The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge
heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
, one of the longest in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" of heritage railways. The MNR owns and operates most of the former
Wymondham-Fakenham branch line of the
Norfolk Railway
The Norfolk Railway was an early railway company that controlled a network of 94 miles around Norwich, England. It was formed in 1845 by the amalgamation of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway opened in 1844, and the Norwich and Brandon Railway, n ...
. The branch opened in 1847, was closed to passengers in stages from 1964 to 1969 as part of the
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised British Rail, railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Develop ...
, and was finally fully closed to goods traffic in 1989. (The northern section of this line, to Wells, was built by the
Wells and Fakenham Railway
The Wells & Fakenham Railway, was the northern part of the Wymondham to Wells branch in Norfolk, England. It connected the market town of Fakenham to the coast at Wells-next-the-Sea. It closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and to goods traffic ...
and part of this has been operated by the
Wells and Walsingham Light Railway
The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway is a gauge heritage railway in Norfolk, England running between the coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea and the inland village of Walsingham. The railway occupies a section of the trackbed of the former ...
since 1982.)
Regular steam and diesel services run through the centre of
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
between the market towns of
Wymondham
Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, south-west of Norwich, England, Norwich off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The River Tiffey runs through ...
and
Dereham
Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city ...
via , and , and occasional sightseer services continue north of Dereham passing the nearby village of
Hoe, where there is no station, to the limit of the operational line at
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...
. The line is periodically used for commercial freight operations and staff instruction for mainline railway companies. The company owns the line to a point just beyond
County School railway station
''County School railway station'' is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from Wymondham and is the norther ...
, which will make it the third longest heritage railway in England once restoration is complete.
The MNR is owned and operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (MNRPT, a
charitable company limited by guarantee
The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion.
Etymology
The word ''charity'' ori ...
), and is mostly operated and staffed by volunteers. The railway is listed as exempt from the UK
Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2000.
History
Route history
The Wymondham to Wells branch was opened in stages between 15 February 1847 and 1857,
after Parliamentary consent was given in 1845. The entire line became part of the
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
in 1862. The Wymondham to Dereham section received
double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
in 1882,
while the line north of there remained
single track
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
.
Along with the rest of the Great Eastern Railway, the branch became part of the Southern Area of the
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
when the various British railway companies were
grouped into four large companies in 1923.
The line was heavily used during World War I and World War II, with extra Air Ministry sidings provided at Dereham in 1943.
In the early days of the war, Dereham was used as a reception centre for the construction materials used to build the local airfields.
The
nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of the "
Big Four" railway companies placed the line as part of the
Eastern Region of British Railways
The Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948, whose operating area could be identified from the dark blue signs and colour schemes that adorned its station and other railway buildings. Together with the North Eastern Region ( ...
on 1 January 1948. The branch line between County School and closed to passengers on 15 September 1952, with the section between and closing to goods as well. A stub of the western section, between County School and Foulsham remained open for goods until 31 October 1964, being busiest in the sugar beet season.
The passenger service between Dereham and Wells ended on 5 October 1964.
Dereham became an intermediate station for Norwich to King's Lynn services. In June 1965, the Wymondham to Dereham section was reduced to single track with a passing loop at Hardingham. The passenger service from King's Lynn ended on 9 September 1968,
with the ''Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society'' operating the 'East Anglian Branch Line Farewell' DMU special on the final Saturday. The withdrawal of the remaining passenger services, between Wymondham and Dereham, followed in October 1969.
Goods traffic continued after the passenger closure. The
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
led to a meeting being held at Dereham in 1974 by the
Railway Development Society
Railfuture (formerly the Railway Development Society) is a UK advocacy group which promotes better rail services for passengers and freight across a bigger rail network. The group's national policies are determined by its national board of di ...
in order to petition for the restoration of passenger services between Wymondham and Fakenham.
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
gave a price of £247,000 for such a restoration, but this proposal was rejected by
Norfolk County Council
Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich.
Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...
. This meeting resulted in the formation of the Wymondham, Dereham and Fakenham Railway Action Committee.
In 1977 the Wymondham, Dereham and Fakenham Railway Action Committee presented the Norfolk County Chief Planning Officer with a report putting the case for restoring rail passenger services between Norwich, Dereham and Fakenham East.
Services over the line ceased in June 1989.
