27 February - 1 March & 7 - 8 March
2009
That's Yer Lot!
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the closure of the
M&GN
 The
North Norfolk Railway is planning a mega steam gala to mark
50 years since the closure of the majority of the Midland
& Great Northern Joint Railway system.
The event will be held in two parts, the first
part being on Friday 27 February to Sunday 1 March 2009. The
actual anniversary falls on 28 February. The second part of
the event will be the following weekend, Saturday and Sunday
the 7 and 8 March 2009.
Click on one of the links below or scroll down
this page to read full details of this event.
Locomotives
Rolling Stock
"Rail Replacement"
Buses
Steam Gala Dining Train
"On Shed" Photoshoot
Vintage Bus Tours
Fares
Lineside Passes
Timetables
Souvenir Programmes
Car Parking
These photographs by G D King show the very
last day of operation on the M&GN, 28 February 1959.
 This
unique event, supported by Steam Railway magazine,
promises to be a "must see" for enthusiasts, with
an impressive line-up of locomotives and rolling stock planned.
Now five visiting engines are due to join the railway's
home fleet, making a total of eight steam locomotives.
This makes That's Yer Lot! the biggest steam gala the
railway has ever held.
 Locomotives
One locomotive already confirmed to visit is
B1 4-6-0 1306 Mayflower, resplendent in LNER apple green livery.
This locomotive is normally based on the Battlefield
Line and we look forward to seeing it in Norfolk.
 Also
confirmed to appear is BR 4MT 2-6-0 76079. Owned by Ian
Riley, this locomotive is mainline registered and will
be a familiar sight to many enthusiasts. Rarely transported
by road, the NNR are particularly grateful to have secured
this locomotive's visit.
 One
class of locomotive that was a regular sight on the Midland
& Great Northern Railway system was the Fowler 4F. We
are pleased to announce that the sole operational 4F
0-6-0, 44422, is booked to join our growing list of locomotives
for this event.
 As
if that wasn't enough, another 0-6-0 freight locomotive has
also been confirmed to visit. Andy Booth's Lancashire &
Yorkshire Railway A Class 1300 will be making a rare journey
south to Norfolk for the event.
 We
are pleased to announce that a fifth visiting engine has also
been confirmed for the steam gala, in the form of BR 2MT 2-6-0
78019. Owned by the Loughborough Standard Locomotive Group,
this locomotive is normally based on the Great
Central Railway.
These five visiting locomotives will join the
home based fleet of WD
Austerity 2-10-0 90775, J15
0-6-0 65462 and N7
0-6-2T 69621, making a total of eight steam locomotives!
Rolling Stock
Most of our operational British Railways mark
1 carriages will be in service during this event, including
our newly overhauled dining set.
 Joining
these carriages will be the Midland
& Great Northern Joint Railway Society's immaculately
restored Quad-Art set. The award-winning
1924 built wooden-bodied articulated vehicles promise to make
a spectacular sight behind our visiting locomotives, in particular
behind LNER liveried B1 1306 Mayflower.
Please be aware some of our vintage carriages
are not fitted with steam heating. Be sure to wrap up warm
in the event of cold weather!
It has also been confirmed that we intend to
run a short goods train during all five days of the gala.
The train is likely to consist of our steam crane and a number
of box vans and other wagons. This will be the first time
the railway has operated a dedicated goods trains for over
5 years and it promises to be an exciting addition to the
timetable!
"Rail Replacement"
Buses
To complement the gala, four examples of the
buses which typically would have taken over the rail replacement
routes will be in service. They will be offering free journeys,
between Sheringham and Holt stations via Weybourne station
and from Holt station to Holt town centre.
Because of the shortage of vehicles in 1959, buses were hired
in from other operators and on 1 March the "hired in"
Leyland Titan double decker from Great Yarmouth Borough Council
will be assisting the Eastern Counties buses on all routes.
Two of the following three buses will be present
each day of the gala, visiting from the Eastern
Transport Collection, Attleborough.
-
LS789, (5789
AH) a 1959 ex Eastern Counties Bristol MW5G with 43
seat coach body by ECW.
-
LKD229 (OVF
229) a 1954 ex Eastern Counties Bristol LD5G Lodekka
with a 58 seat double deck bus body by ECW.
-
LL718 (KNG
718) a 1950 ex - Eastern Counties LL5G Bristol Single
Decker with a 39 seat bus body by ECW.
 In
addition on 1 March only, an ex Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Leyland Titan PD2 double decker bus (see right) will be in
service, visiting from the East
Anglia Transport Museum, Carlton Colville. This 56 seat
bus was built in 1949. After spending a period at the Bluebell
Railway in the ownership of some railway members, the vehicle
transferred to Hedingham Omnibuses, where it was fully restored.
The bus was donated to the East Anglia Transport Museum in
October 2008 and this gala should be its first public appearance
in the museum's ownership.
A timetable for the buses can be downloaded
here as a web
page or a PDF.
Please note this timetable may be subject to minor amendment.
There are now evening bus services on Saturday 28 February
to coincide with the locomotive and carriage sheds' public
opening. See the timetable linked above for details.
Bus services will stop at the Park &
Ride car park at Splash leisure centre. See below for details.
Steam Gala Dining Train
We will be running a special dining train on
the evening of Saturday 28 February. Visit the dining
trains page for details.
"On Shed" Photoshoot
 On
the evening of Saturday 28 February Weybourne locomotive and
carriage sheds will be opened for visitors and photographers.
