NRS NL 65-3 May-June 2020

Norfolk Railway Society GSerNoeouprpfaogSlekuspT1pra7len-2ms0peonrtt

Founded 1955 www.norfolkrailwaysociety.org.uk

Volume 65 No.3 NEWSLETTER May - June 2020

____________TRACK REPORT - News from railways in and around Norfolk

National Network One of the last Class 90 workings

GE LINES UPDATE
March-May

GE Lines News

Coronavirus pandemic: As a result of the On Monday 23rd March 90008 The East Anglian with a rake of Mk3 coaches forms the
pandemic, w.e.f. 23rd March most rail 0900 Norwich to Liverpool Street service. Two Class 745/1 EMUs can be seen stabled
operators introduced reduced frequency in Victoria Sidings. This was the penultimate day of Class 90 hauled services on the
timetables. Greater Anglia reduced the GEML (Peter Adds).
Norwich – London service to a basic
hourly service pattern which had an
indirect benefit in allowing the accepted
number of 745s to cover the service
enabling its locomotive hauled trains to be
withdrawn. The Department of Transport
permitted the suspension of franchise
agreements, for an initial period of 6
months, should franchisees wish to
transfer to Emergency Measures
Agreements - all franchisees elected to do
this - under which the franchisees receive
a management fee whilst any revenue and
all costs pass through to the Department
of Transport – at a reported subsidy cost
of some £800m per month. Open access
operators, such as Grand Central and Hull
Trains, are not entitled to such financial
support and within days they suspended
all their services until further notice.

That evening the Prime Minister introduced a 3 week self-isolation lockdown period - later extended for a further 3 weeks - for the
general population and a 3 month lockdown period for 1.5m vulnerable people. Exceptions to these measures applied to essential
workers such as those employed in the NHS and other emergency services, food stores, pharmacies, transport and utilities.

Similar Government financial support was given to bus companies that continued to run sparsely used services albeit on a slightly
reduced frequency.

By 30th March the Prime Minister said that the number of passengers travelling by train had fallen by 95% from normal footfall. Rail
staff have advised that GA’s London service sees an average of 20-30 passengers per train whilst the rural services struggle to find
more than a handful of passengers per train.

It was announced on 8th May that train services would be increased from the present 50% of normal to about 70% of the normal
timetable commencing on and from 18th May as lockdown restrictions were released ever so slightly. On 9th May the Transport
Secretary announced that due to social distancing measures and the 30% reduction in timetabled services capacity would be about
10% of the normal capacity – he also announced a £2bn fund to promote cycling and provide better walking facilities possibly to

offset the reduction in public transport capacity and use.

In This Issue On 10th May the Prime Minister announced some relaxation of the
lockdown measures in England (the devolved governments of
Track report Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were more cautious deciding to
National Network 1 maintain the strict lockdown) from 13th May but the Government
5 urged those that could return to work do so but to avoid public
Pick-up Goods 14 transport wherever possible.
Feature
Rail Replacement Buses – an Overview (Part 1) Brandon station: Further developments (see NRS/NL 65/2 p.2) are
by Edward Mann
the extension of the car park to take 100 spaces and the creation of
NRS News
Norfolk Transport Group Supplement 16 “vandal proof” waiting shelters on both platforms at an overall cost of
£1M.

17

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____________TRACK REPORT

Needham Market: Funds have been made available to provide train at 1530. The failed train remained stationary at the Down
better access to the Up platform which is accessible only by a Main platform until 1835 before it was moved to the London side
narrow subway with steps at present. It is unclear how improved of the station to await onward movement, presumably to Crown
access will be achieved – a new footbridge with lifts would not fit Point.
in well with the listed Down side station building.
Wednesday 1st April: The 1520 Ipswich-Cambridge service
Greater Anglia Incidents experienced an automatic application of its brakes between
Stowmarket and Haughley Junc, losing more than 20 minutes in
Monday 23rd March: This was the intended last day of Class 90 the process. The train was then terminated at Bury St Edmunds
+ Mk3 operation between Norwich and London but due to a and returned ecs towards Ipswich from there.
delay in completing the acceptance paperwork for a 745 it
became the penultimate day! 90008 The East Anglian worked Thursday 2nd April: The 0500 ex-Norwich, having arrived at
the 0900 ex-Norwich and remained in that diagram for the rest Liverpool St 5 minutes early, was then declared unfit to remain in
of the day. The 1200 Norwich-London and the 1430 return were service and ran ecs back to Crown Point rather than forming the
cancelled due to a train fault 0730 ex- London. The 1000 ex-Norwich and the 1230 return
were both cancelled in reaction. The diagram was taken up with
Tuesday 24th March: 90001 Crown Point worked the final day’s the 1500 ex-Norwich departing 10L - and all this against an
Class 90 diagram with the last train being the 1930 ex-Liverpool hourly interval service.
St.
Wednesday 8th April: Signalling problems occurred between
The 1100 Norwich – London terminated at Stowmarket due to a Dullingham and Cambridge. The 0920 ex-Ipswich was
train fault having lost 30 minutes between Diss and Haughley cancelled, and the 1020 ex-Ipswich was diverted at Chippenham
Junc. The return 1330 ex-London was cancelled in reaction. The Junc to run to Ely. The 1120 ex-Ipswich actually reached
745 was noted returning towards Norwich during the afternoon Cambridge! The following day the 1420 ex-Ipswich had to be
travelling at about 30 mph. terminated at Dullingham with its booked return journey starting
from there.
Sunday 29th March: The 1200 Lowestoft-Ipswich service hit an
obstruction between Beccles and Brampton where the train was Oulton Broad Swingbridge failed mid-afternoon with the 1517
terminated. Some 3 hours later the ecs was noted passing and 1554 ex Ipswich having to terminate at, and the return 1702
Reedham running towards Crown Point. and 1807 ex-Lowestoft start from, Oulton Broad South.

Monday 30th March: The 1330 London-Norwich service failed at Friday 10th April: The 1827 Norwich-Cambridge service failed
Stratford. Assistance provided by 1Z99 which arrived on the at Cambridge North. Fortunately, crossovers at either end of the
new station enabled Up trains to use the Down platform to pass
NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY the failed 755 which was still stationary at 2200.
(Founded 1955)
Saturday 11th April: There was a points failure at Oulton Broad
President: Ken Mills, Esq. North. The train intended to form the 1907 Lowestoft – Ipswich
terminated at / started from Oulton Broad South and the 2017
Committee and Officers 2019-2020 Telephone Ipswich to Lowestoft going on to form the 2148 Lowestoft to
Norwich was cancelled.
Chairman Warren Wordsworth
Tuesday 21st April: The 1200 ex-Norwich successfully reached
Vice-Chairman Vacant Liverpool St but was then declared to be a failure for the return
1430 to Norwich (and the remainder of the diagram 1700 ex-
Past Chairman Brian Kirton Norwich and 1930 ex-London) returning to Norwich as an ecs
move.
Secretary & Andrew Wright
John Laycock Wednesday 22nd April: A trespass incident between Ipswich
Webmaster and Haughley Junc in the early afternoon saw several services
Treasurer detained at Ipswich including the 1230 ex-London which
departed 34L.
Membership Sec Mike Handscomb
Since the Wherry line resignalling was commissioned during late
Newsletter Editor & Edward Mann February there have been several instances of point failures
notably at Yarmouth (8th April with several services cancelled
Indoor Programme with the 1440 ex-Norwich diverted via Berney Arms) and to a
Committee Members Brian Cornwell lesser extent at Lowestoft. These failures may have been
induced by the hot sunny weather conditions. The 1336 ex-
Richard Keeys Norwich to Yarmouth was terminated at Acle, the 1436 service
was cancelled, and the 1536, 1706 and 1736 ex-Norwich were
Peter Willis all terminated at Acle to form return services or ecs moves back
to Norwich. The line via Berney Arms was blocked to rail traffic
Malcolm Wright during the latter period of the points failure.

Norfolk Railway Society Newsletter Friday 24th April: A test train, presumably an example of the
new Bombardier Class 720 emu due to replace AGA’s 321 and
Editor: Edward Mann 360 emus, working the 0951 Liverpool St to Colchester diagram
came to a stand at Hatfield Peverel at about 1030 and remained
Layout & Picture Editor: Andrew Wright there for almost 4 hours finally reaching Witham Down Loop
226L. Fortunately, bi-directional signalling allowed other trains to
To contact us email: [email protected] pass on the Up line between Witham and New Hall.

Distribution: Graham Smith

Please contact Graham if the next edition does not arrive by
the end of the month of publication.

Opinions expressed in any articles are those of the author and
should not be taken to represent those of the Society.
Next issue published: 6th August 2020.
Copy Date: 23rd July 2020

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____________TRACK REPORT

Sunday 26th April: A points failure at Lowestoft blocked the use of The departure from Norwich of the Class 90 locos destined
station from 1745 to 1930. The 1710 Ipswich-Lowestoft terminated at for a future with Freightliner took place in May:
Beccles (why not Oulton Broad South?) forming the 1800 Lowestoft-
Ipswich starting from Beccles. The 1805 Norwich-Lowestoft was Upper, 90011/03/10 at Crown Point on 7th May (Nigel
cancelled. The 1905 return to Norwich was retimed to 1946 and the Teulon).
1900 Lowestoft-Ipswich was cancelled.

