Guests boost North Norfolk gala success
BAGNALL 0-6-0ST No. 401 Vulcan and ‘West Country’ No. 34028 Eddystone proved to be a winning combination at the North Norfolk Railway’s Spring Steam Gala.
The pair were the guest locomotives for the April 14-16 event, with the former visiting from the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway – where it is currently on loan from the North Tyneside Steam Railway – and the latter from the Swanage Railway, having recently starred in the ‘Purbeck Line’s’ own recent steam gala. Just over 2,000 passengers travelled on the NNR during the gala, which also featured BR ‘4MT’ 2-6-0 No. 76084, WD 2-10-0 No. 90775 ‘The Royal Norfolk Regiment’, and ‘9F’ No. 92203 ‘Black Prince’. Class 37 No. D6732 covered
No. 90775’s rostered diagram on the Saturday and Sunday, as the latter was receiving attention from the fitters.
The gala marked a positive start for the NNR’s 2023 season, with a further 2,918 passengers carried during the four-day Easter weekend, with figures up 13% on the same period last year. NNR commercial manager Graham Hukins said: “We are buoyed by the start to the season with Easter, the gala and the midweek running all up on 2022. Calendar changes mean we have run on 16 days over the Easter holidays this year, compared to 18 last year, but passenger numbers are fractionally up and daily loadings have jumped by 13%.
“Of course, it’s very early days, but with parts of the sector struggling and slashing services or heavily discounting tickets, it’s heartening that our approach of fine-tuning the timetable and calendar to trim costs while still providing plenty of activity, great visitor experience and value for money has landed well with the key family market.”