Rails & Ales

Fri 13 – Sun 15 Jun

  • Intensive service of passenger trains with unlimited travel all day

  • VISITING LOCOMOTIVES Inc Class 69, Class 66 66714 and Class 40, D213

  • Real Ale & Cider Bar at Weybourne Station

  • Class 69 to be named “North Norfolk Railway”

  • Railbus E79960 returns to NNR

  • Live Music at Weybourne Station

  • Breakfast On Board – Advance Booking Essential

  • Tickets valid for unlimited travel all day!

  • Range of Ales and Ciders from Norfolk producers available at Sheringham and Holt Stations

  • Save money with discounted fares when you book in advance

Mixed Traction Gala plus Local Beer & Cider Showcase

Rails and Ales is an on track celebration of both steam and diesel power coupled with a showcase of Norfolk’s brewing traditions that will give visitors the opportunity to see and ride behind steam engines, diesel locomotives, diesel railcars and choose from local ales and ciders to enjoy!

Hop on and off and travel on a wide variety of trains and discover a different range of Norfolk tipples at each of the stations.

Please note, the car park at Weybourne Station will be closed during this event – visitors arriving by car are kindly asked to park at Holt or Sheringham. Entry to Weybourne Station will be for ticket holders arriving on foot or by train only.

On the Rails

Up to 10 locomotives and railcars, a mix of steam and diesel, are scheduled to be out on the line each day.
One of the steam engines in traffic over Rails & Ales is expected to be 80080 from the Princess Royal Locomotive Trust, which is recently arrived at the railway to join the home fleet, and will operate alongside our home and visiting fleet of diesel locomotives, shunters and multiple units. A six car DMU will also feature during the weekend!

Enjoy a full English breakfast during a return journey from Sheringham to Holt and return!

Tickets include a reserved seat in one of our dining cars on the 09:40 departure hauled by Class 40, D213 “Andania” and are then valid as Day Rover Tickets for the rest of the day.

Breakfast will be freshly cooked on board and served at you table. Enjoy two sausages, bacon, scrambled egg, hash browns, mushrooms and baked beans accompanied by a glass of orange juice and your choice of tea or coffee. Our Full English is gluten- and dairy- free; a vegetarian option is available and must be requested at the time of booking.

If you have already purchased travel tickets for the day, please call the Bookings Office on 01263 820800 to add breakfast.

If you book a table, you will have reserved table exclusively for your party. If you book individual tickets, you will share a table with other passengers.

A Class 69 is set to join the impressive line-up of diesel and steam locomotives on 13, 14 and 15 June. What is more, owners GB Railfreight, have agreed to name the state-of-the-art engine “North Norfolk Railway” in honour of the popular heritage line’s 50th Anniversary with the special ceremony set for 13 June.

Whilst the exact identity of the locomotive has not yet been confirmed, it will be one that has entered service within the last 12 months meaning that this will be the engine’s first ever visit to a heritage line and the first time it has hauled timetabled public passenger trains. The first of the 16-strong Class launched in July 2021 and they are mainly deployed hauling heavy freight trains and special engineers trains across the national network.

Class 40, D213 “Andania”, will appear courtesy of Locomotive Services Limited.

The locomotive was built in 1959 at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton Le Willows, Lancashire. The class were used extensively on services on the West Coast Mainline and across the North of England before being cascaded to secondary and freight duties meaning they made occasional appearances across much of the national network. “Andania” is one of just seven survivors from a class that was once 200 strong.

66714 “Cromer Lifeboat” will also be joining the Poppy Line for the weekend courtesy of GB Railfreight. The locomotive was initially built in Canada before being shipped to the UK and entering service in 2003 to regularly haul heavy good trains across the national network. For more information regarding the visit please click here. 

DRB Railbus E79960 which  worked NNR off-peak services for much of the 1970s and 80s will be returning for this event as part of our 50th Anniversary celebrations.

The vehicle is currently on loan to the Ribble Steam Railway but will return to recall the early years of preservation when it was a regular performer on the NNR. The Railbus worked shuttles from Weybourne to Kelling Heath Halt before the full section from Weybourne to Holt was relaid.

The type is one of several tested by British Rail in the late 1950s.  They cost about £12,500 when new (around £300,000 today) and although proving very economical they were all withdrawn in the mid-1960s as they were non-standard.

As well as teh array of diesels two of our steam locomotives will be in action, including 80080 which has recently joined the fleet.

Our Class 104, Class 101 and “Lightweight” railcars will in action as a six car train – the first time such a formation has run on the line in preservation!

Class 37 D6732, Class 31 D5631, and our two 08s D3935 and D3940 will complete the line-up

Timetables

An intensive timetable will be in operation on all three days – more information coming soon!

Ales and Music

In addition to the Mixed Traction action on the track, each station will showcase a range of local beers and ciders; so grab your tickets for unlimited travel and hop on and off the trains to discover a different selection of Norfolk-produced tipples as we celebrate the County’s brewing expertise.

Live music on Friday 13 performed by The Silver Morgan Trio and Ruby and Shake Rattle n Roll, and on Saturday 14 by Bloke & Burd and Hillbilly Goats Gruff.

Fares

Discounted fares are available when you book online in advance!

Advance tickets must be purchased on the day before travel.