Tuesday 28th April: Whether some rain following the sunniest April on Middle, 90006 leading 90005/07/08 at Caistor St Edmund on
record was to blame is unknown, but the morning was punctuated by 8th May (Peter Adds).

745/755 failures. The 0700, and an additional 0730, Norwich to London, Lower, 90015 leads 90004/09/12/13 at the same location on
Friday 15th May (Andrew Wright).
and the continuation of the 0700 diagram including the 1200 ex-
Norwich, were cancelled due to train faults; the 0803 Ipswich to

Peterborough took 35 minutes to cover the last 4 miles before

Manea where the train was terminated (presumably the

immediately following 0901 XC Cambridge-Birmingham service,

delayed by 40 minutes, stopped there to pick up any stranded

passenger(s); the 0837 Norwich-Yarmouth and the 0917 return;

the 0920 Ipswich-Cambridge service came to a stand for 25

minutes near East Suffolk Junc but was prevailed upon to get

better although this late-running service was then terminated at

Bury St Edmunds where the return (ex-Cambridge) service

commenced its return journey. The 1127 Norwich-Cambridge and

its return were similarly cancelled due to train faults.

Thursday 7 May 2020: the final Stadler 745 unit was delivered to
Crown Point by 66001 which has handled most of the Barking
Ripple Lane – Norwich workings once the new trains had arrived
via the Channel Tunnel. The last 755 unit was delivered on 23
April.

The first transfer of the twelve (the thirteenth 90014 has been
undergoing an overhaul at Crewe) GA Class 90 locos now
destined for a future with Freightliner departed 60L this morning in
a 0842 timed departure path to Crewe. 90010 led 90003 (both
unnamed) and 90011 (which still carried its nameplates). All locos
were immaculately clean.

Friday 8 May 2020: second transfer of Freightliner bound 90s
with 90006 leading 90005/7/8 – departure only 20 minutes late
today. All locos carried their GA applied nameplates. The final 5
locos are believed to be departing on 15 May.

Sunday 10 May 2020: a change in the weather including strong
winds brought down a tree somewhere between Trowse Jn and
Attleborough during the afternoon. The 1554 EM service Norwich
to Ely was terminated at Wymondham 23L and the following 1616
to Ely departed Norwich 20L and only to return after passing
Trowse Jn. The 1654 and 1716 departures were cancelled and
the first through service became the 1754.

Thursday 14th May: The majority of Greater Anglia’s fleet of 119
Mk 3 carriages, refurbished at a cost of £12m during 2015 and
2016 – including the conversion of 7 restaurant cars to Café bars
creating 54 Standard seats rather than the previous 24 First Class
seats; fitting additional seats in Standard Class carriages; fitting
of controlled emission toilets so that effluent was no longer
discharged to the track (the number of toilets reduced to a
maximum of one per coach as a result of the displaced toilet
space being used to house electrical equipment for upgraded wi-
fi and to provide at seat charging points for electronic devices)
have been leaving Crown Point for scrapping. Some examples
have been purchased by Locomotive Services Ltd; Manchester
Fire and Rescue; Crewe Heritage Centre; several for use on
Network Rail’s newly formed electrification test train (Bedford-
Corby) and a number for heritage railway use.

37716 hauled 5 DVTs and two Standard Open carriages to the
scrapyard of Sims Metals at Newport, Gwent, this morning.

Friday 15th May: The last 5 Class 90 locos bade farewell to
Crown Point en route to Freightliner at Crewe this morning with
90015 leading 90004/09/12/13.

With many thanks to Peter Adds for keeping us abreast.

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____________TRACK REPORT

Locomotive hauled services between Norwich with rheostatic brakes in addition to the standard Westinghouse
and London: The end of an era (Peter Adds) brake equipment and Time-Division Multiplex enabling locos to
work in multiple or to work push-pull passenger services
After nearly 170 years of locomotive haulage of passenger trains equipped with a Driving Van Trailer at the non-loco end of the
between Norwich and London the arrival of the 1930 ex-London formation. Due to reliability problems with the Class 86 fleet
service in Norwich on 24th March 2020 marked the final hired-in Class 90s began to appear on Norwich – London
locomotive worked service. Like many other train franchisees, passenger services from August 2002 – chiefly using examples
Greater Anglia services are now worked exclusively by either bi- numbered between 90040 – 50, which had been dedicated to
mode or purely electric multiple units. Locomotive hauled the Freightliner business at privatisation, with hired-in EWS
services nationally are now quite rare being limited to the Welsh Class 90s then taking their place in late 2003. The failure of
government’s Holyhead/Manchester to Cardiff services (Class Class 86 worked services had seen rescues being made by
67); the London – Penzance sleeper service (Class 57); the Class 90s much earlier with a very notable rescue of the 0830
London – Scottish sleeper services (Class 92 and 73s in ex-London being made at Diss on 23rd August 1992. Four 90s -
Scotland); Class 91s on the East Coast Main Line and, should 132, 133, 135 and 138 heading light engine to Crown Point for
the open access London to Blackpool service proposed by maintenance were following behind and were run past and then
Grand Central commence after the pandemic, Class 90s will attached to the failed train taking it forward. The report detailing
return to scheduled passenger services. If one counts HST this rescue does not mention whether the train remained in
power cars these will continue operating for the foreseeable public service – the four leading 90s would have created
future in the West Country, Scotland and on Cross Country platforming difficulties at Norwich. Later that month 90139
services. worked the 1930 London to Norwich service starting from
Colchester after 86223 had failed.
The final type of main line steam locomotives associated with
the GEML were the Britannia 4-6-2 class locomotives introduced The 15 examples (90001-15) originally dedicated to Intercity
from 1951 with a total of 23 being allocated to the Great passenger services at Sectorisation – the business led evolution
Eastern. The English Electric Type 4 1-Co – Co-1 (later pre-dating privatization (the remaining 35 locomotives having
designated Class 40) 2000hp diesel locomotives were been allocated to Railfreight Distribution and Parcels duties) that
introduced to the GE main line during 1958 being supported by had worked on the West Coast Main Line began to be
Brush Type 2 (Class 31) locomotives operating the Norwich – transferred to the GEML in early 2004 as the WCML converted
London services. The EE Type 3 (Class 37) came slightly later, to Class 390 Pendolino operation. 90003 became the first 90 to
from 1961. The final advertised steam hauled main line service appear in the rainbow livery adopted for the start of the National
ran on 9th September 1961 but it is known that steam locos were Express “one” franchise on 1st April 2004. Some examples were
called upon to replace failed diesels after that date. put into traffic with the former Virgin Trains livery with only the
Virgin brandings removed pending repainting. EWS Class 90
A few Type 4 prototypes, notably Brush’s D0280 Falcon, locos continued to support 90001-15 as they were transferred,
BRCW’s D0260 Lion and English Electric’s DP2, were repainted and for maintenance cover.
constructed in the early 1960s and Falcon was tested on GEML
services. It is reported that whilst the BRCW prototype, Whilst the 5000bhp Class 90s are capable of 110mph and the
distinguishable by its stylish design and white livery, was Mk3 carriages, which transferred with the 90s from use on
favoured the cancellation of an order for an additional 20 Class WCML services, can travel at 125mph the GEML maximum line
46 locomotives resulted in the Brush electrical equipment speed of 100mph applied throughout the reign of the 90s on
specified for those cancelled locomotives being available for re- Norwich services.
use. Brush won the contract to build what became known as the
Brush Type 4 (later Class 47) which used the same Sulzer The final GEML Class 86 operated service ran on Saturday 17th
12LDA28C diesel engine power unit as installed in Lion. The September 2005 with the 1800 ex-London worked by 86235
first 20 Brush Type 4s used the electrical equipment originally Crown Point bringing to an end almost 40 years of regular UK
earmarked for use in the cancelled Class 46 locomotive order. passenger train operation by Class 86 locomotives which were
The original Brush 4 order was then progressively extended to a originally introduced to work the full WCML electric train service
final total of 512 locomotives using different electrical control timetable from April 1966. It is perhaps fitting and entirely
systems compared with the first 20 locomotives. The Brush appropriate that the final GEML Class 90 working, the 1930 ex-
Falcon prototype was fitted with two engine units. London departure on Tuesday 24th March, was hauled by 90001
Crown Point.
The arrival of the Brush 4 (Class 47) locomotives from 1965
facilitated the later introduction of Mk2 air-conditioned stock. Editorially Taxing
Electrification of the GEML between London and Ipswich in May
1985 enabled Class 86 electric locomotives cascaded from the I would like to thank everyone who has “done his bit” and
West Coast Main Line to work services to Ipswich with Class supplied material for the Newsletter during these difficult
47s then working the trains between Ipswich and Norwich. The times. There should be something to keep everyone
extension of electrification to Norwich effective from May 1987 interested, and please remember that I’m always thinking
then enabled Class 86 haulage throughout with locomotives about the next issue. Unlike the large-circulation magazines I
being changed at both termini. Ex Scotrail DBSOs enabled the have little or no reserve on which to draw so do think about
rakes of stock to be operated in push-pull mode, with the Class articles which will interest the members. Mike Fordham, and
86 locos being attached at the London end of the set, from Peter Adds, in particular, have ranged far and wide!
September 1990. At the time of this change Rail magazine
reported that the 1700 Norwich-bound departure on 12th One thing we are trying to do is to broaden the Newsletter’s
September 1990 was halted just outside Liverpool St after a appeal and maintain contact with those who may be more
member of the platform staff became concerned that what he Transport Group orientated with the addition of pages 17-20.
thought was the light locomotive running down the platform was We do not know when the social-distancing rules will be
too close to the departing train! consigned to history, but if you feel your background/interest
is air/road/sea-related please see the note at the top of page
The 50 members of the Class 90 mixed traffic fleet were built at 17 if you would like to submit a contribution.
BREL’s Crewe Works between 1987 and 1990. These capable
5000bhp thyristor controlled electric locomotives were equipped

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A miscellany of news and members’ contributions

The Diesel Takeover and the End of Steam – the
Final Weekend (Richard Adderson)

Although Brush 1250 hp diesels had first appeared on the London to
Norwich expresses in January 1958, and were followed by the
English Electric 2000 hp locos in April, steam locomotive still
appeared on many of the diagrams into the early 1960s.

