All Aboard! Railway débuts ‘new’ Victorian era carriage at bank holiday celebrations 

The North Norfolk Railway is busily preparing for the late May bank holiday, when it is scheduled to début a special addition to its popular vintage set. The new coach, dating from 1897, will join other coaches from the Victorian era owned by the heritage line’s supporting charity, the Midland and Great Northern Railway Society (M&GN), as part of the Vintage Train that will be in action throughout the bank holiday.

Great Eastern Railway No 37 was originally built at Stratford as a third-class family saloon, and is the only survivor of a once numerous type. It is believed that it was converted for the use of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Alice and evidence found silver leaf, gold gilding and fine American black walnut found during restoration supports this.

The carriage is a remarkable survivor, having been withdrawn from railway service in 1939, then being used at RAF Blackwell until 1967 when it was acquired by the Saffron Walden Model Railway Club. After decades stored outdoors, the carriage was saved and restored by enthusiast Stephen Middleton and in recent years has run as part of his Stately Trains operation at Embsay in Yorkshire.

General Manager, Graham Hukins, commented “We’re delighted to be welcoming a ‘new’ coach to the railway and would like to thank Stephen Middleton and Stately Trains for allowing this Great Eastern coach to return to East Anglia. Our Vintage Train is incredibly popular but as the carriages are over 100 years old and wooden-bodied, we need to take special care of them so they only run on a limited number of days each season. This addition to the vintage train will allow more of our visitors to experience steam train travel from around 150 years ago!”

As well as taking a trip on the line’s unique Vintage Train, visitors to the heritage line on the bank holiday (May 23 – 25) will be able to enjoy unlimited hop on hop off travel behind two more of the railway’s historic steam locomotives. Off the rails, young and old alike can discover the line’s history with two brand new trails; young enthusiasts can explore all there is to see with the line’s newly-introduced interactive Spotters Trail whilst those looking to learn more about the railway’s history can discover Weybourne Station anew with the recently created Heritage Trail.

The railway’s steam celebration also continues into the May half term, with at least two steam trains out every day. From Tues 26 – Fri 29 Holt Station takes centre stage as the team from Mad Science descend with their lively science shows and hands-on activities, which will be available to everyone with a travel ticket. Restored Reedham Junction Signal Box will also be open allowing visitors to step into the shoes of a traditional signalman, pulling levers and ringing bells and seeing how trains were controlled in the days before computers!

Following half-term, the heritage line’s 2026 season sees the railway open most days until 1 November; more details can be found on the line’s website www.nnrailway.co.uk. Advance booking is strongly recommended and passengers doing so can claim a 15% discount on their tickets.