Preservation
Fakenham and Dereham Railway Society
Fakenham & Dereham Railway Society (F&DRS), a forerunner of the MNR, was formed in 1978. The 1980 constitution of the society included its aim:
In 1980 the F&DRS attempted to preserve the Ryburgh to Fakenham section of line failed, and the society instead leased Hardingham station in 1983. The small heritage centre had track re-laid in the former goods yard, and acquired a Ruston 0-4-0 diesel locomotive. The centre was commercially unsuccessful, forcing the society to leave the site—which was auctioned in 1986—and move to a temporary location at Yaxham station.
In 1987 Breckland District Council bought the station at County School, and granted the F&DRS a 999-year lease, inviting the society to re-lay track and relocate to the site. The intention was to re-connect the station with British Rail's railhead at North Elmham to connect with charter trains operating over the branch. This plan was abandoned when the complete closure of the line from June 1989 was announced.
Mid-Norfolk Railway Society and Great Eastern Railway (1989) Ltd.
In response to the approaching closure of the entire branch between Wymondham, Dereham and North Elmham, the Great Eastern Railway (1989) Limited formed to save the line. The F&DRS backed this scheme, and signed its lease of County School station over to the company. The society, renamed the Mid-Norfolk Railway Society in 1990, continued to provide financial backing and manpower for the development of the County School site. The running line was extended over towards North Elmham, and a collection of rolling stock was built up. The first passenger train, a Mk2 brake coach converted to work as a
DBSO
A Driving Brake Standard Open (DBSO) is a type of railway carriage in Great Britain, converted to operate as a control car; this is not to be confused with DVTs, such as those in InterCity 225 sets. Fourteen such vehicles, numbered 9701 t ...
with an industrial diesel locomotive, operated at the County School site on 2 November 1991.
On 21 April 1990 the constitution of the organisation amended the aims of the society:
In 1991 the managing director of the GER (1989) Ltd. stated that he had raised much of the required finance and that the company intended to provide a regular passenger train service over the line by 1993. About 400 commuters a day were expected to use the service. Plans were also announced for special excursions such as shopping trips to London and summer seaside services. The plans included providing a hotel and conference centre at Dereham, along with a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
and
shopping arcade
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
.
During the early 1990s the GER(1989), contrary to the earlier announcements relating to the future of the line, announced plans to lift the railway between Dereham and Wymondham. The MNRS withdrew their support for the GER(1989) and made their own bid for the line.
In 1994 the British Railways Property Board granted the MNRS access to the railway line between Wymondham and North Elmham on a temporary 'care and maintenance' basis. This was in response to increasing levels of vandalism occurring at the site, a problem which had worsened after the Great Eastern company had lifted the track between Norwich Road level crossing and a point just north of the Automatic Open Level Crossings. The first working party was held at Dereham station on Saturday 23 July 1994.
In December 1994
Class 20 diesels 20069 and 20206 were moved by road from County School to the truncated railhead at Dereham. On Christmas Eve, with permission from British Rail, both locomotives made their way along the line to Yaxham station.
In 1995
Yorkshire Bank called in the
receivers to solve concerns with the Great Eastern Railway (1989) Ltd. In June 1995 Breckland Council informed the receivers that they wished for the GER (1989) Ltd. to give up the lease for County School station so that they could review their operations in respect of the site. The GER (1989) Ltd., who stated that they were attracting 12,000 visitors a year to the site, announced that they would contest this decision.
In July 1995, police were called in to investigate the sudden and unauthorised road transfer of two Mid-Norfolk Railway Society Mk 2 coaches to a breaker's yard at nearby
Lenwade
Lenwade is a village in the civil parish of Great Witchingham, Norfolk, situated in the Wensum Valley adjacent to the A1067 road south-east of Fakenham and some north-west of Norwich. The River Ainse (or Eyn) joins the Wensum at Lenwade. In 2 ...
. In July 1996
Breckland District Council
Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a l ...
issued a threat to stop trains running at County School station, as it was found that someone other than the leaseholder was operating trains at the site; the lease being non-transferable. In November 1996 Breckland District Council brought in 24-hour security guards at the County School site in order to prevent the
stripping of the property after having served an eviction order on the GER(1989) in mid-October.
County School station was boarded up and GER (1989) Ltd rolling stock was concentrated in the isolated yard prior to disposal or scrapping. All track north of the station platforms was lifted, and, as shown in the photograph, the site was left to become derelict.
Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust
The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (MNRPT) was formed in 1995 through the merger of the campaign groups and organisations that had been trying to restore passenger services over the route since 1974. The aims of the new charity were established:
In July 1995 two
Mk2 coaches were transferred by road from County School railway station to the truncated railhead at Dereham, where they were placed between the already present Class 20 locomotives. These coaches were then hauled to the MNR's temporary base at Yaxham. A further three coaches were delivered on 17 August.
