10 March 2009
The second weekend of That's
Yer Lot saw a whole range of weather from bright sunshine
to sleet and hail! Our visitors seemed to enjoy the event
nonetheless and once again there are many photographs on the
web and a few below of some of the sights seen over the gala
days.
We are now operating a steam service every
weekend through to the summer. Some of the visiting
engines will remain on the railway for a few months and
may be hauling some of the weekend services. Visit the What's
Running page to find out which locomotives are due to
operate.
4 March 2009
After a very successful first part to our That's
Yer Lot steam gala, we are all looking forward to the
second part this weekend, 7 and 8 March. If you couldn't make
it last weekend why not come along. We have seven steam locomotives
out each day, including five visiting
engines, four passengers trains including the unique Quad-Art
set, a short goods train, intensive timetable and vintage
"rail replacement" bus services. Click here
for full details of the event.
Above and below are some photographs from the first weekend.
More photographs and many video clips are available elsewhere
on the Internet. Click here to view the comments left in the
guestbook about the steam gala, just a selection of the many
positive comments we have received.
Limited edition prints are now available
of N7 0-6-2T 69621 at the head of the Quad-Art set at Sheringham
Station. Only 750 are available. The water colour by Peter
Strudwick is printed on heavyweight paper (42cms x 30cms)
with an image size of 34cms x 22cms. The prints are available
signed by the artist for £7.50 or unsigned for £5.00
(prices excluding postage). Prints will be posted in a cardboard
tube. Click here
to view the print or purchase one online.
26 February 2009
The railway are pleased to announce that extra car parking
areas have been made available for our steam gala, thanks
to North Norfolk District Council and Norfolk Primary Care
Trust. The Rail Replacement bus
services will pick up and drop off passengers at the "Park
& Ride" car park regularly throughout the day and
the timetable has been amended accordingly. Click here
for details.
25 February 2009
We are pleased to announce that anybody
who has pre-ordered packs of "That's Yer Lot" beer
will be available to collect them from Sheringham shop anytime
from 9.00 am on Friday 27 February.
All five visiting locomotives have now arrived on the railway
in preparation for this weekend's steam
gala. These photographs show two of the visitors in Weybourne
shed awaiting the event.
The Quad-Art
set has now been completed, with all letters and numbers applied
to the doors and body sides. The photo frames have also been
installed in the compartments. In addition it is expected
that teak-bodied M&GN TZ third class compartment coach
number 129
will be completed just in time for the event. It is expected
to make its first outing during That's
Yer Lot after an extensive restoration. It is likely to
be attached to the Quad-Art set on each day of the event.
The photograph below shows the newly applied numbers on one
of the Quad-Art carriages.
19 February 2009
The details of the steam gala launch have been announced
just as the second visiting locomotive has arrived on the
railway. B1 4-6-0
1306 Mayflower arrived at Sheringham today from
the Battlefield
Line and is one of the few visiting locos to the railway
that faces towards Sheringham.
That's Yer Lot,
our mega steam gala is the biggest event every held on the
railway and as such it is set to have a high profile launch.
The launch ceremony is due to start at Sheringham station
at 09.00 on Friday 27 February with the town crier expected
to see out the first departure of the day from this station
at 09.15.
Richard (Dick) Hardy, guest of honour at the gala, is also
going to be present at Sheringham and then will travel on
the footplate for the first train. Dick started his railway
career as a premium apprentice in 1941 and by the end of the
steam era he was in charge of around 500 locomotives and 3,500
staff at Stratford running shed, East London.
The formal launch of the gala is due to take place at 11.00
at Weybourne Station, where bus company Norfolk Green will
be launching a bus painted in the old M&GN livery as a
tribute. Two of these liveried low-floor Optare Solo buses
will be running from Saturday 28th February on service X6,
which broadly follows the M&GN line from Cromer to Fakenham.
Dick Hardy will also be at the ceremony here, along with men
who worked on the old M&GN and Ben Colson, managing director
of Norfolk Green. Norfolk Green's headquarters and main garage
are on former M&GN railway land at South Lynn.
Tickets for the steam
gala (including Bus Tour tickets) can still be purchased
in advance, at the full rate, by calling 01263 820800. Please
note that tickets will not be posted this close to the event,
they must be picked up on the day. Please state which station
you would like to pick your tickets up from when making your
booking.
18 February 2009
The railway's education department
have launched their own dedicated website. It can be found
at www.poppylineducation.com.
There are also family fun events planned for for the school
easter holidays. Click here
to view the event flyer or visit the education department's
new
website for full details.
13 February 2009
The menu for the Steam
Gala Dining Train has been updated.
There is only one week remaining to take advantage of the
advance booking discount for That's
Yer Lot steam gala tickets. Don't miss out! Click here
for details.
12 February 2009
The first visiting locomotive for
That's Yer Lot has now arrived at the NNR. 4F
0-6-0 44422 arrived yesterday afternoon from the Churnet
Valley Railway, having called in at Melton Constable en route.
The images below show the locomotive on a low loader, minus
its tender, whilst visiting the village yesterday. A good
crowd turned out to see the engine return to what was once
the home of the M&GN Joint Railway, after an absence of
over 50 years.
The railway is operating daily from Saturday 14 February
until Sunday 22 February, over the half term period. After
our two-weekend mega steam
gala we will be operating standard steam services every
weekend right through to the summer. Visit the timetable
page for details.
The North Norfolk Railway are working
with Buckingham Covers to mark the 50th Anniversary of the
closure of the majority of the Midland & Great Northern
Joint Railway.
 Buckingham
Covers are producing a commemorative collectable envelope
(cover) which features an archive image and the stamp featured
on the cover is postmarked in Sheringham on the anniversary
date, 28 February 2009.
