Britain has over 200 heritage railways. They range from industrial locos pulling a guard's van along a short stretch to rakes of vintage coaches winding their way through miles of pleasant countryside on routes with several preserved stations. British Rail withdrew the final steam stock in 1968 and you would have to be over 70 years old to vividly recall this form of traction in regular service. Many heritage operations use diesel power, either exclusively or to supplement the traditional choo-choos. I would experience both on my visit to the North Norfolk Railway - a five and a half mile line with three stops.
The railway connects Holt to the coastal resort of Sheringham. It operates from mid-February to mid-November, with running days being more frequent during the warmer months. I boarded at Holt, a small town of a few thousand inhabitants. The peaceful terminus lies on the outskirts and there is ample parking for visitors (donation requested). The platform and buildings are in an excellent state of repair and great attention is paid to period detail, something true of all three stations on the route. The present Holt Station is actually a faithful recreation of the first facility, which existed on a different site closer to the town centre until demolition in 1964 following closure of the line to passengers and freight by British Rail. Part of the trackbed was sold to Norfolk County Council who used it to carry the new A148 Holt by-pass. The original route continued southwards for five miles to a major interchange at Melton Constable, where connections branched off to King's Lynn (via Fakenham), Norwich and North Walsham (onward to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft). These offshoots have now gone, leaving just the heritage corridor. Norfolk suffered badly from the post-war railway cuts, particularly the cross-county routes. I had booked a rover ticket online the previous day for £18. This would allow me to hop on and off whenever I wanted to. A train was getting ready for a 10.45 departure as I strolled on to the platform and I found myself a (well-sprung) seat in one of the classic carriages. The railway is active during the Easter school holidays and two steam locomotives were on duty today. Additionally, the timetable showed a heritage diesel railcar service shuttling back and forth. The line is single track with a passing loop at the middle station (Weybourne). Soon we were chuffing along through woodland and gliding past fields. Many heritage routes (including this one) are restricted to 25mph in order to stay within the most basic (and cheapest) category of health & safety regulations. My plan was to ride all the way to Sheringham, have a wander around the seaside down and then backtrack to Weybourne, before completing the final leg to Holt. This schedule would allow me to spend time at all three stations. The NNR is affectionately known as the Poppy Line, which is probably a useful marketing slogan. The 19th-century poet and theatre critic Clement Scott coined the term Poppyland - referring to the unspoilt coastal area of North Norfolk where the red flowers grow in abundance. The train halted at Weybourne and on the final push to Sheringham, a wonderful vista (pictured below) opened up. From the high embankment, I could gaze across the landscape all the way to the sea.
I visited the souvenir shop at Sheringham Station and bought a handful of postcards. The train I had arrived on was due to head back in 25 minutes, once the locomotive had been moved to the other end. I opted to take the following service, which gave me an hour and a quarter to have a look around town. This was ample time as the station is centrally located and the seafront just 500 yards away. On the other side of Station Road is the present main-line Sheringham Station, which sits at the end of a line from Norwich (via Cromer, where trains must reverse). Some explanation is required here. British Rail snipped out the tracks from Melton Constable to Sheringham in 1964 but services from the latter towards Norwich were retained. This left the inconvenience of a level crossing on a busy road and the decision was quickly taken to close the original station (which had opened in 1887) and build a new terminus across the street. This project was completed in 1967. Meanwhile, the fledgling North Norfolk Railway Ltd purchased the dismantled trackbed from Sheringham (old) to Weybourne. Work began on rebuilding the line and the first heritage passenger trains were launched in 1975. I followed Station Road and High Street down to the promenade. The compact town centre was bustling and I looked for somewhere to eat. I settled on a takeaway from a café called Norfolk's Pie Man. I bought a chunky hand-made Norfolk pasty - a blend of minced beef, potato, onion, carrot and swede encased in golden puff pastry. I popped into a fruit shop across the road and then took my food back to the station, where I sat at one of the picnic tables on the open Platform 2. There was no building on this side as it was demolished back in the 1960s when operations were scaled back. There are plans to rebuild the structure with materials salvaged from the derelict Yarmouth Beach Station (torn down in 1986 to create a car park). The footbridge across the tracks is a replica, installed in 2016. As I enjoyed my lunch in the sunshine, the heritage railcar came and went. I planned to take this option for the final part of my return journey. The level crossing between the two Sheringham stations was restored in 2010, thereby linking the Poppy Line to the national network. Designed for occasional use, the reconnection is used on a dozen days per year to accommodate visiting rolling stock and occasional charter trains.