On 29 November 1995 the section of railway between Yaxham station and a temporary halt built beside a footpath crossing on the Rash's Green industrial estate in Dereham was inspected by Chris Hall, H.M. Principal Inspecting Officer of Railways. Permission to operate passenger trains over this section was granted from Saturday 23 December 1995. 63 trains, each composed of the five Mk2 coaches topped and tailed by the Class 20s, were operated between this date and 14 January 1996. In October 1995 Breckland District Council established a rail working party to consider purchasing the line from British Rail, then leasing it out to a rail group – of which the Mid-Norfolk Railway was the preferred lessee.
On 11 April 1998 the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust bought the route between Wymondham and Dereham for £100,000. This included the Dereham station buildings and the goods yard. The British Rail Property Board also sold the of track between Dereham and North Elmham for £25,000. On 17 March 1998 the MNRPT had signed a Tenancy at Will agreement with
Breckland District Council
Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a l ...
to take over the station and trackbed at County School. This agreement was to allow the railway to take control of the station until it could afford to buy it outright, and followed on from the removal of the remaining rolling stock associated with the defunct Great Eastern Railway (1989) Ltd from the site.
The original Dereham station was re-opened to passengers on Saturday 26 July 1997, with the first services being operated by 1890-built
Manning Wardle
Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Precursor companies
The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially s ...
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...
T 'Sir Berkeley', hired from the
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the National Rail network at Keighley railway station.
History
Inception ...
.
British Railways Board (Residuary) Limited transferred the line between Wymondham and Dereham to the MNRPT on 23 September 1997. The first preservation-era train to operate between Dereham and Wymondham ran on 8 February 1998, when a works train hauled by
20069 and
Ruston & Hornsby
Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow gauge railway, narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of ...
0-4-0 '
County School ran as part of preparations for a March freight test train. The first commercial freight train operated on 8 July 1998.
Passenger services between Dereham and Wymondham commenced in 1999, with the opening of
Wymondham Abbey railway station
Wymondham Abbey railway station is a railway station in the town of Wymondham in the English county of Norfolk. The station is served by heritage services operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) between Wymondham and East Dereham.
History
T ...
. The first passenger train to use the new station, on 2 May 1999, was operated by a
Class 108 DMU.
Thuxton station opened as a daylight hours only request halt at the same time, although
Kimberley Park and
Hardingham
Hardingham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of 4 square miles (9.78 km) with a population of 274 in 110 households at the 2001 census, decreasing to a population of 267 in 107 households at the 2011 Census. ...
remained closed.
Following the completion of infrastructure work, such as the replacement of the water tower at Dereham and the provision of an inspection pit, steam passenger services returned to the Dereham to Wymondham Abbey section on Sunday 30 April 2006. These were operated by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
pannier tank
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...
number
9466 from the
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, about west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two ...
. The ownership of the section of railway line between Dereham and North Elmham, part of that originally authorised by the
Norfolk Railway
The Norfolk Railway was an early railway company that controlled a network of 94 miles around Norwich, England. It was formed in 1845 by the amalgamation of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway opened in 1844, and the Norwich and Brandon Railway, n ...
Extensions,
Dereham
Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city ...
,
Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
and
Blakeney Branch Act 1846, was passed to the Mid-Norfolk Railway in October 2001.
Part of the line from County School to Wroxham is now the
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
Bure Valley Railway
The Bure Valley Railway is a minimum gauge visitors' attraction in Norfolk, England. It was created on the original disused full-gauge bed of a defunct passenger service to incorporate a new, adjacent pedestrian footpath.
The railway runs from ...
. The formation between Wells and the religious centre of
Walsingham
Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Exp ...
now hosts the miniature
Wells and Walsingham Light Railway
The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway is a gauge heritage railway in Norfolk, England running between the coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea and the inland village of Walsingham. The railway occupies a section of the trackbed of the former ...
. Both schemes are independent of the MNR. Another independent scheme, the "
Norfolk Orbital Railway
The Norfolk Orbital Railway — as the Holt, Melton Constable and Fakenham Railway Company — is a proposed rail project in Norfolk, England, which is proposed to look at bringing a new rail connection to North and Mid Norfolk.
The proposed l ...
" plans to link the MNR to the
North Norfolk Railway
The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...
and the coast at
Sheringham
Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...
. In 2009, the
Whitwell & Reepham Preservation Society announced an eventual intention to link up with either the
North Norfolk Railway
The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...
or Mid-Norfolk Railway.
The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust is authorised by the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
to operate the railway in two statutory instruments, The Mid-Norfolk Railway Order 1997 and The Mid-Norfolk Railway Order 2001.
