North Norfolk Railway News

North Norfolk Railway Receives The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Volunteers at the North Norfolk Railway which runs magnificently restored steam and heritage diesel trains between Sheringham and Holt have just been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.   The railway operates along 5½ miles of restored track from Sheringham to Weybourne and Holt with almost all the tasks necessary to run the trains being carried out by a team of around 300 dedicated volunteers. The line is one [...]

Newly restored Class 25, D7659, will be visiting the North Norfolk Railway from its Peak Rail base for the East Anglian line’s annual Mixed Traffic Gala on 10, 11 and 12 June, working as part of an 11-engine line-up scheduled to include a variety of steam and diesel locomotives, multiple units and shunters.   Owned by the Waterman Railway Heritage Trust, D7659 returned to service late last year after an absence of over 23 years and will be making her first appearance as a gala visitor following a restoration that amounted to a complete rebuild of the 1966-built locomotive. The [...]

The North Norfolk Railway will hold an Open Day on Saturday 26 March to allow visitors interested in volunteering at the Railway the chance to tour the line, meet current volunteers and discover the different roles available. The Railway is run year round almost entirely by dedicated volunteers, whose passion and love help to keep the much loved line on track.   Volunteer Administrator Jo Munden commented ‘Every year our wonderful team of volunteers undertake a spectrum of roles from the driving of engines and painting of carriages to the welcoming of customers, administration and even gardening! Our volunteers get [...]

A number of heritage railways have recently announced the cancellation of war-centric events and, as a result media and public have enquired about the status of our Dad's Army Live and Steam Back to the Forties events. The statement below outlines our position. The NNR’s Dad’s Army Live event, recalls the tongue-in-cheek BBC sit-com that was popular in the late 1960s and 1970s and in particular the role that Weybourne Station played in the filming an episode entitled “The Royal Train” in 1973. The event has been a popular feature of the line’s annual events programme for many years and [...]

Class 37, D6732, will be in action at the head of the North Norfolk Railway’s diesel services on Saturday 26 March to mark both the locomotive’s 60th Birthday and her return to service following a thorough repaint into the British Railways’ green she carried when she first entered service in March 1962. The locomotive is one of over 300 English Electric Type 3s delivered between 1960 and 1965 as part of British Railways’ modernisation plan. D6732 was initially allocated to Hull Dairycoates depot and worked passenger and freight trains in the North West for much of her career.  In 1996, [...]

Visitors to the North Norfolk Railway on Saturday 19 February will have a chance to drive the line’s flagship steam locomotive No 92203 “Black Prince” at Sheringham station as part of a day being showcasing the powerful engine and raising money for her upkeep. Mark Powley, Promoter of the Friends of Black Prince – the engine’s very own supporters’ club – is expecting the driving tasters on Saturday 19 to be particularly popular. “It’s not often that you get the chance to drive a heavyweight steam engine,” he said. “Participants must be aged 18 or over, physically fit and we [...]

Steam Railway Looking Forward to 2022 Season After Strong Performance in 2021   The North Norfolk Railway has today announced that over 143,000 visitors travelled on the 5½ mile heritage line during its 2021/22 financial year which ended last week. The popular 5½ mile heritage line was forced to close between Christmas 2020 and April 2021, then endured three-months where only limited operations were possible, but rallied in the second-half of the year to welcome a total of 143,632 passengers.   Graham Hukins, Commercial Manager, commented, “This is a very strong result in the circumstances and we are looking forward [...]

The North Norfolk Railway’s Carriage and Wagon team has started an intensive programme of coach repainting and revarnishing to help make up some of the ground lost as a result of lockdowns, restricted working and the intensive use of compartment stock over the past 18 months. The line’s unique teak-bodied LNER Quad-Art set and four-car rake of BR non-corridor suburban coaches have both seen extensive front line use throughout the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the historic carriages seeing more use in two years than the heritage line would normally diagram them for in a decade! That, coupled with some [...]