Our Golden Anniversary Fund
2025 marks 50 years of the North Norfolk Railway hauling passenger trains.
More than that it marks 50 years of preserving railway history and skills, and 50 years of welcoming visitors to make lasting memories.
Working together with supporting charity, the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society, the Railway seeks to continue to provide excellent experiences where all generations can enjoy journeys into the past.
There are however ever increasing financial pressures upon heritage railways and the North Norfolk Railway is now launching its Golden Anniversary Fund to help raise funds for ongoing infrastructure and facility development as well as restoration and maintenance costs.
From the purchase of tickets to giving a regular donation, or by becoming an M&GN Society member, your continued support is greatly appreciated and will help the Railway ensure the line lives on.
Why donate?
- Did you know that it costs £60 to replace one wooden sleeper, vital to the integrity of our track? We aim to replace 150 each year at a cost of £9000, not including labour or transport costs.
- Or that to repaint one of our historic coaches £100 worth of paint is needed for just 1 of the 6 coats needed? Most of of our steam trains will be made up of 5 carriages, with a cost of £3000 to make them gleam!
- One of our larger steam engines needs around 1.5 tonnes of coal each day it is in steam, equivalent to around £500. We run at least one steam engine a day for over 225 days a year, not including our Dining or Driver Experience services!
Every penny that is raised from ticket, catering & retail sales is reinvested into keeping the line alive. With the Railway now costing over £4 million every year just to keep running any extra development or emergency works must be funded from other sources, whether donations, grant funding or legacies.
By donating to our Golden Anniversary Fund you will be helping us preserve the North Norfolk Railway for the next 50 years, and beyond.
Our supporting charity – the M&GN Joint Railway Society
The M&GN Society works to preserve, display and operate a wide range of historical artefacts. The Society is the supporting charity of, and major shareholder in, the North Norfolk Railway and is East Anglia’s biggest railway charity.
When much of the former Midland & Great Northern system was closed by British Railways in 1959, the Society was formed to save part of this characterful network. In turn, the Society created the PLC as a suitable body to hold the Light Railway Order that is effectively the organisation’s license to operate trains. The two organisations have existed in parallel ever since and already work closely together; the Society owns nine of the steam and diesel locomotives and several carriages and wagons that are based on the line.
Earlier this year, the Railway and its supporting charity, the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society, revised their structure with shareholders handing all voting rights to the Society meaning the Railway is at the heart of a charitable organisation whilst preserving existing travel benefits for shareholders.
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