Exciting visitor “Britannia” to help North Norfolk Railway celebrate Golden Anniversary finale

News has been released today that renowned steam locomotive 70000 “Britannia” is set to visit the North Norfolk Railway this autumn, and will help the popular heritage line celebrate the close of their Golden Anniversary year. After entry into traffic in January 1951, some of the locomotive’s most regular journey’s during its early life were to haul “The Norfolkman” and “The East Anglian” express services between London and Norwich, making the visit even more special.

 

Today, the celebrity engine is usually based at Crewe and works a limited number of steam-hauled charters on the mainline, so the visit for the line Fiftieth Finale event from October 25 – November 2 will be an unusual opportunity for the East Anglian public to ride behind her. Full details will be announced on the line’s website in the coming weeks.

 

Poppy Line General Manager, Graham Hukins, commented “We’re delighted to have “Britannia” visiting us on the Norfolk coast, and are looking forward to welcoming her back to a part of the UK that she was once a frequent visitor to.  She is due to arrive by rail via the level crossing at Sheringham – the reinstatement of which is one of the major milestones in our 50-year history.

 

The fact that fellow Britannia-class locomotive “Oliver Cromwell” opened our mainline link connection in 2010 makes her visit for the culmination of our 50th anniversary very apt. We are particularly grateful to owners, the Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust, and operators, Locomotive Services, for their support.”

 

The Britannia-class of locomotives were the brainchild of R A Riddles and aimed principally to improve the performance of express locomotives. Main focuses were on weight-saving measures, but also on the standardisation of steam locomotive design which was hoped to reduce labour requirements and also maintenance costs. A total of 55 Britannia-class locomotives were built at Crewe Works, of which 70000 “Britannia” was the first.

 

Withdrawn from service in 1966, 70000 was narrowly beaten by 70013 “Oliver Cromwell” for preservation efforts by the National Railway Museum. Eventually purchased by the East Anglian Locomotive Preservation Society in 1970 it returned to steam in 1978, before being removed from traffic once again in the late 1980s so it could undergo a thorough overhaul to restore her to mainline-running condition. Fresh from overhaul in 1991 “Britannia” began to once again pull mainline services after a 25-year hiatus until boiler problems necessitated her withdrawal from service in 1997. After the extent of the financial investment required became apparent, “Britannia” was sold in 2000 to the Waterman Heritage Trust, and subsequently to Jeremy Hosking in 2006. It officially became part of the Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust in 2009, underwent a four-year overhaul and was finally returned to steam once again in late 2010.

 

The North Norfolk Railway’s 2025 main season commences on 5 April with the railway open most days until 2 November; more details can be found on the line’s website www.nnrailway.co.uk. Advance booking is strongly recommended and passengers doing so receive a generous 15% discount on their fares.