A special service of steam and diesel trains will run to recall the closure of the line from Melton Constable to Sheringham on 6 April 1964 and to celebrate that 60 years later, North Norfolk Railway services run between Sheringham and Holt carrying around 150,000 passengers every year.

When the majority of the former Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway network was closed in 1959, the section from Melton Constable to Sheringham survived with modern diesel railcars providing the service. Despite these being more economical to run than steam trains, passenger numbers continued to fall and the occasional goods trains contributed very little revenue. When the infamous “Beeching Report” (Reshaping Britain’s Railway’s) was published in 1963 the line was one of those that faced the axe.

The final services ran on 6 April 1964 by which time enthusiasts had begun to try and re-open a portion of the old M&GN, eventually saving the present-day North Norfolk Railway from Sheringham to Holt.

This event will give visitors the chance to experience trains similar to those that ran just prior to closure and recall some of the earliest activities of preservationists. The special timetable will feature a railcar made up of Class 104 and 101 vehicles dating from the 1950s – both types were regular performers in East Anglia prior to preservation and very similar to the trains which ran in the years immediately prior to the closure of the line.

Class 31 diesel, D5631, will also be in action. The locomotive was built in 1961 and spent some time based at Norwich working goods trains throughout East Anglia including rare trips to Melton Constable and possibly Sheringham – other locomotives of the type are known to have worked over the line. The engine was also used to run the occasional passenger train – sometimes deputising for steam engines which by the 1960s were in the twilight of their careers. D5631 will work both passenger and goods trains each day recreating the duties the Class 31s performed in the early 1960s.

Two steam locomotives will also be in action representing opposite ends of the preservation era. The line’s oldest locomotive Y14, 564 was built at Stratford in 1912 and spent most of her working life in East Anglia. She was withdrawn from service in 1962 and purchased by the M&GN Society and in 1964 was stored at Bow and later March while the Society negotiated with British Railways over how much of the M&GN could be saved. The locomotive was towed to Sheringham in 1967 in the same train as the unique Quad-Art train of teak bodied carriages which are one hundred years old this year and will be paired with 564 for this event.

The progress made in the six decades since closure can be seen along the length of the line and the continuing arc of history is evident as the second steam train in action will be hauled by 104 year-old Great Western engine No 4277 “Hercules” which was built in 1920 and is making its first ever visit to line!

The Friends of St Mary Burgh Pava, otherwise known as the “Tin Tabernacle”, in Melton Constable will also be marking the closure of the line on April 6.

The “Tabernacle” was constructed specifically for railway workers and their families in 1903 and the Friends are seeking to save the church from closure and eventual demolition.

On April 6, railway historian Adrian Vaughan will be speaking on Melton Constable’s railway history and the closure of the line. Talks will take place at the old Railway Institute, now known as the Junction, and interested attendees are requested to arrive from 7pm.