North Norfolk Railway General Discussion

So why hasn't anyone tried to recreate the line to Hunston* with a Derby Lightweight** just because John Betjeman did a programme on it?

*Original/correct pronunciation of the seaside resort, a shibboleth if ever there was one...
** I think that was the DMU...

 

Are there any ex-S&D locos surviving?

 

Two Derby 7Fs for a start (88 and 89). If you mean “are there any locos that we’re at some point in their career captured going over the S&D?” then I suspect quite a number.

Tom

 

From Wikipedia : -
Preserved locomotives that saw service on the S&DJR

Preserved S&DJR 7F 2-8-0 no. 53809, on display at Bath Green Park Station (now a car park), 6 March 2006
S&DJR 7F 2-8-0
53808 – West Somerset Railway
53809 – Midland Railway Butterley, presently on loan to West Somerset Railway
GWR 2251 Class
3205 – South Devon Railway Trust
LSWR Class T9
30120 – Bodmin and Wenford Railway
SR Q Class
541[45] - Bluebell Railway
SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes
34028 Eddystone – Swanage Railway
34039 Boscastle – Great Central Railway
34046 Braunton – West Somerset Railway
34051 Winston Churchill – National Railway Museum
34053 Sir Keith Park – Severn Valley Railway
34067 Tangmere – West Coast Railway Company
34105 Swanage – Mid Hants Railway
LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T
41241 – Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
LMS Fowler Class 4F
44422 – West Somerset Railway
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0
44806 – North Yorkshire Moors Railway
45305 – Great Central Railway
45407 – East Lancashire Railway
BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0
76017- Mid Hants Railway
BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0
75027 – Bluebell Railway
75078 – Keighley & Worth Valley Railway
75079 – Mid Hants Railway
BR Standard Class 5
73050 – Nene Valley Railway
73082 Camelot – Bluebell Railway
BR Standard Class 9F
92203 Black Prince – North Norfolk Railway
92212 – Mid Hants Railway
92214 – Great Central Railway
92220 Evening Star- National Railway Museum
92245 – Barry Tourist Railway

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-46771172

What is it about Mercedes drivers in Norfolk?

 

And has anyone considered painting one in S&D livery?

 

88 has run in none authentic S&DJR blue.

 

53809 is of course now on the NNR.

Speaking of which does the S&D chat now warrant its own thread?

 

Remind me, What was the livery for the Stockton and Darlington railway?

 

Just a quick query, on the non operational days in Jan/Feb, are the stations completely closed to the public? Would a visitor be able to access the platforms at Sheringham or Weybourne?

 

Smart Alec

 

I guess that because the S & D was one of the few places where 9fs ran regularly on passenger services and quite a few 9fs have been preserved it is a chance to call it prototypical.

Perhaps also the fact that none of the Bath to Bournemouth route has been preserved means that running similar rolling stock is as close as you can get.

As others have said it is a line which benefited from being photographed and filmed a lot - rather like the Settle and Carlisle. Perhaps if Ivo Peters had lived nearer to Southampton he might have spent his time photographing the DN &SR and that would be in the memory more. It also had Betjeman making programmes about it. The S&D just has good publicity before it knew it.

Also, I think that there is some sense that it is a line that possibly shouldn’t have closed. I say this having lived on the route but perhaps many of us who live where there used to be a service and isn’t anymore lament the loss.

Tbh, some S & D weekends seem to amount to little more than sticking a ‘Pines Express’ headboard on a loco that might have vaguely been near the route at some time or other. (But then War on the Line with BR standards and MK1s and 55 year old men dressing up in uniforms - historical accuracy is hardly the name on the game with theses things)

 

Ahem.... https://www.sdjr.co.uk

 

You beat me to it!

 

The first C&W Blog posting for 2019:

C&W News - January Part 1

 

Going through of some very old photos the other day and found one of me ‘driving’ Wissington. I’m guessing late ‘80s.

Funnily enough I remember seeing the fireless loco in a Leicestershire field about 5 years ago.

 

Carriage & Wagon Blog update:

C&W News - January Part 2

 

Thanks. Is the cutting tool / bit shown shaped as a female version of the flange?

 

Not really, it is curved but the lathe isn't powerful enough to cut off the whole flange in one cut. The area being cut on each revolution is very small, and it slowly "nibbles" its way around the profile to create the finished shape. A lot of the control and alignment is in the hands of the operator, which is much slower and very old fashioned compared to the "proper" lathes which are in use elsewhere on the big railway.

Our lathe produces wheels which are much cheaper to turn than sending them to, say, Ilford, because of not having to cost the volunteer labour. However if you bring time and labour into the equation then Ilford would win every time. Our lathe is "slow and steady" to say the least, it takes about two days to turn one wheelset, which doesn't include the time dismantling it out of the bogie and lifting it round and into the lathe. However provided you have the willing and skilled volunteers available and you don't need the wheelsets super quickly, then its a great little asset to have rumbling away in the background!

 

Thanks. You need quite a sturdy machine and even with a slow feed you can see light chatter marks on the wheel tread. Is this a pause in proceedings or is it being cut dry? Producing a tool of the correct shape would also be quite a challenge. It has always struck me as quite a difficult turning operation, especially as you need to get the same diameter on the other wheel.