Whilst I was well aware of the presence of the diesels, and the
gradual disappearance of old favourites, I was nonetheless
surprised to read an article in the Eastern Daily Press in early
September 1961, announcing that Saturday 9th September would
see the last steam passenger services on the G.E. line, with the
exception of the Palace Gates to North Woolwich service. The
article stated that of the 27 daily up and down trips on the Norwich –
London service, only four each way were rostered for steam.

As it happened, that week I was enjoying a Runabout Ticket
covering the Norwich – Ipswich – Yarmouth triangle, and on the
Wednesday and Friday evenings I had returned home from Ipswich

On the morning of Sunday 10th September 1961 70005 John
Milton is readied for its run to March. Two B1s are also visible.

What a mess! The old coaling plant is alongside 70006 Robert
Burns on 10th September 1961.

on the 4.52 pm Broadsman. On each occasion 70010 Owen Another view of 70005 before it leaves for March. 70010 Owen
Glendower converted a 3 minute late departure from Ipswich into a Glendower, still complete with discs after its previous day’s
slightly early arrival at Norwich. The loco had worked up to exertions, is seen on 10th September 1961. .
Liverpool Street with the 10.45 from Norwich.

On the Saturday, 9th September, I made my way to Ipswich station in
good time to see 70010 emerge from the tunnel with the down
Broadsman. According to the paper, which in those days was the only
source of information, this was to be the last down steam-hauled train,
and the 5.45 pm from Norwich, The Norfolkman, would be the last in
the other direction. I recall there was a sense of occasion aboard, but
none of the hysteria which such an event would provoke today. As for
the journey itself, I spent most of it leaning out of the carriage window,
and I remember a lively exchange of chime whistle and diesel horn as
we passed an English Electric Type 4 on an up express. I also noted
at the time that there were throngs of people with cameras on the
pathway behind the railings as we curved round into Thorpe station.
Oddly enough, I have never seen a picture of our arrival.

And so we pulled into platform 4, and there was great disappointment
on seeing D6715 in charge of the 5.45 pm at platform 3, and not the
hoped-for Britannia. Having nothing better to do, though, I rode this
train back to Ipswich, and I have a vivid recollection of what seemed
like dozens of cameras being lowered in disgust as we passed the
waiting photographers.

In theory the all-diesel era had begun, but during the next few months Also on shed on 10th September 1961 was 70008 Black
the occasional Britannia would find its way on to the service, covering Prince.
for a failed diesel. All images N. Smith courtesy of Richard Adderson.

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The Mousehold Light Railway (Mike Fordham) bodies. Due to their former wartime role these were known as
Dreadnoughts and were in service until the system closed in
When did a freight train last leave Platform 6, Thorpe Station, 1935.
Norwich for Mousehold Heath? It’s a trick question as the
Platform 6 we know immediately preceded the DMU introduction The munitions factory became Barnards who were later to build
in 1955. But read on… railway engines.

Towards the end of WW1 the Government had constructed a
munitions factory and aerodrome on the Heath beyond what is
now the ring road (Mousehold Lane). The factory was two miles
from the railhead at Thorpe and an unusual method was
chosen to transport the war materials to and from the site - the
City Tramway.

In 1918 the Norwich Electric Tramways Company was asked by
the Government to construct a connection into Thorpe Station
from the tram tracks on Riverside Road. Two sidings were laid
alongside what is now platform 6 enabling the transshipment to
take place between the 3' 6'' gauge tramway wagons and the
railway standard gauge wagons. A passing loop in the station
yard was also laid.

The single track City tram route ran by Riverside Road and Above, Construction work taking place and, below, the labour-
Gurney Road (a steep hill) to terminate at the Bandstand on intensive 1957 resurfacing work. The old Great Eastern Hotel is
the Heath, with 5 passing loops; an additional one was added top left (below).
at the end of Riverside Road to cope with the extra traffic.

The factory was ⅔ of a mile from the Bandstand and on the
other side of Mousehold Lane, the extension to the tramway.
The Mousehold Light Railway branched off the road to the left.
The single track line was constructed during the summer of
1918 by local contractor F. Hipperson, with a small
embankment and long cutting which was excavated through the
sandy soil.

In 1914 the Tramway Company had abandoned the King Street
to Trowse route, so as there was a shortage of materials due to
the War the track was dismantled and used to construct the
new line.

The rails were spiked to 5’ wooden sleepers and the overhead
wiring assembled, these terminated at the factory gates but the
track ran into the factory with several sidings.

At the Silver Road Tramway Depot two electric powered Norwich-Chessington Zoo Connection -
wagons were constructed with Peckham Bogies and BTH Exploring Barnards’ History (Mike Fordham)
motors and controllers; at the ends of the lengthened chassis
were two covered platforms. In the middle was the trolley At the end of WW1 in 1918 the Mousehold Heath W.D.
collector to pick up current from the overhead wire. munitions factory and Royal Flying Corps aerodrome alongside
Mousehold Lane and Salhouse Road was closed. The short-
Several return journeys were made each day with volunteer lived tramway to the munitions factory gates from the City
drivers pulling one or two flat wagons. Tramway Bandstand stop on the Heath was removed. In 1921
Barnards Ltd of St Michaels, Coslany, purchased the factory site
A conventional tram provided transport for the workers early in and the aerodrome hangars.
the morning, then stopping in the factory to return them to
Norwich in the evening. Heartsease housing estate is now built on the airfield and the
factory/hangar site is now a retail/industrial park.
Two unidentified steam locos did the shunting in and around the
factory; these had been re-gauged to 3' 6'' at the Tram depot. As Ironfounders with a large wrought-iron and wire-netting
These may have been a side tank and saddle tank engines as business they needed to expand. During WW1 they had
two 3' 6'' gauge engines were put up for sale in 1919 after the supplied the Government with around 7,000 miles of wire-
factory closed. netting, large heating stoves and hundreds of tons of metal
castings. Examples of their work can be found in Norwich: the
The Armistice in November 1918 brought to an end this very elegant cast-iron canopy support spandrels on the platforms at
short-lived emergency railway, the power wagons returned to Norwich Station and the ironwork fencing round the station
the Tramway Company and the overhead wires were retrieved. forecourt will be familiar to many. Barnards also built the river
The track remained until 1935 and the station yard track could bridge at St Crispin's outside what had been the site of City
still be seen until 1957 when it was resurfaced. Traces of the Station and is still in use today.
trackbed cutting can still be seen on the Heath.

In 1923 the equipment from the two power wagons was used in
the construction of what was to become the two most powerful
new trams on the system, nos. 7 & 9, fitted with English Electric

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Inside the factory site was an extensive 3' 6'' gauge
track system which linked to the now-closed tramway.
Barnards re-gauged the system to 2' which may have
been worked by a Bagnall 0-4-0ST as one was cut-
up by Kings in 1950. Can anyone confirm – Ed?

When Reg Goddard opened Chessington Zoo,
Surrey in 1931 he wanted to have a railway as an
added attraction and this is where Barnards stepped
in. They laid 150 yards of 2' gauge straight track, built
two carriages and supplied their own Bagnall engine.
But on the August Bank Holiday the engine’s boiler
ran low on water causing problems; as a result the
railway was closed and removed.

William Bower, Chairman of Barnards, then surveyed the site and laid an oval ¾
mile long 12'' gauge line through the Zoo. Back in Norwich work had started on
their first locomotive - a family Citroen car was sacrificed to provide the chassis
complete with engine, gearbox and radiator which was mounted on an 0-4-0
frame. The drive was to the rear wheels using the car’s differential, but the body
was overlooked until the day before delivery. This was hastily devised out of
wood and materials to hand in the form of a WW1 Vickers Vimy bomber which
provided: fuel tank casing (body), part of wing (cab roof) and pilot’s seat (driver’s
seat). Working through the night it left for Chessington at 0630, the paint drying
on the journey. It was then named Oliver Cromwell 1632 and the two gondola
four-wheel carriages Queen Elizabeth and Fanny Burnley, all names having a
historical connection with Burnt Stub, the site of the Zoo.

