| Mid-Norfolk Railway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Locale | England |
 | |
| Connections | Network Rail (at Wymondham South Junction) |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | The Mid-Norfolk Railway |
| Built by | Samuel Morton Peto |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Operated by | Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust |
| Stations | 5 |
| Length | 17 miles 40 chains (28.2 km)[1][2][3] 15 mi (24 km) operational |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1845 |
| Closed to passengers | 6 October 1969 |
| Closed | Between 1980 and 1989 |
| Preservation history | |
| 1974 | Wymondham, Dereham and Fakenham Rail Action Committee formed |
| 1978 | Fakenham & Dereham Society formed |
| 1995 | Dereham Rash's Green to Yaxham re-opens to passengers |
| 1997 | Dereham railway station re-opens to passengers |
| 1998 | Dereham to Wymondham section re-opens to goods |
| 1999 | Dereham to Wymondham section re-opens to passengers |
| 2013 | First passenger train to Hoe |
| 2018 | First passenger train to Worthing |
| Headquarters | Dereham |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a 17+1⁄2 miles (28.2 km) preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain.[4] Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" of heritage railways.[5] The MNR owns and operates most of the former Wymondham-Fakenham branch line of the Norfolk Railway. The branch opened in 1847, was closed to passengers in stages from 1964 to 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts, and was finally fully closed to goods traffic in 1989. (The northern section of this line, to Wells, was built by the Wells and Fakenham Railway and part of this has been operated by the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway since 1982.)
Regular steam and diesel services run 11+1⁄2 miles (18.5 km) through the centre of Norfolk between the market towns of Wymondham and Dereham via Yaxham, Thuxton and Kimberley Park, and occasional sightseer services continue north of Dereham passing the nearby village of Hoe, where there is no station, to the limit of the operational line at Worthing.[6][7] The line is periodically used for commercial freight operations and staff instruction for mainline railway companies.[8][9] The company owns the line to a point just beyond County School railway station, which will make it the third longest heritage railway in England once restoration is complete.
The MNR is owned and operated by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (MNRPT, a charitable company limited by guarantee[10]), and is mostly operated and staffed by volunteers. The railway is listed as exempt from the UK Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2000.[11]
- ^ "Routemap". Mnr.org.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ Jenkins, Stanley (2011). The Wells-next-the-Sea Branch via Wymondham and Dereham. Oakwood Press. p. 189.
- ^ "MNR About us". Mnr.org.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ Moxon, Daniel (27 July 2021). "Full steam ahead for track renewal work on railway". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Jones, Robin (4 August 2011). "Heritage Railway Opinion". Heritage Railway. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Mid Norfolk runs first passenger train north to Hoe". The Railway Magazine. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "First public passenger train since 1964 runs north of Dereham on Mid-Norfolk Railway". The Breckland View. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Department for Transport provides further grant funding to support the transportation of freight by rail and water" (PDF). Department for Transport. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Department for Transport delivers more grant funding to transport freight by rail" (PDF). Department for Transport. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "THE MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY PRESERVATION TRUST LIMITED BY GUARANTEE LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2013" (PDF). Apps.charitycommission.gov.uk. Charities Commission. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Approved List of Exclusions from the scope of the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011". gov.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2021.