Buckingham covers are much sought-after and previous issues
have sold out in record time. The covers are £8.95 and
are available to pre-book now. The railway receives part of
the proceeds from sales in order to help fund future developments.
Please help the railway by ordering using this
link.
8 February 2009
The passenger timetables for the steam
gala are now available online. Click here
to view them. Full working timetables, including locomotive
workings, goods trains and light engine movements are available
in the Souvenir
Programme.
On Wednesday 11 February 2009 a steam locomotive is due to
return to Melton Constable, home of the M&GN Joint Railway.
LMS 4F 0-6-0
44422 will be calling in at the village on the way to
Sheringham, where it is visiting for That's
Yer Lot!
The estimated time of arrival is 12.00 noon and the engine,
on its low loader, should remain in Melton Constable for about
2 hours. It is hoped to be able to pose the engine for photographs
in front of some of the old carriage and wagon works buildings.
Some staff and volunteers from the railway should be on hand
during the visit providing information about the gala to any
interested onlookers. Why not make the most of this rare opportunity
to bring a steam engine back to Melton and come and visit?
It is thought the last time a steam engine visited the village
was in 1993, when an LMS 3F 'Jinty' visited en route to the
NNR.
Please note the expected arrival time is only an estimate
and will depend on traffic and road conditions on the day.
31 January 2009
Our Souvenir Programme for That's
Yer Lot, our anniversary steam gala, is now available.
Click here
for details.
22 January 2009
Although the railway is closed during
January work continues behind the scenes, particularly in
the locomotive and carriage and wagon works.
Currently our locomotives are undergoing their winter maintenance
programmes in preparation for the new season. WD
2-10-0 90775 is having work done on its motion and it
can be seen partially dismantled in the photograph below left.
J15 0-6-0 65462
has been lifted slightly to allow inspection and any necessary
repair work to be carried out on its axleboxes. Some minor
repairs are also being carried out on one of the steam pipes.
The photograph below right shows this engine in Weybourne
shed.
In addition to maintenance of the running fleet, work is
continuing on the overhaul of both B12
4-6-0 61572 and Y7
0-4-0T 68088. The B12's boiler is progressing off site
at Chatham in Kent whilst its frames and tender remain at
Weybourne to be overhauled there. The tender tank has been
removed from the frames and then the  wheelsets
removed so that work on the tender axleboxes can commence.
The tender's frames can be seen on temporary wheelsets in
the photograph on the right. The boiler overhaul for the Y7
is also progressing, this work being undertaken on site at
Weybourne.
Meanwhile the carriage and wagon department are busy next
door putting the finishing touches on the Quad-Art
set.
The opportunity has been taken over the winter to bring the
set back into Weybourne works to add the numbering and lettering
to the coach sides, complete  any
necessary varnishing and add photographs and photo frames
to the insides of each compartment. The progress so far can
be seen in these photographs. The intention is to have the
set completely finished prior to it running at our steam
gala at the end of February.
17 January 2009
The North Norfolk Railway is offering a rare chance for Driver
Experience participants to drive and fire a visiting steam
locomotive. A number of special trips have been organised
on 2, 3 and 4 March 2009 and it is planned LMS 4F 0-6-0 44422
will be the locomotive in use, hauling a short train to Holt
and back.
Click here for
full details.
In addition the railway has released
the following statement about Sheringham level crossing.
A meeting was held on 14th January to discuss the current
position with the Sheringham LC project, it was felt that
it is becoming less realistic to continue to push to complete
in 2009 and would therefore expect to carryout the works in
early 2010.
We do not have, and are unlikely to have, sufficient funds
to carryout the work before Easter without borrowing money.
The final cost is £130k. The objective from the outset
was for the project to be self financing and therefore not
an additional burden to NNR's finances in the current economic
climate.
EDF, the electricity supplier, require £25k and 3
months notice to move their power cables. As work cannot start
before these are rerouted we will be presenting Easter visitors
with a building site of the 'mainline' station, highway and
Ottendorff Green which would not make us popular!
County Highways are, understandably, not comfortable with
a road closure in the centre of town in the holiday season,
looking at 10 days minimum. Easter, Mayday and Whitsun holidays
are all within 6 weeks this year. Then it is the start of
the main season and before you know it we are in autumn again!
Therefore, it is anticipated that EDF will move the cables
in the autumn and then works may start on slewing the NNR
head-shunt and carrying out alterations to Ottendorff Green.
We will be looking to setting up a works gang of volunteers
for these works.
We have fantastic support from everyone affected by this
project and have all the necessary approvals to carry the
work out. We have to accept that time has beaten us but the
project has not stopped and will still go ahead when time
and finances permit.
16 January 2009
Details have been announced regarding a special dining train
which is due to run in the evening of Saturday 28 February,
during our Steam Gala.
Full details and online booking can be found here.
It has also been confirmed that a goods
train is due to run over all five days of the gala. This
will be the first full goods train operated at an NNR gala
for over five years.
8 January 2009
The railway will be operating a number of vintage bus tours
to parts of the old M&GN railway system, on both Sundays
of our Steam Gala. Click here
for more details and booking information.
6 January 2009
Additional "rail replacement" bus services have
been added for the evening of Saturday 28 February, to coincide
with the locomotive and carriage sheds' public opening. Click
here for details.
5 January 2009
Weybourne sheds and yard will be opened up to the public
on the evening of Saturday 28 February, during our Steam
Gala. Full details are available here.
The railway is now closed until 14 February.
1 January 2009
An updated version of the bus
timetable for the Steam
Gala is now available.
The 2008 fares and timetable information have now been removed.
The North Norfolk Railway would like to wish all of our visitors
and supporters a happy and successful year in 2009.
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