In Norwich work had already started on engine no. 2 - a contractor’s style 0-4-0
using a 22hp single cylinder Triumph motorcycle minus wheels with a chain drive
to the rear wheels. The handlebar was moved back to the seat position with the
controls still working and the saddle moved to the rear of the engine. With a
steam engine outline body and two new sit-astride bogie carriages it looked just
right when it entered service in 1932; it returned to Norwich in 1934.

Oliver Cromwell was rebuilt in 1932 and emerged as a 4-4-2 with
counterbalanced driving-wheels; the body remained the same apart from the
pilot’s seat which was replaced by a wooden bench.

In 1933 a much larger 4-4-4 tank engine arrived at the Zoo from Norwich, still
with a Citroen car engine and chassis but now with a chain and sprocket drive to
the rear wheels. It had a large enclosed cab and large tank complete with dome
and copper-capped chimney. Behind the wire mesh of the smokebox door was
the radiator; sanding gear was also fitted. The design of this engine paved the way for the 1937 Earl class.

Dukedogs made in Norwich – Mike Fordham concludes the Barnards’ story

Chessington Zoo located in Surrey and close to London was very popular attracting many day trippers. The owner, Mr Goddard, in
1936 commissioned two new complete trains from Barnards of Norwich for the Zoo’s miniature railway for delivery in time for the
1937 season. Each had a new engine and three 16ft bogie carriages. These were to replace the stock already supplied by
Barnards of Salhouse Rd, Norwich.

In Norwich the brothers William & Paul Bower took on the project
which was based round an Austin 10 engine. The GWR 4-4-0 Earl
class later nicknamed Dukedogs was the basis of the design. The
mechanical layout and bodywork was designed to fit round the
engine. Fitted with double frames the outside frames gave them
greater stability and also made them more accessible. Behind the
smokebox door wire mesh was the radiator. The carriages and
engines were vacuum- braked and fitted with ball bearings on all
axles. Painted light green they arrived at Chessington in May
1937.

No. 4 was named Princess Elizabeth and No. 5 Princess Margaret
after the newly- crowned daughters of King George VI; when the
Queen acceded to the throne No. 4 was renamed Queen
Elizabeth.

In 1983, when they were rebuilt by resident engineer Jerry Woods,
it was found that they had been numbered incorrectly and the
numbers were switched; this was corrected when they were
repainted in GWR green. The engines were also replaced by
Morris 1000 units.

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The 12” gauge line closed in 1985 after nearly 50 years working for 9 months a year. The engines and carriages were sold and may
still be working.

The track was rebuilt to a 2’ gauge with 2 new Chance Rides’ 4-2-4 American C P Huntington outline steam locos with diesel
engines and new carriages.. The railway closed in 1996 as it was considered a danger to the public running alongside the
footpaths.

Barnards nor the Bower brothers were never commissioned to build any more railways or engines.

The Earls had lasted for forty years on the one railway and must have been seen by some of our members; look for the young
Richard Adderson in the picture where he's sitting in the cab!

How Times Change!

My goodness – on Sunday 8th August 1965 the Society was
able to visit the London area depots at Willesden Junction
(morning) and Southall (afternoon) long before the weekend
replacement of trains by buses was even thought of! Travel
was by the North London line from Broad St to Willesden Junc,
then a walk to Ealing Broadway to catch a DMU to Southall (an
hourly service ran to and from Reading); DMU back to
Paddington, underground to Liverpool St and train home.

The locomotive is 7922 Salford Hall, and the image was the
work of former Society member Brian Reading, who sent it to
Richard Adderson. Richard has been able to identify most of
the participants and, from left to right, we have: Tony Payton
from Ely, Simon Rathbone(?), Michael Kemp, Trevor Garrod(?),
Richard with duffel bag, unknown, the late Roger Harrison,
unknown but he looks familiar, the late Arnold Hoskins and the late
Bill Naunton. Let me know if you agree or can add to the names.

The Last Trains

Saturday 2nd May 1970 saw the last trains run between Lowestoft
& Yarmouth South Town, meaning that the official date of closure
was 4th May 1970 (the next day a service would normally have
run). There was the usual crowd of well-wishers including some
Society members, not all of whom then knew one another.

When the Dereham – Wymondham line closed in October 1969
apparently an amateurish “last train” board adorned the front of
the DMU. Graham Smith thought he could do better, on the lines
of the NRS headboard instigated by the late Bill Harvey and made
by Bob Brister. The colour image (left) displays Graham’s
handiwork, whilst the final 2110 from South Town (below) carries
Graham’s board.

Interestingly, there was a Table 46a (Lowestoft – Yarmouth South
Town) in the 1970/71 Eastern Region Timetable which ran from 4th
May 1970. Presumably objections to the closure or the arranging
of replacement bus services had not been satisfied/completed
when the timetable was printed. This was by no means unusual at
that time.

With thanks to Richard Adderson, Mike Fordham & Graham Smith.

Points of Danger in the Edward Marston Railway
Detective Series

I recently purchased this book in a withdrawn library book sale only
to find it was set around Norwich Thorpe station in 1861. Jarvis
Swarbrick MP and Eastern Counties Railway Company Director is
travelling from London with his wife in his usual ECR first-class
carriage to Norwich. As the train approaches the station (?) a
goods train is passing through the station obscuring the view of
person switching the points and diverting the train on to a branch
line away from the station. The driver brings the train to a halt with
squealing brakes. A horse rider with hat pulled over his face rides
up to the director’s door and pulls it open then points a gun at him:
“Hand over your wallet and watch”, he commanded before
shooting him between the eyes! He then gallops off with his booty
and the usual London detectives are called in to solve the crime.
You are left in suspense as to who the killer was until the last
pages.

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It is an interesting story and Edward Marston may have researched a guide to The Maid’s Head, Jenny Lind and other places of
interest in Norwich and Yarmouth, but I don't think he had looked at the layout around Norwich Thorpe. If any member would like to
delve into this book give a call to Mike Fordham, please.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Mike for this piece. Mustn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story!

The Shildon Cavalcade – 31st August 1975

This celebrated 150 years since the opening of the Stockton &
Darlington Railway - actually 27th September 1825 - but as the
Bank Holiday weekend was so close who bothered about 4 weeks?

Mike Roach was busy with his camera and here are some images
of the “celebrities”:

790 Hardwicke, an “Improved Precedent” or “Jumbo” 2-4-0, built
1873, from the London & North Western Railway (top).

990 Henry Oakley, a Great Northern Railway “Small Atlantic”
(LNER C1), built 1898, the first of the 4-4-2 wheel arrangement to
run in Great Britain (upper).

1000, a Midland Compound 4-4-0 built in 1902 (lower).

4472 Flying Scotsman which entered service in 1923, just after the
railway grouping, although building had begun under the final days
of the Great Northern Railway. The LNER classified it as an A1, but
on rebuilding it became an A3
(bottom).

Unlike the Rainhill 150th Anniversary
Celebrations, which stretched over the
Early Summer Bank Holiday weekend,
the Locomotive Cavalcade was
confined to Sunday 31st August. A
special DMU left Norwich at 0735, for
Peterborough, where passengers
boarded 1G38 0820 ex-King’s Cross,
arriving Darlington 1214, which wasn’t
bad for a Sunday. Connecting DMUs
made the short onward trip to Shildon.
Admission to the Cavalcade was
extra, but the train fare of £4 was a
bargain. The return left Darlington at
1802, getting participants back to
Norwich at 2228 after the
Peterborough change to DMU. Please
see the leaflet and reservation slip
(thanks, once again, to Richard
Adderson).

Those travelling from Ipswich had a
special train which left just before
midnight on the Saturday, arriving
Shildon 0620 on the Sunday morning.
Pedestrian by comparison!

The longest trip was made by 1Z74
ex-Plymouth (probably an overnight)
hauled by 46005 (outward) and 46009
(return).

Editor’s Note: The leaflet seems to
have been typed using a home,
manual, typewriter – a somewhat
amateurish piece of work! Note that
the DMU would have reversed at Ely,
presumably for the benefit of
Cambridge passengers.

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Looking Back: Netherlands Railways, the 150th Anniversay – Brian Kirton

Looking back at 1989, the Netherlands Board of Tourism had an office in
London’s Buckingham Gate and within it was a Netherlands Railways
sales office enhanced by cabinets of historic Dutch locos and rolling stock.
You could buy a ticket between any 2 stations or a day Rover ticket for
£15.50, 3 days for £22.50 or 7 days for £31.00. The 742 page all-system
rail timetable cost just £2.00. In the Netherlands medium and larger
stations were equipped with Het Station Cafe, popular with rail users and
non-users alike. The Dutch currency was the guilder. Direct ferry services
to Holland were provided by North Sea Ferries from Hull, Sealink (then
Crown Line) from Harwich and Olau Line from Sheerness.

