Friday, March 29, 2024
- Advertisement -
Home Heritage Bustling Gala and Easter at North Norfolk Railway

Bustling Gala and Easter at North Norfolk Railway

A busy Easter weekend followed by a popular Spring Steam Gala, both featuring visiting West Country pacific 34028 “Eddystone” have contributed to a busy start to the North Norfolk Railway’s main summer season with daily loadings for the Easter holiday period up 13 per cent on the same period in 2022.

Bagnall No. 401 “Vulcan” was the line’s second gala visitor and the powerful 0-6-0ST performed well, impressing crews and visitors alike as she tackled the NNR’s demanding 1 in 80 gradients with a variety of train formations. “Vulcan” appeared courtesy of the North Tyneside Railway and is due to return to Embsay where she is on a long-term hire.

34028’s visit was slightly longer, with the SR thoroughbred working Poppy Line trains for 10 days from Good Friday, 7 April, until the conclusion of the Gala on 16 April. The express 4-6-2 drew favourable comments from passengers and enginemen and will return to the Swanage Railway later this week.

Advertisement

Graham Hukins, Commercial Manager, said: “We are buoyed by the start to the season with Easter, the Gala and the midweek running all up on 2022. Calendar changes mean we have run on 16 days over the Easter holidays this year compared to 18 last year but total passenger numbers are fractionally up and daily loadings have jumped by 13 per cent.

“Of course it’s very early days but with parts of the sector struggling and slashing services or heavily discounting tickets, it’s heartening that our approach of fine tuning the timetable and calendar to trim costs while still providing plenty of activity, great visitor experience and value for money has landed well with the key family market.”

Overall the line welcomed 2,001 passengers across the three days of the gala to travel behind the visiting locomotives plus home fleet 9F 92203, Standard 4 76084, WD 90775 and Class 37 D6732 which covered the WD’s diagram on Saturday and Sunday as the 2-10-0 was receiving attention from the fitters.  Easter services were handled by 34028, 76084 and D6732 and the four-day weekend saw 2,918 passengers carried.

The Railway’s next special events are Dad’s Army Live on 29, 30 April & 1 May and the Mixed Traction Gala and Rails & Ales Showcase on 9, 10 & 11 June. Main season services run on almost every day until October with visitors able to enjoy unlimited travel on the 5½ line with Day Rover tickets, as well as special discounts for booking online in advance – full details can be found at www.nnrailway.co.uk

image_pdfDownload article

Most Popular

DRS takes delivery of 25 new JNA-Z box wagons from VTG Rail UK

Direct Rail Services (DRS) has taken delivery of a fleet of 25 brand new JNA-Z box wagons from VTG Rail UK, the country’s leading...

SYSTRA employee named one of Planner Magazine’s Women of Influence 2024

The Planner Magazine has selected Jenny Jefferies, Technical Expert - Consents at SYSTRA, as one of its Women of Influence for 2024. Jenny, who is...

ORR review leads to 50 per cent reduction in maximum fees for ticket refunds

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has announced that, thanks to new rules, the maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can...

East West Rail to hold drop-in events ahead of statutory consultation

East West Railway Company (EWR) will hold a series of information events in May, helping people to understand how the formal application process to...
- Advertisement -