The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" of heritage railways. The MNR owns and operates most of the former Wymondham-Fakenham branch line of the Norfolk Railway. The branch opened in 1847, was closed to passengers in stages from 1964 to 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts, and was finally fully closed to goods traffic in 1989. (The northern section of this line, to Wells, was built by the Wells and Fakenham Railway and part of this has been operated by the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway since 1982.)
Regular steam and diesel services run through the centre of Norfolk between the market towns of Wymondham and Dereham via , and , and occasional sightseer services continue north of Dereham passing the nearby village of Hoe, where there is no station, to the limit of the operational line at Worthing. The line is periodically used for commercial freight operations and staff instruction for mainline railway companies. The company owns the line to a point just beyond County School railway station, which will make it the third longest heritage railway in England once restoration is complete.
The MNR is owned and operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (MNRPT, a charitable company limited by guarantee), and is mostly operated and staffed by volunteers. The railway is listed as exempt from the UK Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2000.
History
Route history
The Wymondham to Wells branch was opened in stages between 15 February 1847 and 1857, after consent was given by Parliament in 1845. The entire line became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. The Wymondham to Dereham section received double track in 1882, while the line north of there remained single track.
Along with the rest of the Great Eastern Railway, the branch became part of the Southern Area of the London and North Eastern Railway when the various British railway companies were grouped into four large companies in 1923. The line was heavily used during World War I and World War II, with extra Air Ministry sidings provided at Dereham in 1943. In the early days of the war, Dereham was used as a reception centre for the construction materials used to build the local airfields.
The nationalisation of the "Big Four" railway companies placed the line as part of the Eastern Region of British Railways on 1 January 1948. The branch line between County School and closed to passengers on 15 September 1952, with the section between and closing to goods as well. A stub of the western section, between County School and Foulsham remained open for goods until 31 October 1964,British Railways Atlas.1947. p.18 being busiest in the sugar beet season.
The passenger service between Dereham and Wells ended on 5 October 1964. Dereham became an intermediate station for Norwich to King's Lynn services. In June 1965, the Wymondham to Dereham section was reduced to single track with a passing loop at Hardingham. The passenger service from King's Lynn ended on 9 September 1968, with the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society operating the 'East Anglian Branch Line Farewell' DMU special on the final Saturday. The withdrawal of the remaining passenger services, between Wymondham and Dereham, followed in October 1969.
Goods traffic continued after the passenger closure. The 1973 oil crisis led to a meeting being held at Dereham in 1974 by the Railway Development Society in order to petition for the restoration of passenger services between Wymondham and Fakenham. British Rail gave a price of £247,000 for such a restoration, but this proposal was rejected by Norfolk County Council. This meeting resulted in the formation of the Wymondham, Dereham and Fakenham Railway Action Committee.
In 1977 the Wymondham, Dereham and Fakenham Railway Action Committee presented the Norfolk County Chief Planning Officer with a report putting the case for restoring rail passenger services between Norwich, Dereham and Fakenham East. Services over the line ceased in June 1989.
Preservation
Fakenham and Dereham Railway Society
Fakenham & Dereham Railway Society (F&DRS), a forerunner of the MNR, was formed in 1978. The 1980 constitution of the society included its aim:
In 1980 the F&DRS attempted to preserve the Ryburgh to Fakenham section of line failed, and the society instead leased Hardingham station in 1983. The small heritage centre had track re-laid in the former goods yard, and acquired a Ruston 0-4-0 diesel locomotive. The centre was commercially unsuccessful, forcing the society to leave the site—which was auctioned in 1986—and move to a temporary location at Yaxham station.
In 1987 Breckland District Council bought the station at County School, and granted the F&DRS a 999-year lease, inviting the society to re-lay track and relocate to the site. The intention was to re-connect the station with British Rail's railhead at North Elmham to connect with charter trains operating over the branch. This plan was abandoned when the complete closure of the line from June 1989 was announced.
Mid-Norfolk Railway Society and Great Eastern Railway (1989) Ltd.
In response to the approaching closure of the entire branch between Wymondham, Dereham and North Elmham, the Great Eastern Railway (1989) Limited formed to save the line. The F&DRS backed this scheme, and signed its lease of County School station over to the company. The society, renamed the Mid-Norfolk Railway Society in 1990, continued to provide financial backing and manpower for the development of the County School site. The running line was extended over towards North Elmham, and a collection of rolling stock was built up. The first passenger train, a Mk2 brake coach converted to work as a DBSO with an industrial diesel locomotive, operated at the County School site on 2 November 1991.