The orders detail the length of track and level crossings over which the railway is permitted to operate trains (subject to safety inspections etc.) and refer to both the Norwich and Brandon Railway Act 1845 and the Norfolk Railway Extensions, Dereham, Wells and Blakeney Branch Act 1846. Planning consent for the restoration and operation of the remaining section to County School, which does not involve crossing any public rights of way but is to include the retention of a permissive footpath, was awarded in 1992.
Present day
The section of line between Dereham and Wymondham is in regular use, with a further to Worthing passed for operation, but only used for passengers during special events and for works trains enabling the reconditioning of the derelict line further north. The company also owns the next of disused line from Worthing to
County School station
''County School railway station'' is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from Wymondham and is the norther ...
near
North Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census, including Gateley and increasing slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 Census. For ...
, although a section of about lacks track between North Elmham and County School. This makes the Mid-Norfolk Railway one of the longest standard-gauge heritage railways in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Beyond the railway's holding, the trackbed is mostly intact from County School to
Fakenham
Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north west of Norwich. The town is the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to Norwic ...
, and is reserved by the council for railway use.
The MNR's preserved stations include Yaxham (which retains its original
signal box
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
and up platform buildings.), Thuxton, Hardingham, Kimberley Park and Wymondham Abbey. Trains hauled by both steam and diesel
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s run on most weekends from the end of February to December, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays in summer. There are also various special events throughout the year.
Guest steam locomotives
Although predominantly diesel-operated, the MNR is not a diesel-only railway. The first train from after preservation, running between Dereham and
Yaxham
Yaxham is a village and civil parish in centre of the English county of Norfolk. The parish includes the village of Yaxham, together with the neighbouring community of Clint Green. Together, they lay some south of Dereham and west of Norwich.
...
, was hauled by
Manning Wardle
Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Precursor companies
The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially s ...
tank locomotive "Sir Berkeley", and the railway has always intended to operate both steam and diesel trains.
In 2000, the railway arranged the loan of
Barclay 'Little Barford'. Although the locomotive was too small to operate a scheduled service over the line it was used for a number of crew training runs, and, on Monday 12 June 2000, it became the first steam locomotive in preservation to operate over the entire route between Dereham and Wymondham. Steam also visited the line, although not to operate services, in 2001 when
LNER Thompson Class B1
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Thompson Class B1 is a class of steam locomotive designed by Edward Thompson for medium mixed traffic work.
Overview
It was the LNER's equivalent to the highly successful GWR Hall Class and t ...
61264 was routed via Dereham for repairs after failing on
railtour
A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, s ...
at Norwich, 20 November.
The 2006 return of steam-hauled passenger services marked the completion of Dereham Station restoration and the installation of steam infrastructure (such as the water tower).
The first locomotive to haul timetabled steam services over the Dereham to Wymondham section since 1955 was
GWR 9400 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 9400 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, used for shunting and banking duties.
The first ten 9400s were the last steam engines built by the GWR. After nationalisation in 1948, another 200 we ...
9466. The same locomotive returned to operate the line's steam services in June and July 2007, although
Battle of Britain class
The SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes, collectively known as ''Light Pacifics'' or informally as ''Spam Cans'', are air-smoothed 4-6-2 ''Pacific'' steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by its Chief Mechanical Engine ...
34067 ''Tangmere'' also visited this year, operating some scheduled trains and hauling the first steam charter from Dereham (to
London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
), on 5 May. Steam services have continued to operate during summer months.
Network Rail connections
Commercial freight
Mid-Norfolk Railway facilitates commercial freight trains, using its connection with the National Rail network at Wymondham. Dereham yard has been used as a servicing depot by
Direct Rail Services
Direct Rail Services (DRS) is a rail freight company in Great Britain. As of 2022, it is one of seven publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom, the others being NI Railways (the passenger rail operator in Northern Ireland), LNER, ...
since 2007 and for storage of
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
track plant since 2008.
The road vehicle loading ramp in Dereham yard is used by mainline train operators to load damaged rolling stock onto road vehicles. Such rolling stock usually comes at night (via the connection with the mainline at Wymondham) at slow speed (sometimes on wheelskates) from
Crown Point TMD
Crown Point TMD is a train maintenance depot in Norwich, England.
History
Work began on building Crown Point TMD in 1980. It was built on a triangular 12-acre site between the Great Eastern and Wherry Lines to the east of Norwich station. It ...
in Norwich (where no road-rail loading facilities are available) for onward road movement to specialist repair facilities around the country.
