National
Network
McNulty report may bring stop-gap
National Express's
Greater Anglia operating franchise was originally due to expire in March 2011
but in September it was extended by seven months (NRS
NL Sep/Oct 2010).
In a statement on rail
industry reform issued in December, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said
that he proposes 'a short contract, competed in open competition in 2011, to
run and improve services in the Greater Anglia franchise....until a new
new-style longer franchise is let in 2013'.
The proposals follows
a report by Sir Roy McNulty on value-for-money on the UK rail network, which
criticised poor use of trains, differing fare levels and uncertain industry
leadership.
Therese Coffey, MP for
Suffolk Coastal, has established that the interim franchise will not be subject
to widespread public consultation.
Service upgrades launched at
NXEA's new timetable began on December 12, and among the
improvements to services are the doubling of daytime trains between
To mark these
improvements, formal 'launches' took place a few days after the services
started. On December 17 Suffolk County Council Transport Portfolio Holder Guy
McGregor joined NXEA’s Head of Corporate Affairs
Jonathan Denby and Rural Station Manager James
Steward at
Surprise
The first of a
brand-new class of electric multiple-unit paid a surprise visit to
The white-liveried
unit's visit to
The same day Peter
Adds noted unit no.379002 beside Ilford depot at about 10.00, still marshalled
between barrier vehicles.
Council cuts rail funding
In a blow to local
rail travel, Norfolk County Council has stopped its annual £40,000 grant to the
Bittern and Wherry Lines Partnerships and withdrawn
the post of Community Rail Officer. Despite this drastic measure, which comes
as part of the current financial review, the Council says that it remains
committed to the objectives of rail partnerships.
East Anglian
rides again - twice!
National Express East
Anglia has named Class 90 loco no.90008 ‘The East Anglian’. The ceremony took
place at
No. 90008, whose
nameplates are attached to the silver-grey part of the bodyside unlike other named NX-liveried engines, formed the
10.00 train to
The new faster 07.40
Norwich – Liverpool Street (journey time :1 hour 44 mins.)
and the 17.00 return are now also officially called The East
Anglian, reviving the traditional name for the
key business train between Norfolk, Suffolk and the capital.
Big freeze puts paid to Cathedrals Express
The extreme weather
which affected much of the
Ex-LMS Black 5 no.
45305 had been scheduled to haul the train as a replacement for out-of-service
no. 70013 Oliver Cromwell. However the
WiFi
goes live
National Express East
Anglia introduced full wi-fi facilities on its
Last year NXEA secured
a contribution of £346,000 from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA)
and
A major rebuilding
scheme has begun at Colchester North station. NXEA and Network Rail are
reinstating the main south entrance, which will include a ticket office,
relocated customer service office and a WH Smith outlet. Extra shelters will be
provided for passengers boarding
The £2.2m cost of the
rebuilding will be met in part by funding from the National Stations
Improvement Programme, Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council.
Celebrating 'March 125'
The 125th anniversary
of the platforms opening at March station took place on Saturday December 11.
The first station at March opened in January 1847, but it was replaced in 1885
by the present station, sited west of the original.
At 08.40 A4 Class
4-6-2 No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley
called at the station with the Christmas White Rose excursion from Cambridge to
York, after which there were a number of activities for enthusiasts and local
residents, arranged by Friends of March Railway Station and Fenland District
Council’s Street Pride group. They included performances from March Brass 2000
and March Model Railway Club, and exhibitions and memorabilia displaying
changes during the station’s history. Miniature train rides along the platforms
were provided by the Fenland Light Railway.
Track death at Cantley
British Transport
Police and paramedics were called to the railway near Cantley
station on the evening of December 2 after a man was struck by a
Crossing plans raise hackles at Downham Market
Network Rail's plans
to do away with the pedestrian crossing at Downham
Market station, and force passengers to use the nearby road crossing, have come
in for criticism. The Fen Line Users' Association says it is against the change
because it merely moves the risk to pedestrians from the railway to the road.
Heritage,
Narrow-gauge and Miniature
Arrivals and departures at Bressingham
Norwegian
There have been loco
changes on Bressingham's 2ft-gauge Nursery Railway
too. New-build 0-4-0STT Bevan,
named after Bevan Braithwaite, former chairman of Bressingham Steam Preservation Trust who died in 2008, has
been retired for rebuilding, and, following the sale of 0-6-0WT Bronllwyd to the Statfold Barn Railway, the SBR's Hunslet 0-4-0ST Statfold
and Baguley Drewry diesel
no.3782 were hired for the rest of the season. A new boiler for Hunslet 0-4-0ST Bill Harvey/George Sholto is awaited, and once it arrives the loco will
be reassembled ready for the 2011 season.
On the 15"-gauge
line, the dismantled
Sheringham
crossing starts to earn its keep
Reopened a year ago, Sheringham level crossing saw a disappointing lack of activity during the remainder of 2010. However the NNR has
announced that so far three railtours have been
planned for this year.
The first, on March
26, will be a Railway Touring Company Broadsman
excursion from
Visiting locomotives
for the NNR's March steam gala have been announced as
GWR 4-4-0 City of Truro in its new livery, J72 0-6-0T
no. 69023, and LMS Jinty 3F 0-6-0T no.47406. They
will join three locos from the NNR-based fleet.
