT states that there will be ‘no significant changes’ to the service under the new East Midlands franchise arrangements. It had previously suggested splitting the service at Nottingham, and possibly diverting alternate trains to/from Cambridge instead of Norwich.
The East Midlands franchise begins on November 11 2007. It will combine the Midland Mainline system with the services Central Trains now operates to Norwich, Derby, Lincoln, Worksop, Matlock, Peterborough, Skegness and Cleethorpes. The four short-listed bidders are Arriva Trains East Midlands; First East Midlands Ltd; NXE Trains Ltd (National Express) and Stagecoach Midland Rail Ltd. Leading the Arriva bid is Andy Cooper, whose time at the helm of Anglia Railways will be recalled by many NRS members.
Central strike on the cards for festive period
For the third year running Central Trains’ services over Christmas and New Year could be disrupted by strike action.
The RMT has balloted its Senior Conductor members over payments for working on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. CT managing director Steve Banaghan says union negotiators have rejected the company’s offer of additional payments for working these days.
Meanwhile one and ASLEF reached a provisional pay agreement after protracted negotiations. As a result, the union called off six days of industrial action previously announced for November and December.
Saintly unit
The name 'Saint Edmund' has been bestowed on Class 156 dmu no.156416 (to be precise, car no.52416 of that set).
The naming ceremony, held at Ipswich station on November 28, was in support of BBC Radio Suffolk’s campaign to make Edmund the patron saint of England in place of George.
Unlike the previous pictorial plates carried by local Class 150 and 153 dmu’s, the 'Saint Edmund' plates are made from cast alloy and have been fitted below the windows.
Liverpool Street to become totally gated
Travellers from Norfolk to London will soon find an extra obstacle as they alight at Liverpool Street. In a measure designed to clamp down on ticketless travel, one is to install automated ticket barriers on Platforms 8, 9 and 10. When the £880,000 project is complete, all platforms at the terminus will have ticket barriers – 65 in total.
January fare rises see Central join the singles revolution
Commuters across the UK network face the unwelcome prospect of ticket prices rising well above inflation in January. At the same time Central Trains will drop return fares from its bargain off-peak ticket range, as many other TOCs have already done.
From January 2 CTs’ range of Central Value tickets will consist only of single fares. Instead of the current Birmingham – Peterborough CV7 fares, for example – £13.00 single or £14.00 return – there’ll just be a CV7 single at £8.00. CT says the new ‘simple and flexible ticket range’ will give the customer the best available fare for each leg of the journey in addition to maximising spare capacity on off-peak train services. Customers can ‘mix and match’ fares and ticket types to obtain the best value journey.
Under one’s new season ticket prices a standard Norwich to London annual ticket will go up by 6.8%, from £5,280 to £5,640. It’s even worse for travellers between Norwich and Diss, who’ll see their prices rise by well over 8%. one spokesman Jonathan Denby defended the increases, saying they would bring “parity and balance” to the fare structure. On behalf of Railfuture, Peter Lawrence described the increases as of “great concern”. He drew attention to the series of delays during the past months.
Choppers to the rescue after 90 brings down the lines
Is this a ‘first’ – a Railhead Treatment Train taking the role of ’Thunderbird’?
On November 9 no. 90013 was propelling the 09:00 Liverpool St – Norwich when it de-wired near Claydon. It bent the pantograph, sending some debris into a passing train, and damaging a six-mile stretch of OHL. Eventually the loco lost power and stopped north of Stowmarket. DRS nos. 20306 and 20308 – their RHTT train still between them! – were summoned from nearby sidings to drag the train back to Stowmarket.
one laid on a coach link between Ipswich and Stowmarket, but passengers faced long delays as services were limited to hourly departures from Liverpool Street.
The failed train remained at Stowmarket until late that night, and northbound trains left Stowmarket ‘wrong line’, carrying a pilot. Up and down lines reopened the next day, but as only three trainsets were at Norwich the early-morning service was a limited one.
