£25K NEEDED TO KEEP WELLS & WALSINGHAM IN OPERATION

Miniature railway puts Great Eastern six-wheeler coach body up for sale to shore up finances.

The future of Britain’s smallest public railway – the 10¼in gauge Wells & Walsingham Light Railway in Norfolk – will “be in serious doubt” if it does not raise £25,000 to keep running, says the railway’s managing director, during the anticipated downturn in business owing to the coronavirus pandemic threatens its future.

As the four-mile line relies almost entirely on passenger traffic for income, the anticipated effects of the Covid-19 outbreak have left a serious hole in the railway’s finances. In order to minimise the impact of the pandemic, the railway has launched a £25,000 GoFundMe appeal “that would cover us for around four months of fixed overheads: wages, utilities, standing orders and so on,” explained WWLR managing director Nick Champion.

The problems facing the railway have been exacerbated by the recent winter storms. Mr Champion said: “We had a bad start to the year with limited running owing to the storm-force winds. This ate up the limited reserves we had.

“With the news that social distancing is recommended and people should avoid restaurants, theatres and so on, we will no doubt see a dramatic drop in passenger numbers. Like most railways, Easter is a huge opportunity for us, and I anticipate this will not be the case this year. The impact of coronavirus is likely to be catastrophic.”

To further assist the WWLR’s financial situation, the line has put one of its 1880s-built grounded Great Eastern Railway six-wheel six-compartment Third coach bodies up for sale for £10,000.

Mr Champion added: “We aim to be standing at the end of this terrible pandemic. We’ve been around for over 35 years and hope to keep going. We are actively pursuing other avenues at the same time but if we have to close and do not raise funds, we anticipate that the future of our lovely little railway will be in serious doubt”.

To support the WWLR’s £25,000 appeal, visit https://bit. ly/2IPupy1

To view the line’s eBay listing for its GER six-wheeler, visit https:// bit.ly/2IPbZxc

LOOP IMAGES LTD/ALAMY Unless the Wells & Walsingham Light Railway can raise £25,000 to cover its financial commitments for the next few months, the line’s future will “be in serious doubt”. Pictured is one of the line’s 10¼in-gauge Beyer-Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2s, No. 3 Norfolk Hero.