Under British guidance, the first passenger train service between
Amsterdam and Haarlem was inaugurated on 20th September 1839,
some 5 years behind Belgium and Germany. Trains were hauled by De
Arend (Eagle) and Snelheid (Speed), both built by Longridge & Co at
Bedlington.

De Arend was scrapped in 1857 but because plans still existed, a working Austrian model railway manufacturer Roco published
this special NS catalogue in 1989. This immaculate
replica was built at the Zwolle workshops in 1938 ready for the centenary. copy was kindly supplied by Graham Smith.
Three major railway celebrations took place; in Amsterdam throughout

September 1939 (the Netherlands were neutral until May 1940), in Utrecht in 1964 marking 125 years, and again at Utrecht in 1989

for the 150th anniversary. All three were visited by Royalty, with Queen Beatrix attending in 1989. Posters featuring De Arend and

the newest train of the day together with special postage stamps were common to each of the celebrations.

The 150th was titled Treinen door de Tijd or Trains Through Time and took place between 22nd June and 6th August 1989. At
Utrecht station, sidings adjacent to the station provided space for a large selection of stock. (This land is now used for recent
additional platforms and a new bus station.) A shuttle service to and from the Railway Museum at Utrecht Maliebaan station was
operated by a 2-car (electric) Blokkendoos set dating from 1924. In front of the Jaarbeurs Exhibition Centre, a circuit of broad
gauge track (1945 mm) was laid to enable the replica De Arend to
haul 3 coaches from a temporary station and pass through a
tunnel. Unless I am mistaken, the Netherlands didn’t get its first

The replica loco De Arend hauls its 3 coaches on the circular A reminder in porcelain of the NS Centenary in 1939. Featuring
1945 mm track at Utrecht (Jaap Boersema). De Arend and a 1934 Diesel Three. It was presented by the
Association of Pensioners of the Dutch Railways and Tramways.
It is located on platform 5 at Haarlem (Brian Kirton).

Loco 3737 pictured within the Railway Museum Utrecht during Model maker Joop Bluijs researched Haarlem’s original station
the model railway exhibition ONTRAXS in 2019 (Brian Kirton). to create this layout. De Arend and Snelheid can be seen at the
station (Brian Kirton).

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railway tunnel until 1986 when the line under Schiphol Airport was opened; river tunnels have followed more recently. Inside the
Exhibition Centre, railway industry suppliers showed their contributions. A total of 26 circular steam excursions on the main line
were scheduled to operate throughout the Netherlands, some also offering shorter one-way journeys. Haulage was mainly by two
Belgian locos 12 004 and 29 013. Built in 1911, Dutch loco 3737, formerly SS731 and nicknamed Jumbo, was restored for the
celebration.

On certain days visitors could view trains of the future. There was a French TGV Atlantique which would connect Amsterdam and
Rotterdam with Paris under the Thalys brand from 1996. Also on view was a German InterCity Express although it was not until
2000 that newer variants of the ICE began to connect Amsterdam with Cologne and Frankfurt.

A total of 6 preserved steam railways complemented the official programme together with the Rotterdam based Steam Foundation
Netherlands.

A more modest celebration of 175 years took place in 2014.

Editor’s Note: It is pleasing to recall a couple of sesquicentennial
celebrations, and the different manner in which they were marked.
A 175th anniversary celebration was planned for Shildon in 2000,
but the railway had been privatised and the event did seem so well
planned or advertised. Inevitably it was cancelled.

Looking across the stabling area at Utrecht, in the foreground The 1989 anniversary poster maintained the tradition of
no.3104 is a Wadloper DMU and on its right, a ‘Blue Angel’ featuring De Arend and the latest train in service. It was the
(Jaap Boersema). Koploper (Head Runner), noted for a high driver’s cab. These
trains are still in service, usually on routes where they divide and
unite to serve multiple destinations. Refurbished unit 4237 was
photographed on 25 August 2015 at Leeuwarden bound for
Rotterdam Den Haag (Brian Kirton).

Time for Another Quiz (Answers on p.16)

1. Why was it right for D1 to be named Scafell Pike?
2. Coronavirus question: The Northern Nightingale is in which former railway station?
3. Many of you will know that 60049 was named Galtee More. Another loco bore the same name. Please explain.
4. Which is the rail franchise that neither serves London nor operates any stations?
5. What was the least-used station in Suffolk in 2018/2019?
6. What, in railway terms, do Platform 1 on Huddersfield’s Platform 1, Airedale General Hospital & Fagley Primary School,

Bradford, have in common?
7. What was unusual about the Waterford & Tramore Railway?
8. Where are/were the 3 Witham stations?
9. Within a 20 mile radius of Norwich, where was Church Lane signalbox?
10. Do you ever listen to the shipping forecast? A number of steam locomotives which ran on B.R. shared their names with a sea

area. Which ones, please?

Caned by the Hatters – Steve Cane recalls a visit last season

Luton Town were playing Accrington Stanley on Easter Saturday in 2019 so, having booked train tickets, I travelled via
Peterborough and Leeds to Halifax where I had booked my hotel.

Halifax is situated in a river valley and so, as you emerge from a short tunnel just before the station, you are greeted with a
wonderful view of high fells on one side and the town itself rising on the other. Rowntree Mackintosh have a factory next to the
station and Halifax was where John and Violet Mackintosh opened a pastry shop in1890 to start the company.

My hotel was located in part of the redeveloped Grade 2 listed Crossley Carpet factory at Dean Clough, which opened in 1840 and
closed in 1983. At one time it was one of the world’s largest carpet factories with a length of ½ mile and floor space of 1,250,000
square feet. It had railway sidings at the long-closed Halifax North Bridge station which was close to the eastern end of the factory.

I had travelled from Halifax to Accrington on two other occasions catching a direct westbound York to Preston/Blackpool service.
This time I chose a service to Manchester Victoria which allowed me to alight at Todmorden. From there I connected with a service
direct to Accrington via the Todmorden Curve. This curve had been reinstated in 2015 after the original curve closed in 1972.
Following the closure, passengers wanting to go to Burnley from Manchester would have had to change at Hebden Bridge. The

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cost for the 500 metres of track was £10 million with some of the money
coming from the EU but it cut the travelling times between the two stations in
half to about 50 minutes.

The journey from Todmorden takes about 30 minutes and the first view of
Accrington town is from the huge viaduct which has 22 semi-circular masonry
arches each with a span of 40’.

Accrington is now a post-industrial town, but in its heyday coal mining, cotton
mills and brick making were among some of its main industries. The famous
Accrington brick was used all over the world whenever a hard high-strength
brick was needed. The Empire State building and the base of Blackpool
Tower were made from “Accy” bricks. The brickyards had their own mineral
railway connecting to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway at nearby Huncoat
station.

In steam days Accrington station was much bigger and had a triangular
layout; it’s now sadly not much more than a two platform halt. Its steam shed
(24A) housed around 30 locomotives and closed to steam in 1961 but
continued as a DMU depot. One standout feature of the station is its ticket

office and
small
community
cafe. In
2011 the
station
underwent a £2 million rebuild as part of a project to create a “a
model of sustainable energy use in a railway station”. The project
involved replacing the old 1970s ticket office with a new building
that had a rainwater harvesting system, photovoltaic cells and
solar hot water generation panels.

I probably would never have visited Accrington if I’d not been a
Luton Town supporter, but there are some very interesting places
to visit along the Calder Valley line west of Halifax.

“The Hatters” beat Accrington 3-0 on that Easter Saturday back in
2019 and a few weeks later finished top of the League with
promotion to the Championship. I was hoping to return to Halifax
this April when we were due to play Huddersfield Town, but
unfortunately all games are at present cancelled. Some things are
more important than football.

Editor’s Note: Yes, the area is well worth a visit. It’s such a shame
that places like Hebden Bridge are so prone to flooding.

Images: Top ,Dean Clough former Carpet factory where my hotel
was situated. Middle, The Accrington viaduct. Lower,
Manchester-bound train approaches Todmorden station( All
Steve Cane).

The Rocky Mountaineer (Alan Wallwork recalls a 2015 visit)

In 2015, my wife, son and a couple of friends took a two day trip on the Rocky Mountaineer from Lake Louise to Vancouver, with an
overnight stop in Kamloops.

There are in fact 3 different journeys you can take on the Rocky
Mountaineer (follow the link to their website:- https://
www.rockymountaineer.com/routes_destinations ) but Banff/Lake
Louise to Vancouver is probably the most popular one. To describe
the trip as the “journey of a lifetime” may be overdoing the
hyperbole, but nevertheless it was an excellent way to spend two
days and the trip was extremely enjoyable with great food.

Kamloops is really a bit disappointing and is effectively a railway
town with little to do there and is merely somewhere to stop for the
night.