Having had a new pantograph fitted, no. 90013 returned to traffic on November 21.
Murals brighten Brandon
A splash of colour has been brought to Brandon station buildings by a series of murals. The ten panels were painted in acrylics by children from Breckland Middle School and show scenes from the history of the town and its countryside. They were officially unveiled by Richard Spring MP on November 3.
ASLEF calls off six days of stoppages
one and ASLEF have reached a provisional pay agreement after protracted negotiations. As a result, the union has called off the six days of industrial action previously announced for November and December.
Second track fault hits Norwich – Ely line
Around 50 passengers suffered a four-hour delay after a Central Trains Liverpool – Norwich dmu hit a cracked rail near Lakenheath. The incident occurred on November 2 at around 20.50. The dmu’s undercarriage was damaged and the line was closed overnight for engineers to repair the track. Passengers eventually reached Norwich at 01.15, after a bus was laid on from Lakenheath station.
The accident comes just weeks after a one Norwich – Cambridge train derailed at Kilverstone Heath level crossing after hitting a raised rubber slab. (NRS Newsletter Sept/Oct 2006).
Freak tides damage track at Haddiscoe
The Wherry Line between Norwich and Lowestoft, already closed for a two-week track renewal project, suffered damage on November 1 when a tidal surge brought the worst flooding in 12 years and washed away a section of ballast at Haddiscoe. Network Rail repaired the line in time for it to reopen as planned on November 6, but subsequent high tides led to the imposition of a 5 mph speed restriction.
Loco naming marks carriage upgrade completion
For well over a year one has been refurbishing its fleet of Mark 3 carriages on the Norwich to London Liverpool Street service. The programme’s completion was celebrated on October 17 when invited guests from across the region travelled from Norwich on a special 10.54 train. On arrival at Liverpool Street, loco no.90011 which had operated the service was named ‘Let’s Go East of England’ by Derek Langslow, Chairman of the East of England Tourist Board.
All 118 of the Mk 3 carriages have new interiors, new facilities for the disabled, air-conditioning improvements and the one livery. There are 6 new buffet vehicles trading as 'one café', and the existing restaurant coaches have been improved.
Thameslink 2014?
An important step towards the £3.5bn Thameslink project was taken in October when Network Rail was granted planning permission and legal powers for the long-delayed Thameslink project.
Under Thameslink – known optimistically as ‘Thameslink 2000’ in the latter years of the last century – passenger capacity from west Norfolk and Cambridgeshire would double, and the number of stations used by cross-London north-south services would rise from 51 to 172.
Funding for the scheme still requires government approval. If this is given Thameslink is likely to take about seven years to complete.
Walking along the East Suffolk line
Representatives from the local area gathered at Melton station on October 30 to launch the East Suffolk Line guided walks booklet. Those who wished could then walk to Woodbridge station along the newly way-marked route.
The booklet contains eleven walks along the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Lowestoft. It has been produced by the East Suffolk Line Community Rail Partnership. Copies can be obtained for £2 post free from:
Trevor Garrod, 15, Clapham Road South, Lowestoft NR32 1RQ
Passenger journeys are reported to have increased by 15% since the East Suffolk CRP’s launch in October 2004.
Berney Arms abandoned for a fortnight
While engineering work was carried out on the Wherry Lines from October 21 to November 5 (NRS Newsletter Sep/Oct), buses replaced trains. Some ran non-stop between Norwich and the coast, others called at intermediate stations. However one station had to do without any service at all for two weeks: Berney Arms, where there is no road access.
For the first time in many years, a main-line steam-hauled train will leave Dereham next Spring – bound for London. On Saturday May 5, LNER B1 4-6-0 no. 61264 will haul the Railway Touring Co’s East Anglian out of the Mid-Norfolk Railway station at 08.00. Travelling via Wymondham, Norwich and Diss, it's due to arrive at Liverpool Street around 12:30. The return journey, again behind by the B1, will leave Liverpool Street at around 17.30, with diesel haulage confined to the Norwich to Dereham final leg.