The line has also been used to carry equipment for army units based at
Robertson Barracks
Robertson Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in the Northern Territory of Australia within the suburb of Holtze in the Municipality of Litchfield about east of the Darwin city centre. The barracks were built during the 1990s. Th ...
or undergoing training at the
Stanford Training Area
Stanford Training Area (STANTA), originally known as Stanford Battle Area, is a British Army training area situated in the English county of Norfolk. The area is approximately in size; it is some north of the town of Thetford and south-west ...
, most recently in March 2020. Operation of these trains involves both resident and mainline locomotives.
North Norfolk District Council have listed Fakenham and Great Ryburgh as potential freight hubs, subject to them being linked to the Mid-Norfolk Railway at County School.
Commercial works trains operated on the line between 2018 and 2019, in conjunction with the Kimberley and Hardingham storage project. These were operated by a number of locomotives hired in for the purpose. These included
BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T
The British Railways Standard Class 4 tank is a class of steam locomotive, one of the BR standard classes built during the 1950s. They were used primarily on commuter and outer suburban services. They were capable of reaching speeds of .
Backg ...
steam locomotive ''80078'',
BR Class 03 ''03197'' and
BR Class 33 ''33202''.
Storage of mainline stock
Working with
Abellio Greater Anglia
Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio (transport company), Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Neder ...
, the Mid-Norfolk Railway have developed a rolling stock storage facility close to their Kimberley Park station. The £3 million sidings have been funded by Abellio Greater Anglia to allow them to store their
Class 745 and
755 fleets until they are ready to be in service.
Training and testing
The Mid-Norfolk Railway is frequently used by mainline companies for crew training and the storage and testing of recommissioned and new on-track plant, including
ballast tamper
Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...
s,
ballast regulators, stoneblowers and Multi-Purpose Vehicles from companies including Network Rail and
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, Balfour Beatty works ac ...
Rail Ltd. Since 2001 the line has been used annually for low adhesion training, or skidpan training, for crews from
Anglia Railways
Anglia Railways was a train operating company in England, owned by GB Railways and later FirstGroup, that operated the Anglia franchise from January 1997 until March 2004.
History
The InterCity Anglia franchise was awarded by the Director of P ...
, latterly for
National Express East Anglia
National Express East Anglia (NXEA) was a train operating company in England owned by National Express that operated the Greater Anglia franchise from April 2004 until February 2012. Originally trading as ''One'', it was rebranded National Exp ...
, where a specially fitted
Class 153 treats the track with a slimy solution before the crew practices stopping in a virtual station.
The line has also been used for training exercises by
East of England Ambulance Service
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the ...
,
Norfolk Police
Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including 90 miles of coastline and 16 rivers, including the B ...
and the
Fire Brigade
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
, including major incident training involving
air ambulances
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
.
Charter trains
Before the preservation of the line, a number of special trains and demonstration services were operated over the line by the Wymondham & Dereham Rail Action Committee (WyDRAC) and the Railway Development Society (RDS) to help maintain pressure for the restoration of passenger services over the line. By the line's closure, twenty special trains had operated, carrying over 5,000 passengers.
The junction with the main line at Wymondham has allowed the Mid-Norfolk Railway to continue to be used by a number of charter and excursion trains, which operate over the line as part of the wider rail network.
Television, film and theatre use
After passenger closure, County School station was used as the set for
Weavers Green
''Weavers Green'' is a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using videotape and outside broadcast equipment, rather than f ...
station in the
Anglia Television
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
soap opera of the same name. The same station, heavily disguised, featured as "Gare de Nouvion" (Nouvion railway station) in the
penultimate episode of
'Allo 'Allo!, the comedy series set in
occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
(see picture).
An episode of ''Off the Rails'' made for Discovery Channel in 2001 featured some to the activities and volunteers on the railway.
In February 2004 County School stood in for
Thetford station in a documentary about the arrival of American troops in World War II, and in September 2005 the same location was used by Capriol Films for the film "
Peter Warlock, Some Little Joy" about composer
Philip Heseltine.
Dereham station, with the railway's
Mark 2
Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, m ...
coaches, featured in a minor film and the line has also appeared in documentaries for local and national television.
In 2010 former
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
cabinet minister turned broadcaster and writer
Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...
visited the railway to film material for an episode in the second series of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The filming used the Mid-Norfolk's green liveried 1957-built two carriage Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit.
In 2012 Dereham railway station was used as a stage for productions of the musical
, 2016 saw the line and Dereham station featured as "Fallmarsh" station in horror film 'Possum' and the line was used for the filming of the opening scenes of
...