On the journey, we passed numerous huge freight trains, with
typically three huge diesel locos on the front, often with one or two
in the middle and a couple on the rear, to handle the load of up to

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100 container wagons. The loading gauge is also untypical by British standards, as it allows the containers to be loaded on top of
each other.
The scenery is spectacular all the way, with tracks on either side of each valley reflecting the history and competition which existed
between Canadian Pacific Railway (‘CPR’) and the Canadian
National Railway (‘CNR’) in the early days. On the outskirts of
Vancouver at Surrey BC is Thornton Yard, a veritable Mecca for
railway enthusiasts and the Rocky Mountaineer runs right through
the middle of it, offering views of the extensive freight handling
facilities there.
Once you arrive in Vancouver, apart from the sights of Stanley
Park, Gastown and the rest, the transport enthusiast is then able to
take advantage of riding the trolleybus system, the rapid transit
railway or for the more adventurous – a flight around the bay and
the local area on a seaplane.
Editor’s Note: BC = British Columbia. I made a similar trip in 1995,
starting from Calgary which, in those days, had a major station
deep beneath the surface but used only by the Rocky Mountaineer.
Light rail networks serve Calgary today. Yes, the yards on the
approaches to Vancouver are huge, but another remote place I
recall is Field, BC, where crews were changed and maybe the
diesels were refuelled. The end to end journey (including the
overnight stop) was less than 650 miles but fast running was not
the order of the day.
Previous page, 8012 and 8016 heading the Rocky Mountaineer
westbound at Basque, passing 2588 2110 and 2412 with a CN
freight on 6th July 2015; right upper, 8012 and 8016 with the
Rocky Mountaineer at Lake Louise on 5th July 2015 heading for
Kamloops; right, An overview of Thornton Yard, Vancouver on
6th July 2015; right lower, CN 5714 with BC Rail 4624 and CN
2582 passing the Rocky Mountaineer near Kanaka; right bottom,
CN loco 7206 and Slug 212 in Thornton Yard near Vancouver on
6th July 2015 passing 5826 and 7055; below bottom, CN locos
2151 and 2181 in Thornton Yard, Surrey BC on 6th July 2015;
below, CN locos 2287 2183 and 2677 with an Eastbound freight
between Walhachin and Savona on 6th July 2015.

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Rail re-openings 1964. There is a short, but fascinating, film to be found by
googling “wivenhoe to brightlingsea railway”, made in 1963. Just
Do you remember, about 6 months ago, that the Government scroll down and it’s easily found. A substantial crossing of
was gung-ho about re-opening lines north, south, east and Alresford Creek would not have helped the line’s economics.
west? The best candidate seems to be in the Blyth & Tyne area, The line is probably best followed on O.S. Sheet 149 (7th
where a freight service is still run. Fallers at various hurdles are Series).
a new line to Skelmersdale, the Fleetwood branch and the
Colne – Skipton link (closed 1970). Correction

Brightlingsea Branch In NRS/NL 64/5 p.8 Richard Adderson’s caption of 6233 leaving
Norwich towed by Class 47 1509 was incorrect as the tow was,
A short branch connected Brightlingsea to Wivenhoe on the in fact, to Thetford, from where a Sunter Bros lorry hauled it to
Clacton main line, but it closed to passengers from 15th June Bressingham. Thanks, Richard, for putting this right.

____________FEATURE

Rail Replacement Buses – an Overview (Part 1)

To make the position clear, this article is not about buses replacing trains at weekends, but about proper services running daily. The
bus challenged the railways’ supremacy from the 1920s, by being more convenient and cheaper.

In the 1950s & 1960s it was surprising just how many Eastern Counties rail replacement bus routes there were. In that period most
were numbered in the 400 series, starting with the 401 Yarmouth to King’s Lynn,
which was a direct replacement for the M&GN/B.R. (Eastern Region) service, closed
in March 1959. Likewise, the Norwich – Melton Constable line closed at the same
time, and the 402 took over.

But they weren’t the first. The first seems to have been the 29b Wells – Heacham
(line closed June 1952), so numbered to fit in with the 29 Norwich – Hunstanton and
the 29a Norwich – Drayton. A new outstation was opened at Wells, presumably to
operate this service. In 1962, 3 or 4 services went the full distance and were still
running in 1966. Other Norfolk lines had closed in the early 1950s, such as the
Wroxham – County School line in September 1952 and the Tivetshall – Beccles
(Waveney Valley) line in 1953. These were replaced by the 70 (Dereham to
Wroxham via Reepham & Aylsham) and the 71 which followed the old Waveney
Valley route pretty closely. The 70 ran 6 times a day in each direction, though why
two of the services started from/finished at County School Railway Station Turn and
did not go into Dereham must be attributable to the existence of trains on the Wells
line. Curtailment was not long in coming – by 1955 the whole route was still running,
but services were fewer, and by 1958 the Aylsham – Wroxham section had gone.
The 71 also ran 6 times a day in each direction; there were inevitable alterations over
the years, and though both the 70 & 71 were in the 1970 timetable both had gone by
1971. Was the change of government in 1970 relevant? In Apri1 1953 the Cromer
Beach – Mundesley line closed; the 23 bus service was modified to accommodate
this, and Richard’s Notice requires no further comment. Another M&GN replacement
was the 336 (King’s Lynn to Peterborough via Wisbech).

Chronologically, the next closure was the Yarmouth (South Town) – Beccles direct

line in November 1959; lo and behold, there was a 403 service which closely

followed the old route. Moving out of area a little, the Cambridge – Mildenhall line

closed in June 1962, but its replacement was partial: Mildenhall to Newmarket,

service 404. The Dereham – Wells line closed in October 1964, with the 405 taking The last passenger trains ran between

over, closely following the old line. The Wymondham – Dereham line closed in Cromer (Beach) & Mundesley on Saturday 4th

October 1969 to be replaced by the 406. An obscure replacement was the 407,

which ran between Chatteris & St Ives (the March – St Ives line closed in March April 1953, meaning that the official closure

1967). The Mundesley – North Walsham line closed in October 1964 and its date (the next day a service would have run)

substitute was the 408. was 6th April 1953, which happened to be

And now… an intriguing one: the 409 Peterborough – Northampton which replaced Easter Monday. Thus the revised bus service
the rail service, closed in May 1964. This service operates now as the Stagecoach 23 began, unusually, on Tuesday 7th April
Gold X4 but at some 3 hours end to end via Corby it’s a lot slower than the train 1953.

which took about 1¼ hours though it did take a more direct route. The 410 replaced trains between Saxmundham and Aldeburgh

on the line’s closure in 1966 although some of the route was already covered by other services. With the exception of Diss, most

local stations between Stowmarket and Norwich were closed in November 1966 – joint operators of the substituted service were

R.O. Simonds, Culling’s Coaches and Eastern Counties. The few EC-operated services ran as the 411 initially and used the Bus

Station but the other operators’ services started from/finished at Ber St (beside Bonds/John Lewis’s). The next one was hardly a

service at all – the 412 Bury St Edmunds – Stowmarket, established in 1966, It ran daily Mon-Fri only – Bury dep 0720 Stowmarket

arr 0810 and Stowmarket dep 1620 Bury arr 1710!

The Dereham – Swaffham – King’s Lynn line was not recommended for closure in the original Beeching Report but the hatchet-
men got to work and it closed in September 1968. This brings us to the last of the rail replacement services - the 413/414 which

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ran between Dereham/Swaffham/King’s Lynn in concert with the existing 34 Norwich to King’s Lynn. Unfortunately, the 413/414
were poorly-patronised and may have been withdrawn in 1970.

Today, some of these services are covered wholly or partly by other operators, and though most of these services were running in
1966/67 it would be interesting to know more about them, and when they ceased to run. And if you have ephemera or images of
buses on these services I’d like to see whatever there is, please. In these times of exhortations to stay at home I make no apology
for filling a Newsletter or two with images of old buses and coaches. I would also appreciate help in identifying some of the small
town or village locations which have doubtless changed considerably over the last 50 years. And the social history in these old
images – be it the buildings, the cars, the clothes – reminds us how life was in those pre-free bus pass days gone by!

Something you may not know – a recent legal ruling means that
buses that replace trains e.g. at weekends need to comply with
the Disability Discrimination Act. It will be interesting to discover
what happens in practice as many coaches have a set of steps
and nothing else. (EM)

For all images, thanks to Syd Eade/Eastern Transport Collection
Archive. Also thanks to Alan Wright & John Hutchinson without
whom this Feature would be impossible.

The 401 King’s Lynn – Yarmouth service has yielded a few
images, which are shown here, and in the next issue I intend
to move on to the 402 and higher-numbered services.

On 27th September 1968 KVF 656E (RS 656) negotiates North
Walsham Market Place.

At Harleston the driver of TVF 520 (LC 520) isn’t quite ready to pick

up passengers for the journey to Beccles in May 1956 – but what WPW 633 (LM 933) is entering the bottom of Yarmouth Market
was the subject of the ladies’ conversation? We appear to be just Place from Northgate St.
past the junction of Broad St & The Thoroughfare.

Finally, 473 BNG (LM 973) has reached journey’s end (Melton
3015 AH (LM 953) does business at Stalham on an unknown date. Constable) with the 1210 from King’s Lynn on 16th February 1974.
David Burdett thinks this was part of Yarmouth’s allocation.
What has grabbed the lady’s attention?