A standard class ticket will cost £74. First class and premier dining are also available. Details from the Railway Touring Co. (01553 661500 or www.railwaytouring.co.uk).
The MNR has announced that BR(W) 0-6-0PT no. 9466, which made a successful visit to the MNR earlier this year, will return between May 12 and July 1.
Preservation groups battle to beat St Ives deadline
As work was about to start in November on Cambridgeshire’s £116 million guided bus scheme, preservation groups hastened to salvage what they could.
Contractors Edmund Nuttall are building the 15-mile busway, said to be the world's longest, which follows the old Cambridge – St Ives branch line. Before the line’s ownership passed from Network Rail to Cambridgeshire County Council and Nuttalls started work, volunteers from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway removed flat-bottomed rail lengths from the unusable sleepers, while a Swindon and Cricklade Railway gang salvaged bull-head rail. Groups from the Nene Valley, Mid-Norfolk and Lincolnshire Wolds lines were also reported to have been active.
The controversial busway was given the go-ahead despite determined efforts by CAST.IRON and other local groups to reopen the branch as a passenger railway.
At last – 47596 is here!
It’s over three years since plans were announced for no.47596 to come to Norfolk. Now the locomotive, owned by the Stratford 47 Group, has at last made the journey from Tyseley to the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Dereham headquarters.
Along with a spare bogie, the Res-liveried loco, formerly named Aldeburgh Festival, was pulled aboard an Allely’s Heavy Haulage vehicle on November 15. After an overnight stop in a lay-by near Swaffham, it arrived at Dereham the following morning. On November 25, it carried out a test run to Kimberley Park with nos. 31538 and 50019 acting as a load.
In September the loco’s wheels were reprofiled by Maintrain and since then its ETH system has been used to test Mk2 air-con coaching stock for Tyseley Railway Museum.
No. 47596’s arrival brings to five the number of ex-main-line loco classes to be found on the MNR. The others are Classes 20, 31 (3 examples), 50 and 56. The Stratford 47 Group’s other loco, no. 47367, is based at the North Norfolk Railway.
Remembering Ganger William at Kimberley Park
Facilities at the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Kimberley Park station now include a seat for travellers.
Ten members of the Bunting family travelled by MNR train to Kimberley Park on November 19. At the station they dedicated a new bench bearing a plaque in memory of William and Florence Bunting. William was once part of the track gang on that length, and the family used to occupy the railway cottage alongside the station.
The bench is in GER style, with a LNER-type cast metal ‘Kimberley Park’ name let into the top rail.
Carlton Colville station wrecked
The East Suffolk Light Railway’s station building at the East Anglian Transport Museum has recently succumbed to a demolition crew, reports Dave White. But it’s not as disastrous as it sounds; the station needed to be altered to create space for a trolleybus route. A replacement Chapel Road terminal building will be erected in due course.
The ESLR is home to what is thought to be the only surviving piece of rolling-stock from the 3ft-gauge Southwold Railway, a luggage van body. This is now to have a chassis fitted, and will be placed beneath a shelter to protect the bodywork from deteriorating further.
NNR sells out-of-use ‘Austerity’ tank
The North Norfolk Railway is reported to have sold its ‘Austerity’ J94 0-6-0ST.
The Hunslet-built loco, works no.3809, is one of several ordered for Army use in 1952. After its ‘demob’, no. 3809 worked in a Fifeshire coalfield and the NNR bought it in 1986. Its final years ‘in ticket’ were spent on the Great Central (Nottingham) Railway. Since returning, it’s been on static display at Sheringham, with steps for visitors to see the footplate.
