Mid-Norfolk returning to Wymondham in 2024
TRAINS ON the Mid-Norfolk Railway will return to Wymondham Abbey at some point next year, with repairs to a key bridge well in hand.
The station has been isolated from the rest of the MNR throughout 2023 owing to the need to replace life-expired waybeams on Crownthorpe Bridge.
However, thanks at £40,000 raised by supporters, plus additional funds from the railway’s general finances and the acquisition of lower cost materials, the work is expected to be completed before the next summer’s running season begins.
Other vital infrastructure work completed on the MNR this year includes extending Platform 2/3 at Dereham. The railway has also relaid the level crossing at Gravestone, while work to re-signal the line between Dereham and Wymondham is making good progress, with Dereham and Thuxton nearing completion, and refurbishment of the former Spooner Row signal box at Wymondham nearly finished, ready for the installation of signalling equipment.
The line has also strengthened its carriage fleet with the acquisition of dual-braked BR Mk 1 BFK (Brake First Corridor) No. E14023. Following minor refurbishment the vehicle will enter service next year, giving the MNR two rakes of vacuum-braked coaches and allowing for two-train operation. The railway added: “These two rakes of coaches, plus the railway’s Mk 3 whiteliveried coaches that are used for the ‘Polar Express’, will allow several coaches that are currently out of service and are surplus to future plans to be disposed of and the money raised put back into the operational fleet.”