ROYAL SCOT STARS AT THE NENE VALLEY RAILWAY’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY
Royal Scot simultaneously became both the last locomotive to arrive at Ferry Meadows and the first to depart from Overton, when the Nene Valley Railway returned the station to its original name - 40 years to the day since the railway’s first public passenger train in preservation. Visiting as part of the railway’s 40th anniversary celebrations and making its debut on NVR metals, the LMS-designed 4-6-0 was on hand at the station renaming ceremony on June 1, in which Ferry Meadows became Overton for Ferry Meadows. It is the fourth name borne by the station over the years. Originally named Overton upon opening in 1845, it was renamed Orton Waterville in 1913; ironically the station is actually situated in Orton Longueville. The station was reinstated as Ferry Meadows on the preserved Nene Valley Railway in 1977. Royal Scot remained at the railway for the NVR’s 40th anniversary gala on June 3/4, and was joined by Class 55 ‘Deltic’ No. 55022 Royal Scots Grey, running as No. 55018 Ballymoss, and the railway’s resident ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34081 92 Squadron.
NVR Publicity Officer Jerry Thurston said: “It was an absolute belter of a weekend; there are no adjectives to describe it. We had the right mix of locomotives and the right weather.” The railway’s general manager, Sarah Piggott, commented: “People who have been volunteers for ten years or more said it was the busiest event they’d ever seen.”