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NRS email address contacting the Society or if you wish to be put in contact with
another member whose contact details you don’t have. This will
We have set-up an email address for the Society which is: be in line with our data protection policy. (Andrew Wright)

[email protected] The late Graham Kenworthy

It will appear in your inbox as “Norfolk Railway Society”. I Donations totalling £900 were received in Graham’s memory,
suggest you add the address to your email contacts so emails and these were divided between the nominated charities (EACH
do not end up in your spam box! Nook Appeal & St Martin’s Housing Trust). Joy Kenworthy
thanks everyone for their generosity.
I will use this address to send out information to members who
have provided an email address.You may also use it for

An alternative to our indoor meetings

Sadly due to the pandemic we had to cancel the remainder of the 2019/20 meetings and cannot be sure when we will be able to
resume at URC Hall. Some clubs/societies are running online meetings using programmes like Skype, Zoom and GoToMeeting.

Our final speaker on 21st May was to have been Tim Morton with a talk on the Railways of Iran. Tim asked whether running the
meeting online at a later date might be an option. Four of us held an online meeting with Tim when we explored whether this might
work. We concluded it is worth trying and if there is sufficient interest from members we will arrange a date.

Would you like to join an online meeting if we set one up? Let me know.

Please email: [email protected]

We will send guidance to any members who wish to join. However it will inevitably involve a bit of trial and error to start with and it
may not be easy to provide individual support to everyone but we will do our best.

For an online meeting you will need a computer or a tablet e.g iPad and an internet connection. At a minimum you must have
sound and ideally a microphone if you are to join in a question and answer session. Laptops and tablets generally have both but
desktop computers may not so you will need to check what equipment you have.

Andrew Wright, NRS Secretary

____________PICK-UP GOODS A few extras

Quiz answers (see p.11) 6. Lucky recipients of redundant “Pacers”!

1.It’s the highest mountain in England. 7. No physical connection with another railway.

2. Manchester Central, which became the G-Mex Centre, then 8. Witham (GEML), Witham (Somerset), formerly on the West
the Manchester International Convention Centre and then of England main line, & South Witham (M&GN) east of Saxby.
Manchester Central again.
9. On the former Wells branch, not far from the MNR’s
3. It was a Great Northern Railway (Ireland) S class 4-4-0. 4. Wymondham Abbey station.
Cross-Country.
10. 30911 Dover, 34003 Plymouth, 34029 Lundy, 45669 Fisher
5. Lakenheath with 454 passengers. & 45682 Trafalgar.

News from the East Suffolk Travel Association for steam locos on the charters to be watered there, and to
enable possible future freight to be handled there given their
Two of our members are on the ESTA Committee – Rod Lock is closeness to the Inner Harbour.
its President and Trevor Garrod is its Chairman. Trevor has
kindly sent their latest Newsletter though, unfortunately, It is interesting that station footfall figures on the East Suffolk
Coronavirus has hit their events hard. and Wherry lines rose slightly except at Oulton Broad North &
South & Lowestoft which were slightly down.
However, 1306 Mayflower is hoped to be a visiting attraction to
Lowestoft on Sunday 27th September, when ESTA hope to have Who remembers James Sherwood?
a stand at the station, and a postponed event, now probably in
early December, will be the marking of the 80th anniversary of James Sherwood (8th August 1933 – 18th May 2020) passed
the departure of the first special train of evacuees from away recently and I have his Times obituary for anyone wishing
Lowestoft to stay with families in Glossop, Worksop, Ollerton & to read about this larger-than-life gentleman who was
Shirebrook. It is hoped there will be a re-enactment at Lowestoft responsible for re-creating the pre-war Orient Express. It is hard
station Parcels Office. to believe that the project started back in 1977 when he
acquired two sleeping cars for some $114,000 at a sale in Monte
They have asked NR about the renewal of the sidings at Carlo.
Lowestoft. Three reasons have been given – storage of track
maintenance trains; stabling of charter trains and, if necessary, With thanks to Robin Thomas for spotting this one.

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Contributions from NTG Members

Norfolk Transport Group

For the last 2 months many of us have been isolating ourselves at home and all meetings have stopped, perhaps until next year.
So to keep us all in touch the NRS have kindly provided space in their Newsletter for Transport Group members. What have you
been doing? Tell us about your projects, send in your photos, or provide a short article on a transport subject which we can include
in later newsletters.

Stay safe. Mike Fordham.

Disaster on the River Rhône (Brian Kirton)

Readers may remember that Velma and I were in business for nearly 30 years as a Tour Operator and amongst our many and
varied activities, we were privileged to handle inland waterway cruises on behalf of Waterways World magazine. Most operators of
river cruising ‘hotel ships’ have their set itineraries, usually close to their base, and trying to persuade them to sail somewhere
entirely new is often impossible. With a high level of repeat customers, the sustainability of a programme for marine experts,
enthusiasts and boat owners is dependent on being able to offer new navigations visiting places of both cultural and technical
interest.

Our discussions with ship owners took us in 1990 to Rotterdam
and after some initially frustrating negotiations, we realised that
Watertransport, a Dutch ‘foundation’ with two ships, were anxious
not only to serve long established destinations like the River
Rhine but were willing to research other rivers and canals that
would open up new markets. It was the beginning of a long
relationship which saw new vessels designed and built for more
distant parts of Europe within the permitted dimensions.

What we did not know until a few years later is that in 1985,

Watertransport (subsequently WT Cruises) had been the first

Dutch operator to transfer a 136-berth river cruiser on the back of

a sea-going ship to Marseilles in the south of France and pioneer

cruises up the River Rhône as far as Lyon. However, this venture

ended in disaster and could well have put an end to

Watertransport’s willingness to explore new waterways. At the

time, it was considered the most costly accident on European

inland waterways. Above: By chance, a local newspaper reporter arrived at the

The ship was named after one of the Directors, Mr Cornelis W scene and took this picture of the ship soon after it struck the
Kroes; it was about to be re-named more appropriately Fleur du railway bridge.

Rhône. In unfamiliar waters, it is the custom to employ a pilot to Below: The wrecked cruise ship photographed from the railway
advise the captain, the pilot will himself be a serving or retired bridge (Picture courtesy of WT Cruises).
captain who knows the river. Whether there was a clash of

personalities between the French pilot and the Dutch captain is

uncertain, but following the upstream voyage to Lyon, the captain

dismissed the pilot and declared himself competent to take over

unaided for the downstream voyage. Thankfully, the full

complement of passengers had disembarked for a sightseeing

excursion before disaster struck. The conditions changed, the

estimated current was 15 knots, nearing flood conditions.

Approaching the concrete railway bridge at La Voulte-sur-Rhône,

a crew member on the bow signalled to the captain that he

thought there was insufficient clearance. The captain put the

4000hp engines into reverse but the 90 meter vessel slewed

broadside into the parapets and lay trapped by the current. The

river was blocked and structural damage to the bridge caused the

suspension of train services. A powerful tug was deployed to try

to pull the ship into the current but this resulted in her being holed

on a bridge pier. As she went over, the single-glazed windows

were no match for the pressure of water. The crew reacted

quickly and safely climbed ladders to the railway bridge. The

captain followed and wrote his letter of resignation!

It took nearly three months to decide how best to dispose of the ship and restore the river to full navigation. Blowing up the vessel
was considered but that would have caused more damage to the railway bridge. Shredding the entire ship was a possibility but the
waste material might cause damage to a hydro-electric power station downstream. Winching her to shallow water by taking the
strain on pillars set in the river bank was another proposal but that would risk a breach in the bank which is higher than much of the
surrounding countryside. Drawing cables over the ship to act as a chainsaw would have been painfully slow. In the end, she was
cut up with oxy-acetylene equipment but it was rumoured that a few controlled explosions also played their part!

It was not until 2008 that we chartered the French owned Van Gogh for a one-way cruise up the Rivers Rhône and Sôane. This
cruise presented some challenges but the passage through La Voulte-sur-Rhône was without incident.

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International Aviation Academy Norwich
(Malcolm Cooper)

This is a joint venture between 13 local organisations (see
picture of site info board) to set up an Academy which is
certainly the only one in the UK. It is believed to be also the only
one in Western Europe. The purpose is to provide training for
Aircraft Technicians at school leaver apprentice level and also
more advanced at graduate level.

The Academy utilised a redundant WW2 hangar on the airport Norwich Airport – storage facility
industrial estate. There are several hangars in the airport (Malcolm Cooper)
complex put to various uses. Anglia windows utilise several as
their main manufacturing base. The hangar utilised for the A ride along Broadland Northway (NDR) past the airport will
Academy is outside the Airport and Anglian’s factory complex, currently reveal the best part of 30 mothballed aircraft. Possibly
so is very well sited for its new use. I believe Anglian used to the most interesting is a large number belonging to British
use it. If you would like to see it turn into Hurricane Way, left at Airways - a sad sight in many ways. The reason for utilising
the Café and first left again – seemples! Norwich, among other provincial airports is the relatively low
cost of aircraft storage compared to many. I have pictured two
Construction by R G Carter commenced in 2016 and was within the same picture as the control tower which has to be a
completed in 2017. pretty rare site.

I think they are maintaining at least some of the British Airways
planes as it is a reasonably regular sight to see one take off, do
a circuit and then land.