Normally only open on special request or on our Behind
The Scenes Tours, visitors to the gala will have the opportunity
to view the sheds and yard and watch or photograph as engines
come back on shed and are kept in steam overnight, ready for
the next day's services.
The sheds will be open from 19.00 on Saturday
evening through to 01.00 on Sunday morning, during which time
we expect to have a minimum of two locomotives on shed at
any point.
 There
will be a nominal entry fee of £1 per person, payable
on entry. All proceeds will go directly into the "Mess
Room Fund", helping to finish the new offices and mess
room facilities for our hardworking staff and volunteers in
both the locomotive and carriage and wagon departments.
The only requirement is that you can provide
and wear your own ORANGE high visibility vest.
If you wish to photograph in the yard outside
of the shed opening hours stated above, or if you wish to
photograph along other parts of the railway lineside that
are not accessible to the public, we do have lineside
passes available.
Vintage Bus Tours
 On
both Sundays of the gala we will be operating tours of the
old M&GN railway system on a restored 1959 Bedford coach.
Two tours will operate each day on Sunday 1st and Sunday 8th
March.
The morning tour will depart from Sheringham
station at 09.00 and set off for Whitwell Station via Melton
Constable and other places of interest on the old Norwich
City Line.
The afternoon tour will depart from Sheringham
station at 13.00 and head out along the Western Main Line
via Melton Constable to Raynham Park.
The tours will be conducted by well known railway
historian and author Adrian Vaughan. The fare is £8
per tour or £15 for both tours on one day.
Fares (Rover Tickets - valid all day)
|
Fare
|
1 Day Ticket
|
2 Day Ticket*
|
3 Day Ticket*
|
Platform Ticket#
|
|
Adult
|
£16.00
|
£27.00
|
£41.00
|
£1.00
|
|
Senior Citizen
|
£15.00
|
£25.00
|
£38.00
|
£1.00
|
|
Child aged 5-15
|
£10.00
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
£1.00
|
|
Family
|
£45.00
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
|
M&GN Society Members (with valid membership
card):
|
|
Adult Member
|
£10.00
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
£1.00
|
|
Child Member
|
£8.00
|
Not available
|
Not available
|
£1.00
|
* Special discounted tickets are available for
Adults and Senior Citizens visiting on two consecutive days
or all three days of the first weekend (27 February - 1 March).
# Please note for this event a charge will
be made for access to all stations. The platform tickets apply
individually to each station so tickets purchased at Sheringham
are not valid for Weybourne or Holt etc. No family platform
tickets are available.
1, 2 and 3 day rover tickets allow unlimited
travel on the trains and access to all three stations during
the daytime on the specified date(s).
Special rate for M&GN Society members!
A special offer is being made for this event
only to members of the Midland & Great Northern Joint
Railway Society. Members can purchase 1 day rover tickets
for £10 each (£8 for children) if they present
their valid membership card.
Please note that only rover tickets will be
valid for this event. No half journey or single tickets will
be available and no discounts or concessions will be given,
except for M&GN Society members as described above.
Family tickets are available for 2 adults and 2 children
or 3 adults and 1 child.
Children under 5 travel free.
Dogs and cycles are charged at £1 each for unlimited
travel on that day.
Lineside Photographic Passes
Lineside Passes are available for photographers throughout
the year. Click here
for details.
Gala lineside passes are valid for one weekend only. Photographers
wishing to attend both weekends are advised to purchase a
month lineside pass. This costs the same as two gala passes
but gives you an additional 23 days of use!
Please note that being on the lineside or any non-public
place without a lineside pass is trespassing, which is a prosecutable
offence on the railways. Checks are made that people on the
lineside hold a valid pass.
Timetables
The passenger timetables are now available as
PDFs. You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your
computer in order to read the files. This is free and can
be downloaded by clicking here.
These show all passenger trains, including which trains have
access for wheelchairs and bicycles.
Full working timetables, including locomotive
workings, goods trains and light engine movements are available
in the Souvenir Programme (see below).
 Souvenir
Programmes
The railway has published an excellent Souvenir
Programme to accompany this event.
The 20 page, A4, full colour booklet contains
a history of the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway
from opening, through closure and right up to preservation
in the current day.
The programme also gives details of what is on
offer during the event and in particular provides working
timetables for all days of the gala, including locomotive
workings, goods trains and light engine movements.
Car Parking
The railway is fortunate to have secure extra car parking
areas for visitors to the steam gala. Parking is available
as follows:
Sheringham
Council Pay and Display car park immediately adjacent to
the station. Please be aware spaces are very limited here
on Saturdays, when there is a market on.
Free "Park & Ride" car park at Splash Leisure
Centre. Follow signs for "Splash Tropical Leisure Pool"
which is situated on the Sheringham to Weybourne Road, the
A149. The postcode is NR26 8HF.
After turning off the main road into the centre the car
park allocated to the railway is the gravel area on the RIGHT
of the access road.
Our rail replacement buses will pick up and drop off passengers
regularly and transport them to Sheringham or Weybourne station.
Weybourne
There is very limited parking here in order to allow space
for the buses to turn. We strongly advise visitors to park
at another station.
Holt
There is ample free parking at Holt station, both along the
station driveway and in the adjacent field.
Please note that all train services
and attractions are subject to amendment or cancellation without
notice. The NNR cannot be held responsible for any inconvenience
or disappointment caused.
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