Several old Norfolk railway buildings have been converted into holiday homes, among them the Hunstanton branch station at Heacham where trains last called in May 1969. Station owners Terry and Judith Clay have turned the old waiting rooms into a self-catering cottage, retaining the platform canopy and placing railway memorabilia to add to the atmosphere.
Now Mr and Mrs Clay have increased their accommodation by buying Mk1 Corridor First coach no. 13318. At the end of November a low-loader brought it from the Battlefield line in Leicestershire to its new home, where it was positioned on a length of track.
It’s hoped that the carriage will open for business next summer. BR maroon will replace the InterCity livery and the seven compartments will become two ensuite bedrooms, a kitchen, reading room and bathroom.
Cromer box clear-up gets under way
Work has begun to restore the redundant Cromer signal box and convert it to a museum and education centre. Network Rail has granted a 25-year lease to the Cromer Railway Signalling Society and fenced off the box from the running line. Society volunteers have begun clearing the surrounding vegetation. Working parties are held on the first Saturday of each month
The M&GN signal box was built in 1922 and has been out of use since June 2000. It is a Grade II listed building, as are two associated semaphore signals.
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Although Ipswich Town supporters were in good spirits after their team beat Norwich City 3-1 at Portman Road on November 19, a sizeable contingent from Felixstowe, reports John Yelverton, were less cheerful after wrecked travel arrangements spoiled their day. A one ‘footex’ special which was to take them to the match was cancelled at the last minute – and a bus replacement arrived too late.
Well over 100 people were waiting at Felixstowe Town for the advertised 10.34 train. However over-running engineering works caused one to send a double decker bus instead. But it only reached Felixstowe at around 11.00, by which time the crowds had melted away and virtually all had arranged to get to the match by car. The bus – which would not have had room for all the prospective passengers – conveyed just seven people from Felixstowe and one from Trimley. It reached Ipswich at 11.31, one minute after the kick-off.
The loss of revenue must have been considerable, and the loss of goodwill, which might have produced more rail journeys in the future, is even more disturbing. Clive Morris, one’s Business Director - Rural Services apologised for the fiasco, but laid the blame at Network Rail’s door.
New Norfolk rail lobby group is set up
The Inaugural meeting of the Norfolk Rail Alliance took place on November 10 at County Hall.
The Alliance is a new lobby group seeking future investment. It will initially concentrate on improvements which one’s Norwich – London line requires. Among those attending the first meeting were Norfolk MPs Richard Bacon and Ian Gibson and representatives from Norfolk County, district and borough councils. NRS member Peter Lawrence attended as Chairman of the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and was also able to convey Railfuture’s views.
The Alliance will be among the bodies attending a formal ‘grilling’ of one and Network Rail on December 15.
Liverpool – Norwich through journeys saved
The clamour to retain through trains between Liverpool and Norwich has paid off. In a document issued in October, the DfT states that there will be ‘no significant changes’ to the service under the new East Midlands franchise arrangements. It had previously suggested splitting the service at Nottingham, and possibly diverting alternate trains to/from Cambridge instead of Norwich.
The East Midlands franchise begins on November 11 2007. It will combine the Midland Mainline system with the services Central Trains now operates to Norwich, Derby, Lincoln, Worksop, Matlock, Peterborough, Skegness and Cleethorpes. The four short-listed bidders are Arriva Trains East Midlands; First East Midlands Ltd; NXE Trains Ltd (National Express) and Stagecoach Midland Rail Ltd. Leading the Arriva bid is Andy Cooper, whose time at the helm of Anglia Railways will be recalled by many NRS members.
Central strike on the cards for festive period
For the third year running Central Trains’ services over Christmas and New Year could be disrupted by strike action.
The RMT has balloted its Senior Conductor members over payments for working on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. CT managing director Steve Banaghan says union negotiators have rejected the company’s offer of additional payments for working these days.
Meanwhile one and ASLEF reached a provisional pay agreement after protracted negotiations. As a result, the union called off six days of industrial action previously announced for November and December.