I have shown a few pictures in sequence. It contains a complete Andrew Wright adds: I identified three of the BA aircraft in
Boeing 737 which I understand was gifted to the enterprise. Malcolm’s photographs (below) on Flightradar24.com. G-LCYV
is an Embraer E190SR and flew from London City Airport to
Norwich airport as flight BA9754 on 13th March 2020. G-LCYY,
another Embraer, flew north on 16th March and made a 10
minute flight around the airfield on 11 May. G-LCYR also flew to
Norwich on 16th March having earlier that day operated services
from Edinburgh to London City Airport and LCY to Amsterdam
return.

The formal opening and took place on 5th August 2017 with the
tape cutting by Carol Vorderman. She was appointed as
ambassador to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets in 2014 and given
the rank of Honorary Group Captain RAFAC. She flew her own
light plane in for the ceremony, which was very successful. Carol
was very impressive and spoke very well – there were many
speeches as a representative of each sponsor gave a short
speech.

From reports in the local press the Academy has been very Hawker Aircraft (Malcolm Wright)
successful to date. There is generally an annual open day which
is well worth a visit. 2020 marks the centenary of Hawker. Its roots lay in the
aftermath of the the First World War when Sopwith (famous for
The site in front of the building is currently derelict, but a recent its Pup and Camel fighters) test pilot Harry Hawker and three
press report stated a new hotel is soon to be built which will others including Thomas Sopwith bought the assets of Sopwith
enhance the whole area. Aviation, which had gone into administration.

Norwich has been famous for many things over the centuries,
cloth, clothing manufacture, shoe making amongst many others
and it is great to see it once again in the forefront.

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At first the company made many things to keep afloat including understood that Saturday morning attendance was required to
cars and motorcycles,but their main market was still aviation. compensate for the mid-week afternoon “wasted” on sporting
In 1925 Sydney Camm became Hawker's fourth chief designer activities. So the C.N.S. it was, and so began almost 5 years of
in five years. He became synonymous with Hawkers designing riding Eastern Counties’ buses.
aircraft as famous as the Hart, Fury, Demon, Typhoon and
perhaps the most well known the Hurricane. In those 5 years little changed on the “motive power” front. You
After the Second World War other designs came from Camm could be sure of an LKH double-decker (the fleet number
including the Hunter and the P1127 which was the forerunner of coincided with the registration number so MAH 330 was LKH
the Harrier. 330 in the fleet). The 89 route began at Wall Rd – there was a 6-
minute frequency - then down St Clement’s Hill, Magdalen Rd,
A Hawker Hunter photographed by Malcolm Wright at the Magdalen St, Tombland, Upper King St, right towards Castle
Norfolk and Suffolk Aircraft Museum at Flixton. Meadow, past the Castle, Red Lion St, right into Rampant Horse
St, right into Brigg St, on to Gentleman’s Walk, up Gaol Hill, St
Vintage Snetterton (Mike Fordham) Giles’ St, at the end left into Unthank Road, and either right into
Mile End Road or straight on to Judges’ Walk (services
In 1953 I went with my much older cousin to the Snetterton alternated then). At around 0830 there would be few passengers
Racing Circuit on the E Counties Bus. beyond the Market. I would get off at Mile End Rd or Leopold
From the programme which I still have I been able to identify Rd. Try repeating some of the city parts today! Coming home, it
the race picture I made with my new Browne 127 camera. It was was plain sailing to walk to the Jenny Lind Hospital (now the
the Egerton Cup a 5 lap 13.5mile race for Sports Cars over Priscilla Bacon Lodge etc) to catch whichever arrived first. Most
2.500cc with a prize money of £10 (how thing have changed). pupils, myself included, opted for the school buses which picked
The cars have just passed the start and are approaching Riches us up outside the school, and then ran via Eaton Rd, Newmarket
Corner with No 54 a 1950 3.9L Allard in second place driven by Rd, Norwich Bus Station and Castle Meadow to terminate in
W Jacobs, I failed to record the winner. Thorpe Station yard. These buses offered something more
interesting – the single-deck LLs, the BV & BVS dual-purpose
vehicles, the odd LC, and perhaps an early LS. Double-deckers
I recall are the APs and LKs, with their upstairs side-gangways
(how the conductors must have hated them), and the more
modern central-gangwayed LKDs. I seem to remember drivers
having entirely different attitudes to the 30 mph limit along
Newmarket Rd – so much so that on one occasion a cyclist
friend of mine overtook a slow LL in the Mount Pleasant area!
Home was on the inevitable LKH.

It took several years for Eastern Counties to recognise that
houses were being built beyond the outer ring road (Chartwell
Rd), and I assume commuters were left to catch the buses
coming in from North Walsham etc.

Richard Adderson advises that the 89 was the direct descendant
of a couple of city tram routes that his father used when
travelling to and from the C.N.S. in the late 1920s/early 1930s.
Richard’s father lived close to the Angel Rd/Waterloo Rd
junction, and it’s thought that he walked to Magdalen Gates or
Point House to catch the tram going from Silver Rd depot to
Judges’ Walk. He would have needed to change cars in the city
to board one going down Newmarket Rd to be closer to Eaton
Rd.

Going to & from school 1959-1964 Unfortunately, I never recorded the number of a single bus and I
(Edward Mann) hope the experts have no difficulty understanding the fleet
letters. However, I have no recollection of seeing/riding on LKH
When I passed what used to be called the 11+ in 1959 my 261-265 (LNG 261-265). It always struck me as odd. Was there
parents lived at the top of Constitution Hill in north Norwich. We something special about these buses, which seemed to be used
(I’m not sure how far I was involved) had 3 choices when it on services that climbed Harvey Lane? Maybe the elderly GVF
came to secondary education – the newly-opened Hewett 65-74 (LKH 65-74) were preferred on a flatter route (to work out
School, the City of Norwich School and Norwich School (in the their mileage, perhaps) but I well recall them. It can’t be down to
Cathedral Close). As the Hewett was an unknown quantity and my bad luck.
as Norwich School had a couple of drawbacks the die was cast.
Norwich School was fee-paying but, even worse, it was Finally in that near-five year period, whatever the weather, I was
never delayed. Even the bad winter of 1962-63 did not upset the
services. Winter did mean the hated cross-country runs, though.

I think Magdalen Gates and Point House are familiar to most,
but please advise if they are not. Would anyone like to expand
on service 93 which ran from Frettenham to Trowse somewhat
infrequently?(EM)

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Recollections from Richard Adderson

So who remembers Norfolk Bluebird? Reported as being the first
privately operated bus service in Norwich since the 1930s, this
short-lived company started operations in January 1984, taking
over some routes to the north and east of the city which Eastern
Counties had abandoned. They operated a number of former
London Transport double-deckers and a variety of single deck
vehicles. This bus, pictured on Ber Street in a snowstorm on 8th
January 1985, was quite unlike anything else in the fleet. The
registration number PAG 781H suggests it was originally
registered in Ayrshire some 16 years earlier. I well remember a trip
on the top deck of this machine from the City to the Heartsease
Estate - let’s just say that it was not ideally suited to negotiate the
steep hills, sharp curves and parked cars which proliferated on its
roundabout progress through Thorpe Hamlet to Plumstead Road!
(Richard Adderson)

The American battleship “Iowa” makes an impressive sight on the
approaches to Portsmouth Harbour on 3rd July 1989. She was one
of a handful of battleships surviving in service at the time, and was
making a goodwill visit to the UK. Commissioned in 1943, the ship
had seen service in World War 2 and in the Korean War, and was
finally decommissioned in October 1990 when the perceived
Soviet threat to the USA had lessened. Sister ships had been
involved in both Operation Desert Storm and the Vietnam War,
thus playing an active role in conflict long after other nations had
scrapped their battleship fleets, regarding them as outdated relics
of a previous age. She is now a museum ship moored in Los
Angeles. (Richard Adderson)

The Art Deco frontage of the Odeon cinema dominates the scene,
as an Eastern Counties LKH, registration no. HPW 142, heads
into the city along Botolph Street. The bus is working on Service
92, bound for the Heartsease Estate. It is 29th March 1969 and
within 3 years both the cinema and Botolph Street itself would
disappear under the Anglia Square redevelopment. The LKH
family, with bodywork by Lowestoft’s Eastern Coach Works and
chassis built in Bristol, are inextricably linked with the Norwich
local bus services from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. (Photo
by Bernard Harrison, Richard Adderson collection)

As far as I recall, this was the last occasion on which I saw a
coastal trading vessel at the Port of Norwich. Certainly the sight
was unusual enough to prompt me to park the car and walk back
to take this
picture (left) on
20th February
1987. The
vessel has
brought a
cargo to
Read’s Flour
Mill, with
Carrow Bridge
in the
background.
“Palbro Pride”
was a regular
visitor to the
River Yare
over the years,
both under this
name and her previous name “Lady Serena”. (Richard Adderson)

Carrow Road bridge has been lifted (right) to enable the coaster “Jim M” to set
off down the Yare on its journey to the sea on 10th May 1963. “Jim M” was a
member of the Metcalf Motor Coasters fleet which was a familiar sight at the port
of Norwich. (Photo by Roger Harrison, Richard Adderson collection)

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