On 21 April 1990 the constitution of the organisation amended the aims of the society:
In 1991 the managing director of the GER (1989) Ltd. stated that he had raised much of the required finance and that the company intended to provide a regular passenger train service over the line by 1993. About 400 commuters a day were expected to use the service. Plans were also announced for special excursions such as shopping trips to London and summer seaside services. The plans included providing a hotel and conference centre at Dereham, along with a public house and shopping arcade.
During the early 1990s the GER(1989), contrary to the earlier announcements relating to the future of the line, announced plans to lift the railway between Dereham and Wymondham. The MNRS withdrew their support for the GER(1989) and made their own bid for the line.
In 1994 the British Railways Property Board granted the MNRS access to the railway line between Wymondham and North Elmham on a temporary 'care and maintenance' basis. This was in response to increasing levels of vandalism occurring at the site, a problem which had worsened after the Great Eastern company had lifted the track between Norwich Road level crossing and a point just north of the Automatic Open Level Crossings. The first working party was held at Dereham station on Saturday 23 July 1994.
In December 1994 Class 20 diesels 20069 and 20206 were moved by road from County School to the truncated railhead at Dereham. On Christmas Eve, with permission from British Rail, both locomotives made their way along the line to Yaxham station.
In 1995 Yorkshire Bank called in the receivers to solve concerns with the Great Eastern Railway (1989) Ltd. In June 1995 Breckland Council informed the receivers that they wished for the GER (1989) Ltd. to give up the lease for County School station so that they could review their operations in respect of the site. The GER (1989) Ltd., who stated that they were attracting 12,000 visitors a year to the site, announced that they would contest this decision.
In July 1995, police were called in to investigate the sudden and unauthorised road transfer of two Mid-Norfolk Railway Society Mk 2 coaches to a breaker's yard at nearby Lenwade. In July 1996 Breckland District Council issued a threat to stop trains running at County School station, as it was found that someone other than the leaseholder was operating trains at the site; the lease being non-transferable. In November 1996 Breckland District Council brought in 24-hour security guards at the County School site in order to prevent the stripping of the property after having served an eviction order on the GER(1989) in mid-October.
County School station was boarded up and GER (1989) Ltd rolling stock was concentrated in the isolated yard prior to disposal or scrapping. All track north of the station platforms was lifted, and, as shown in the photograph, the site was left to become derelict.
Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust
The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (MNRPT) was formed in 1995 through the merger of the campaign groups and organisations that had been trying to restore passenger services over the route since 1974. The aims of the new charity were established:
In July 1995 two Mk2 coaches were transferred by road from County School railway station to the truncated railhead at Dereham, where they were placed between the already present Class 20 locomotives. These coaches were then hauled to the MNR's temporary base at Yaxham. A further three coaches were delivered on 17 August.
On 29 November 1995 the section of railway between Yaxham station and a temporary halt built beside a footpath crossing on the Rash's Green industrial estate in Dereham was inspected by Chris Hall, H.M. Principal Inspecting Officer of Railways. Permission to operate passenger trains over this section was granted from Saturday 23 December 1995. 63 trains, each composed of the five Mk2 coaches topped and tailed by the Class 20s, were operated between this date and 14 January 1996. In October 1995 Breckland District Council established a rail working party to consider purchasing the line from British Rail, then leasing it out to a rail group – of which the Mid-Norfolk Railway was the preferred lessee.
On 11 April 1998 the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust bought the route between Wymondham and Dereham for £100,000. This included the Dereham station buildings and the goods yard. The British Rail Property Board also sold the of track between Dereham and North Elmham for £25,000. On 17 March 1998 the MNRPT had signed a Tenancy at Will agreement with Breckland District Council to take over the station and trackbed at County School. This agreement was to allow the railway to take control of the station until it could afford to buy it outright, and followed on from the removal of the remaining rolling stock associated with the defunct Great Eastern Railway (1989) Ltd from the site.
The original Dereham station was re-opened to passengers on Saturday 26 July 1997, with the first services being operated by 1890-built Manning Wardle 0-6-0T 'Sir Berkeley', hired from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. British Railways Board (Residuary) Limited transferred the line between Wymondham and Dereham to the MNRPT on 23 September 1997. The first preservation-era train to operate between Dereham and Wymondham ran on 8 February 1998, when a works train hauled by 20069 and Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 'County School ran as part of preparations for a March freight test train. The first commercial freight train operated on 8 July 1998.
Passenger services between Dereham and Wymondham commenced in 1999, with the opening of Wymondham Abbey railway station. The first passenger train to use the new station, on 2 May 1999, was operated by a Class 108 DMU. Thuxton station opened as a daylight hours only request halt at the same time, although Kimberley Park and Hardingham remained closed.