The infrastructure on Platform 1 is an extended building that grew with the town it served until it became what we see today. Its most notable feature is the glass canopy, a splendid touch which originally featured on both sides of the station. The current passenger facilities include the booking office, waiting room and buffet, the latter housed in an area used to store luggage back in Victorian times, when vacations to seaside resorts became a very popular activity. The station shop was added in recent years and designed to match the period style. The railway survived a closure threat at the turn of the century. The lease on the Sheringham Station site was due to expire and the landlord expressed a desire to sell the land for redevelopment. The Poppy Line wouldn't have been viable without its sellable seaside destination but a fundraising campaign generated £300,000 to purchase the asset and secure the future. Happier news arrived in 2022, when the organisation received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest civilian honour that can be awarded to a community group and the announcement coincided with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Larger heritage railways often employ some full-time staff but the entire sector is heavily dependent upon people giving up their spare time free of charge. I caught a train to Weybourne and got myself a cold drink from the small shop (formerly the parcel office). There was a nice garden area with seating and a few stalls were selling books and assorted railway memorabilia. The station (pictured below) is over a mile from the village of the same name and has been used many times as a filming location. I sat on a bench and awaited the arrival of the diesel railcar. A few walkers passed by on a path that paralleled the tracks. Posters displayed information about the TV programmes filmed at Weybourne, including episodes of Seal Morning, Dad's Army, Hi-de-Hi and 'Allo 'Allo. I also viewed the surrounding countryside and general station layout from the top of the footbridge. My carriage chugged in and there were very few people onboard. Steam locomotives are obviously the top draw here. Formed of two coaches, the diesel multiple unit was built in 1960 and finally withdrawn in 2003. The "slam door" trains were once commonplace across the network but were replaced by carriages with central locking controlled by the driver or guard. The set running today was owned by the National Railway Museum and currently on long term loan to the North Norfolk Railway.
As stated at the start of this post, many people are too young to remember mainline steam and there is now great interest in vintage diesel rolling stock. For all the romance attached to steam, it is labour intensive and expensive to maintain. DMU's could be driven from either end and were ideal for commuter services. I probably missed a trick today by not sitting behind the driver as these old units have see-through cabs. We trundled into Holt Station, which dates from 1989 when the Poppy Line extension was opened. Initial facilities here were basic with just one platform and a wooden coach body serving as the ticket office. Since then the Holt site has been considerably developed into a complete working country railway station with a 1930s vibe. The main building was sourced from Stalham Station, which had been disused since 1959. There is no footbridge in place and you have to walk around the buffer stops to change platform. A replica goods shed houses a museum displaying a wide range of railway items. The station buffet and gift shop are situated to the rear of the ticket office. I really enjoyed my day out on the North Norfolk Railway and the experience is like taking a step back in time. Heritage lines can't exist without visitors and I was glad I had played my part. It should be noted that rail enthusiasts tend to account for a minority of the customer base across the sector. Family days out are the main source of income and finance is constantly required to keep the show on the road. For example, a quarter of a million pounds was recently spent on new track and point work around Weybourne Station. Strange as it may seem, the Poppy Line may play a role in a proposed modern transport scheme for the county. The Norfolk Orbital Railway would link up existing mainline tracks with two heritage operations (North and Mid Norfolk). The reopening of abandoned trackbeds (some of them already protected) would help complete the final quarter of the 83-mile circle. Quite often these types of scheme have more than a whiff of pie in the sky about them, but the website for the Norfolk Orbital project claims significant parcels of land have already been purchased. The general political transport climate (current Prime Minister notwithstanding) is swinging back towards railways, due in no small part to the climate agenda. Heritage routes may play a key role in this process since many are already linked with (or lie close to) the national network.
Perhaps we should see the railway preservation industry as a useful link in the chain rather than a open-air museum where grown men get to play trains at the weekend. That said, the present economics rely heavily on cherry picking. Heritage routes only open at times when the owners think a crowd can be attracted. Experts reckon not a single concern could break even if forced to run all year round. Many regular rail routes require public subsidy though. The balance between providing a public transport system and meeting the running costs will continue to stoke political debates - local and national - for years to come. I left Holt Station and drove the few miles back to Cley Marshes Nature Reserve where I had earlier deposited Nicole. I was eager to find out exactly what birdwatching delights I had missed, which turned out to be plenty. Such is life.
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