Peterborough, Nene Valley Railway .
Photo: R J Heron 18-Jun-05
Photo: R J Heron 18-Jun-05
The 2005 Bristol Group Annual Mini Roadmotor Group Outing - The Norfolk & Great Western - took us to the Nene Valley Railway, the North Norfolk Railway and most bizarrely the Wells and Walsingham Railway.
The title of this outing was fairly self-explanatory – the Great Western Society going to Norfolk for the weekend. Which is why, of course, our first visit on the sunny summer Saturday of 18th of June was to the Nene Valley Railway in Cambridgeshire! On this trip the passengers comprised of a good few of the usual suspects, plus two or three new faces, always good to see.
Of course it wouldn’t be a proper Bristol Group trip unless there was some confusion involved, although on this occasion we can justly claim innocence! The NVR weren’t expecting us. OK, not entirely true, the bit of the NVR I had had detailed discussions with hadn’t actually told the bit of the NVR who were on duty that day that we were coming. There then followed a lengthy period of time during which they decided that we were indeed, very welcome, and a further delay whilst they decided to tell us that fact. Not all to waste though, as the ice cream shop was thoroughly sampled and the Wansford running shed thoroughly explored. The collection of foreign locomotives which reside on this line was duly inspected, although none of them were serviceable at the time. On shed we found an old friend, Denis Howell’s “94xx” 0-6-0PT 9466, and it was this loco that was turned out as our train engine. At least it has the correct fittings for our headboard.
On departure from Wansford towards the western terminus at Yarwell Mill we discovered that one of our number had contrived to get himself left behind on the wrong platform. I won’t identify the miscreant, but Peter Casling, you know who you are! Not a great problem as the train calls again at Wansford on its way to Peterborough, so our party was not depleted for long.
The Nene Valley Railway has no significant gradients, but it’s a pleasant ride and the eastern terminus has some interesting features, including a mocked-up futuristic vision of rail travel that appears to be running over the station roof! On return to Wansford we found a beer festival in full swing, but I don’t believe any of our party partook. At least not to excess. And certainly not those charged with driving the minibus!
On, then, to Cromer and our overnight halt at the Argyll House B&B on the outskirts of the town. Of interest to a couple of us was the fact that the proprietor was also an agent for motor sport tyres. No free samples, sadly… We took an evening drive into nearby Sheringham in search of food, and most of us found an excellent pub – The Anchor – not far from the sea front. After a very nice meal, spoilt only by the live music emanating from the bar next door, there was just enough daylight for young Benjamin to engage in his favourite maritime activity – chucking rocks into the sea. There was also time for a mystery tour back to Cromer, i.e. we got lost.
Early the next day found us at the North Norfolk Railway’s locomotive shed at Weybourne for a brief guided tour. We were impressed by their new facility (some of which was still under construction) and by the high standard of coach refurbishment being undertaken. Then a quick dash back to Sheringham for the 1030 departure for Holt, hauled by “B12” 4-6-0 no. 61572. As we passed the signalman we recognised him as another old friend, Adrian Vaughan no less, and suitable words of abuse were exchanged. Despite Norfolk’s reputation as being “very flat” the climb up to Weybourne is quite entertaining.
Holt station is as good as an example of what can be done from very little. Although largely new, the buildings in the main look right, and will look even righter once they’ve weathered and been used a bit. On return to Sheringham we took the opportunity to drive a little way out of the town to a suitable gricing point where we waited in the hot mid-day sunshine for the late-running 1200 departure. It was here I believe that Benjamin rekindled his interest for losing things, first enjoyed in North Wales two years ago. This time he managed to permanently mislay two sunhats, one of them mine!
The plan then was to drive to Wells-next-the-Sea and find a bite of lunch at the Wells and Walsingham Railway station. No such luck – the place was completely deserted. Plan B was to carry on to the busy seaside town itself, dump the passengers, park the bus out of town, run back in, grab some lunch, run back to the bus, pick up the passengers (even the late ones!) and drive back to the station – all in ¾ of an hour!
Unless you are a big fan of potato fields, the 10 ¼” gauge W&WLR has little to commend it. Apart, that is, from the magnificent enormous miniature Garratt locomotive that hauls the trains, and the fact that it’s the longest line of that gauge in the known world. The only downside to having such large motive power is that it doesn’t have to be worked particularly hard. No lamp bracket on the engine, sadly, so we had to make do with posing the headboard on the running plate at the end of the trip. Despite the long drag back to Bristol from the far eastern corner of England, and no less than three refreshment stops, we were all back home a reasonable hour. And everybody seemed to have enjoyed themselves, so that’s another Good Thing. Next year? Once again to the wilds of the Cambrian Coast, I fancy…