B12 boiler passes test, moves to Bury
An important milestone
in the restoration of the M&GNJRS's B12
Shortly afterwards the
boiler was moved by road to the Bury works of Riley & Son (E) Ltd. Already
at Bury were the B12's tender, which had arrived from Weybourne
the week before, and the loco's bottom end.
The B12 last steamed
in summer 2007. The M&GNJRS says that its return to traffic still looks
some way off, but the successful steam test of the boiler means that 'the
overhaul has certainly entered the home straight'.
New passenger record for the
Figures released in
January show that a total of 143,991 travelled on North Norfolk Railway trains
in 2010, a rise of over 13% on the 2009 total and the railway’s highest-ever passenger total. General manager
Trevor Eady attributes the record figures to three
key factors: the reopening of Sheringham level
crossing, doubling the number of trains run in May and June, and introducing
new events like the visit of Ivor the Engine.”
Work progresses on
The Stratford Class 47
Group owns three Class 47 diesel locos, two of which are Norfolk-based and
undergoing repair.
At the North Norfolk
Railway's Weybourne works, work continues to prepare
no.47367 for the 2011 operating season. A swap of the no.1 end bogie has been
accomplished with the assistance of hydraulic lifting gear, and the bodyside repaint requires just one final top coat once all
other work has been completed. Attention has also been given to the roof
section, replacing rotted sections prior to a planned repaint into blue.
Meanwhile the power
unit of no.47596 Aldeburgh Festival is undergoing a
lengthy rebuild at the Mid-Norfolk Railway's Dereham
yard. In October the main crankshaft bearings were removed for inspection, a
very difficult task on a Sulzer power unit as it
involves the removal of twelve 35kg balance weights as well as bearing wedges
and locking plates. A replacement roof has been sourced and painted.
The Group's third loco
is Network Rail-registered no 47580
Wissington
returns
Hudswell-Clarke 0-6-0ST Wissington has returned to the North Norfolk
Railway. Now at Weybourne, it
needs further work on axleboxes and the cab
floor. Once that is done reassembly will begin using the new gantry crane and
the synchronised jacks.
Built in 1936, Wissington spent its working life
at the British Sugar Corporation factory in west
HST to visit Mid-Norfolk
Another 'first' for
the Mid-Norfolk Railway is planned for Saturday May 14, when an East Midlands
Trains HST set arrives as a charter service, run in aid of
the 'Railway Children' charity. The HST's appearance
will be part of a special weekend with a 'Drags and Rescues' theme.
The
Built in 1950 by
Charles Roberts & Co of
The EATM has concluded
a loan agreement with Beamish and hopes that no.513 will join the museum’s
fleet of four operating tramcars during the early part of this year's season.
Away
from the Tracks
Southwold
documents go 'home'
The archives of the Southwold Railway Trust, which is planning a heritage site
close to the old Wenhaston station (NRS NL 55/6), have received a welcome addition. A local
firm of solicitors discovered in its attic a tin box full of documents relating
to the closure of the railway, and have donated them to the Trust.
The documents were
amassed by the official receivers for the SR. They cover such things as rent
for coal yard space and ex-railway cottages in Halesworth,
as well as records of payments received and due. There is also an inventory of
items which the Army removed during WWII for the war effort.
A good year at Cromer box
The Cromer Railway
Signalling Society, which restores and maintains the Grade II-listed
ex-M&GN signal box at Cromer, has made good progress in 2010. In his report
to the Society's AGM in November, the Society's Chairman, John Hodgkinson summarised the achievements during the year.
The Community Payback
Unit had dug a trench from the road to the signal box, enabling a water supply
to be installed. The permanent way hut would soon be back into use as a display
area for photographs and artefacts. Inside the box itself the frame's levers
had now been painted in their correct colours.
The renovation has
been greatly helped by a grant from the Railway Heritage Trust.
Saviour of Wymondham
station retires
David Turner,
proprietor of the Brief Encounter restaurant at Wymondham station, has retired
from the business. In a ceremony on February 2 guests paid tribute to his hard
work in bringing dilapidated buildings back to life and providing a
tourist attraction for the town.
When Mr Turner leased
the station buildings from British Rail in the 1980s, they had stood unoccupied
for around twenty years and were ripe for demolition. He converted the main
(down side) building into a piano showroom and 'Brief Encounter' restaurant, the latter decorated with memorabilia from the
eponymous David Lean film as well as an assortment of enamel signs and other railwayana. For a while a Hornby
O-gauge layout occupied the up side waiting room.
Over the years the
station has won several awards, and in January the restaurant appeared in one
of Michael Portillo's Great Railway Journeys on BBC2.
After interior
refurbishment, the premises will reopen as the Station Bistro on March 1.
Final nail in Hunstanton branch's coffin?
Any lingering hopes
that the Hunstanton branch could re-open in some form
have been dealt a blow by West Norfolk Council. It has written to Hunstanton Town Council explaining that it will not protect
the remainder of the branch's route from development. In a number of locations
building has taken place on or close to the trackbed,
and this, according to the Council, 'clearly limits any potential
redevelopment....for rail use'. It may, instead, become a leisure route for
cyclists and walkers. Norfolk County Council has also said that there is little
likelihood of a rail proposal coming forward.
The line to Hunstanton from
Scarce
The lamp, which came
complete with correct style “BR(E)” vessel and LNER
burner, was sold for £340 plus 10% buyer's premium.