Ticket Type Price
Adult Day Rover  £21.25
Child Day Rover (3–15 yrs)  £14.87
Family of 4 (Max 2 Adults)  £59.50
Family of 5 (Max 2 Adults)  £69.70
Dog  £ 3.00
Bicycle  £ 3.00
Adult Three Day Rover  £50.15
Child Three Day Rover  £40.80
Adult Two Day Rover  £39.95
Child Two Day Rover  £31.45

Subject to availability tickets can also be purchased from the ticket offices at Holt, Sheringham or Weybourne on the day of travel

Ticket Type Price
Adult Day Rover  £25.00
Child Day Rover (3–15 yrs)  £17.50
Family of 4 (Max 2 Adults)  £70.00
Family of 5 (Max 2 Adults)  £82.00
Dog  £ 3.00
Bicycle  £ 3.00
Adult Three Day Rover  £59.00
Child Three Day Rover  £48.00
Adult Two Day Rover  £47.00
Child Two Day Rover  £37.00

Explore

There’s so much to see at the stations and in the surrounding area . . .

HOLT

Holt is the western terminus of the railway and is around a mile from the town centre. The station is easy to reach by road,  just off the A148 at High Kelling, and has ample parking (for which we request a small donation) so is an ideal staring point for passengers wishing to travel to Sheringham and visit the town and seaside.

The What Three Words code for Holt Station’s main entrance is saturate.atlas.dumplings

The town’s original station closed in 1964 and was demolished and part of the trackbed used for the A148 Holt Bypass – discover more about the original station here. The current station is a faithful recreation of an Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway country station, using buildings recovered from various locations in East Anglia. The station decor and artefacts are presented to give a flavour of the period shortly after  1936 when the London & North Eastern Railway took over full ownership of the M&GN.

The station boasts a small buffet and gift shop and a painstakingly created model railway. The William Marriott Museum, which tells the story of the M&GN, and the Railway Cottage – a small home made shortly after World War I by reusing a redundant railway carriage – are open on most days that trains run Easter to October (subject to volunteer availabilty).

The town of Holt is well worth a visit. Energetic passengers can stroll into the town centre – the walk will take around 25 minutes – while many will prefer to hop on a one of the buses that stop on the road opposite the station entrance for a short five minute trip into town.  The town features many Georgian buildings and a wide Market Place.

Weybourne’s atmospheric station is a a real gem. There is very limited parking, so the best way to arrive is by train! If you are arriving by car the What Three Words code for the main entrance is huddling.rots.bound

Hop off and soak up the period atmosphere or take a walk to Weybourne village a mile or so away or to the nearby Sheringham Park. For those not wanting to venture too far, the footbridge affords panoramic views back towards Sheringham and down to the sea and is a good spot to watch trains approaching.

Originally built to capitalise on the “Poppyland” holiday boom, the station served a nearby hotel that was demolished in World War II . It oozes Edwardian charm and has been restored to close to it’s original condition sporting the tan and cream colour scheme used by the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway at the time. Discover more of about the history of Weybourne station and village.

The former parcels office has been converted into a small period style souvenir shop and buffet. Historic goods vehicles in the bay platform add to the atmosphere and one, a Southern Railway parcels van, houses a model railway.

Most trains will pass another here, so you make the most of your rover ticket by changing from one to another.

Kelling Heath

Kelling Heath Park is a small halt stop on the North Norfolk Railway, used mostly by hikers. It was not on the original British Rail line, but was opened after the line was preserved.

The station was opened in 1983 as part of the Railway’s extension to Kelling; a very short half coach-length halt was constructed principally to serve the nearby caravan park. Upon the completion of the extension to Holt in 1989, ‘Kelling Camp Halt’ was demolished and a new longer platform was constructed, ¼ of a mile further up the hill to the west; the station was also renamed “Kelling Heath Park”.

The Halt stop backs onto Kelling Park itself and also provides access to Kelling Heath Holiday Park, a popular campsite set amongst 300 acres of woodland and rare open heathland. The campsite has a wide variety of accommodation including luxury wooden lodges, holiday homes and camping & touring pitches, all available to book online or over the phone via 01263 588181.

Sheringham’s imposing station houses the booking office, waiting room and buffet. The Old Luggage Office buffet is in an area which was used to store the many suitcases and trunks that the Victorian tourists travelling to Sheringham required. Today, it offers the chance to relax over a drink or light lunch and watch the trains come and go.

The station has been restored to close to its 1955 appearance, when British Railways were responsible for the line. The distinctive blue station totems and matching enamel signs are evocative of that period. The footbridge provides an excellent vantage point from which to watch trains arrive, or the engine “run round” to the other end of its train ready for the next trip to Holt.

Passengers starting their journey here can arrive by Great Anglia trains from Cromer and Norwich (the mainline station is just across Station Road), by bus (they stop right outside) or by car (there is a large pay and display car park adjacent to the station). The What Three Words code for the car park entrance is stables.case.blip

For those arriving on one of our historic trains, there’s a chance to visit the town’s many independent shops, stroll to beach and promenade or take a slightly longer walk to join the Norfolk Coastal Path and enjoy a cliff top walk or climb Beeston Bump (a distinctively-shaped local hillock). The town museum includes a Windfarm Visitor Centre where you can discover more about the arrays that have been built offshore.

Find out more about Sheringham station and town.