Saintly unit
The name 'Saint Edmund' has been bestowed on Class 156 dmu no.156416 (to be precise, car no.52416 of that set).
The naming ceremony, held at Ipswich station on November 28, was in support of BBC Radio Suffolk’s campaign to make Edmund the patron saint of England in place of George.
Unlike the previous pictorial plates carried by local Class 150 and 153 dmu’s, the 'Saint Edmund' plates are made from cast alloy and have been fitted below the windows.
Liverpool Street to become totally gated
Travellers from Norfolk to London will soon find an extra obstacle as they alight at Liverpool Street. In a measure designed to clamp down on ticketless travel, one is to install automated ticket barriers on Platforms 8, 9 and 10. When the £880,000 project is complete, all platforms at the terminus will have ticket barriers – 65 in total.
January fare rises see Central join the singles revolution
Commuters across the UK network face the unwelcome prospect of ticket prices rising well above inflation in January. At the same time Central Trains will drop return fares from its bargain off-peak ticket range, as many other TOCs have already done.
From January 2 CTs’ range of Central Value tickets will consist only of single fares. Instead of the current Birmingham – Peterborough CV7 fares, for example – £13.00 single or £14.00 return – there’ll just be a CV7 single at £8.00. CT says the new ‘simple and flexible ticket range’ will give the customer the best available fare for each leg of the journey in addition to maximising spare capacity on off-peak train services. Customers can ‘mix and match’ fares and ticket types to obtain the best value journey.
Under one’s new season ticket prices a standard Norwich to London annual ticket will go up by 6.8%, from £5,280 to £5,640. It’s even worse for travellers between Norwich and Diss, who’ll see their prices rise by well over 8%. one spokesman Jonathan Denby defended the increases, saying they would bring “parity and balance” to the fare structure. On behalf of Railfuture, Peter Lawrence described the increases as of “great concern”. He drew attention to the series of delays during the past months.
Choppers to the rescue after 90 brings down the lines
Is this a ‘first’ – a Railhead Treatment Train taking the role of ’Thunderbird’?
On November 9 no. 90013 was propelling the 09:00 Liverpool St – Norwich when it de-wired near Claydon. It bent the pantograph, sending some debris into a passing train, and damaging a six-mile stretch of OHL. Eventually the loco lost power and stopped north of Stowmarket. DRS nos. 20306 and 20308 – their RHTT train still between them! – were summoned from nearby sidings to drag the train back to Stowmarket.
one laid on a coach link between Ipswich and Stowmarket, but passengers faced long delays as services were limited to hourly departures from Liverpool Street.
The failed train remained at Stowmarket until late that night, and northbound trains left Stowmarket ‘wrong line’, carrying a pilot. Up and down lines reopened the next day, but as only three trainsets were at Norwich the early-morning service was a limited one.
Having had a new pantograph fitted, no. 90013 returned to traffic on November 21.
Murals brighten Brandon
A splash of colour has been brought to Brandon station buildings by a series of murals. The ten panels were painted in acrylics by children from Breckland Middle School and show scenes from the history of the town and its countryside. They were officially unveiled by Richard Spring MP on November 3.
ASLEF calls off six days of stoppages
one and ASLEF have reached a provisional pay agreement after protracted negotiations. As a result, the union has called off the six days of industrial action previously announced for November and December.
Second track fault hits Norwich – Ely line
Around 50 passengers suffered a four-hour delay after a Central Trains Liverpool – Norwich dmu hit a cracked rail near Lakenheath. The incident occurred on November 2 at around 20.50. The dmu’s undercarriage was damaged and the line was closed overnight for engineers to repair the track. Passengers eventually reached Norwich at 01.15, after a bus was laid on from Lakenheath station.
The accident comes just weeks after a one Norwich – Cambridge train derailed at Kilverstone Heath level crossing after hitting a raised rubber slab. (NRS Newsletter Sept/Oct 2006).
Freak tides damage track at Haddiscoe
The Wherry Line between Norwich and Lowestoft, already closed for a two-week track renewal project, suffered damage on November 1 when a tidal surge brought the worst flooding in 12 years and washed away a section of ballast at Haddiscoe. Network Rail repaired the line in time for it to reopen as planned on November 6, but subsequent high tides led to the imposition of a 5 mph speed restriction.
Loco naming marks carriage upgrade completion
For well over a year one has been refurbishing its fleet of Mark 3 carriages on the Norwich to London Liverpool Street service. The programme’s completion was celebrated on October 17 when invited guests from across the region travelled from Norwich on a special 10.54 train. On arrival at Liverpool Street, loco no.90011 which had operated the service was named ‘Let’s Go East of England’ by Derek Langslow, Chairman of the East of England Tourist Board.
All 118 of the Mk 3 carriages have new interiors, new facilities for the disabled, air-conditioning improvements and the one livery. There are 6 new buffet vehicles trading as 'one café', and the existing restaurant coaches have been improved.
Thameslink 2014?
An important step towards the £3.5bn Thameslink project was taken in October when Network Rail was granted planning permission and legal powers for the long-delayed Thameslink project.
Under Thameslink – known optimistically as ‘Thameslink 2000’ in the latter years of the last century – passenger capacity from west Norfolk and Cambridgeshire would double, and the number of stations used by cross-London north-south services would rise from 51 to 172.
Funding for the scheme still requires government approval. If this is given Thameslink is likely to take about seven years to complete.
Walking along the East Suffolk line
Representatives from the local area gathered at Melton station on October 30 to launch the East Suffolk Line guided walks booklet. Those who wished could then walk to Woodbridge station along the newly way-marked route.
The booklet contains eleven walks along the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Lowestoft. It has been produced by the East Suffolk Line Community Rail Partnership. Copies can be obtained for £2 post free from:
Trevor Garrod, 15, Clapham Road South, Lowestoft NR32 1RQ
Passenger journeys are reported to have increased by 15% since the East Suffolk CRP’s launch in October 2004.
Berney Arms abandoned for a fortnight
While engineering work was carried out on the Wherry Lines from October 21 to November 5 (NRS Newsletter Sep/Oct), buses replaced trains. Some ran non-stop between Norwich and the coast, others called at intermediate stations. However one station had to do without any service at all for two weeks: Berney Arms, where there is no road access.
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and Miniature
B1 to head excursion from DerehamFor the first time in many years, a main-line steam-hauled train will leave Dereham next Spring – bound for London. On Saturday May 5, LNER B1 4-6-0 no. 61264 will haul the Railway Touring Co’s East Anglian out of the Mid-Norfolk Railway station at 08.00. Travelling via Wymondham, Norwich and Diss, it's due to arrive at Liverpool Street around 12:30. The return journey, again behind by the B1, will leave Liverpool Street at around 17.30, with diesel haulage confined to the Norwich to Dereham final leg.
A standard class ticket will cost £74. First class and premier dining are also available. Details from the Railway Touring Co. (01553 661500 or www.railwaytouring.co.uk).
The MNR has announced that BR(W) 0-6-0PT no. 9466, which made a successful visit to the MNR earlier this year, will return between May 12 and July 1.
Preservation groups battle to beat St Ives deadline
As work was about to start in November on Cambridgeshire’s £116 million guided bus scheme, preservation groups hastened to salvage what they could.
Contractors Edmund Nuttall are building the 15-mile busway, said to be the world's longest, which follows the old Cambridge – St Ives branch line. Before the line’s ownership passed from Network Rail to Cambridgeshire County Council and Nuttalls started work, volunteers from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway removed flat-bottomed rail lengths from the unusable sleepers, while a Swindon and Cricklade Railway gang salvaged bull-head rail. Groups from the Nene Valley, Mid-Norfolk and Lincolnshire Wolds lines were also reported to have been active.
The controversial busway was given the go-ahead despite determined efforts by CAST.IRON and other local groups to reopen the branch as a passenger railway.
At last – 47596 is here!
It’s over three years since plans were announced for no.47596 to come to Norfolk. Now the locomotive, owned by the Stratford 47 Group, has at last made the journey from Tyseley to the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Dereham headquarters.
Along with a spare bogie, the Res-liveried loco, formerly named Aldeburgh Festival, was pulled aboard an Allely’s Heavy Haulage vehicle on November 15. After an overnight stop in a lay-by near Swaffham, it arrived at Dereham the following morning. On November 25, it carried out a test run to Kimberley Park with nos. 31538 and 50019 acting as a load.
In September the loco’s wheels were reprofiled by Maintrain and since then its ETH system has been used to test Mk2 air-con coaching stock for Tyseley Railway Museum.
No. 47596’s arrival brings to five the number of ex-main-line loco classes to be found on the MNR. The others are Classes 20, 31 (3 examples), 50 and 56. The Stratford 47 Group’s other loco, no. 47367, is based at the North Norfolk Railway.
Remembering Ganger William at Kimberley Park
Facilities at the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Kimberley Park station now include a seat for travellers.
Ten members of the Bunting family travelled by MNR train to Kimberley Park on November 19. At the station they dedicated a new bench bearing a plaque in memory of William and Florence Bunting. William was once part of the track gang on that length, and the family used to occupy the railway cottage alongside the station.
The bench is in GER style, with a LNER-type cast metal ‘Kimberley Park’ name let into the top rail.
Carlton Colville station wrecked
The East Suffolk Light Railway’s station building at the East Anglian Transport Museum has recently succumbed to a demolition crew, reports Dave White. But it’s not as disastrous as it sounds; the station needed to be altered to create space for a trolleybus route. A replacement Chapel Road terminal building will be erected in due course.
The ESLR is home to what is thought to be the only surviving piece of rolling-stock from the 3ft-gauge Southwold Railway, a luggage van body. This is now to have a chassis fitted, and will be placed beneath a shelter to protect the bodywork from deteriorating further.
NNR sells out-of-use ‘Austerity’ tank
The North Norfolk Railway is reported to have sold its ‘Austerity’ J94 0-6-0ST.
The Hunslet-built loco, works no.3809, is one of several ordered for Army use in 1952. After its ‘demob’, no. 3809 worked in a Fifeshire coalfield and the NNR bought it in 1986. Its final years ‘in ticket’ were spent on the Great Central (Nottingham) Railway. Since returning, it’s been on static display at Sheringham, with steps for visitors to see the footplate.
Away from the tracks
First-class accommodation at HeachamSeveral old Norfolk railway buildings have been converted into holiday homes, among them the Hunstanton branch station at Heacham where trains last called in May 1969. Station owners Terry and Judith Clay have turned the old waiting rooms into a self-catering cottage, retaining the platform canopy and placing railway memorabilia to add to the atmosphere.
Now Mr and Mrs Clay have increased their accommodation by buying Mk1 Corridor First coach no. 13318. At the end of November a low-loader brought it from the Battlefield line in Leicestershire to its new home, where it was positioned on a length of track.
It’s hoped that the carriage will open for business next summer. BR maroon will replace the InterCity livery and the seven compartments will become two ensuite bedrooms, a kitchen, reading room and bathroom.
Cromer box clear-up gets under way
Work has begun to restore the redundant Cromer signal box and convert it to a museum and education centre. Network Rail has granted a 25-year lease to the Cromer Railway Signalling Society and fenced off the box from the running line. Society volunteers have begun clearing the surrounding vegetation. Working parties are held on the first Saturday of each month
The M&GN signal box was built in 1922 and has been out of use since June 2000. It is a Grade II listed building, as are two associated semaphore signals.
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