Visiting locomotives at this year’s “Rails & Ales” event at the North Norfolk Railway will include Class 50 No. 50008 Thunderer and Class 33 No. 33012 Lt. Jenny Lewis RN.
These locomotives will visit the line as part of a rail tour, and will be among the eight-locomotive line-up which will also include a visiting London Underground 4TC set.
The Rails & Ales event will be held from Friday, 7 to Sunday, 9 June. As well as plenty of action on the line, each of the line’s three stations will have a selection of ales on offer.
At Sheringham and Holt stations there will be a selection of bottled beers and ciders on offer, whilst at Weybourne station there will be a real ale bar.
Buffet cars on some of the trains will also offer a number of brews and other onboard refreshments. Visitors will be able hop on and off as many trains as they please to discover around 25 beers and ciders that will be available at the three stations each day.
Class 50 No. 50008 Thunderer was built by English Electric in 1968, and initially hauled services on the then non-electrified part of the West Coast Main Line from Preston to Glasgow.
It later transferred to the Western region, moving first to Bristol, then to Plymouth Laira and in 1978 was named Thunderer after the Royal Navy warship. It was withdrawn in 1992, and now works for Hanson & Hall Rail.
Class 33 No. 33012, Lt Jenny Lewis RN was built in 1960 for the Southern region of British Railways. It was withdrawn in 1997 and is now based at the Swanage Railway in Dorset.
33012 was named Lt. Jenny Lewis RN to commemorate Lt. Lewis who was a fan of the Class 33s and passed away in active Royal Navy service.
An unusual visitor for the weekend will be a London Underground 4TC set, which was built as part of the 1967 Bournemouth electrification programme. The set is completely unpowered, but its wiring and controls have been modified to allow it to be driven from other multiple units, and specially modified class 33/1 locomotives fitted for push-pull operation.
London Underground later acquired the set for use as coaching stock for its “Steam on the Met” and other charter operations on the Metropolitan Line.
As well as the “Rails & Ales” event, the North Norfolk Railway operates services daily throughout the summer, with full details available online at www.nnrailway.co.uk.
We are very grateful to the owners for making both 50008 and 33012 available for the event – neither locomotive has hauled passenger trains on the Poppy Line before so we are pleased to be able to offer this unique opportunity to enthusiasts, local residents and holidaymakers alike. The addition of the 4TC set is equally exciting and we are thrilled to be able to offer passengers another different experience on the line.
Interim General Manager, Graham Hukins
Earlier this year Great Western Railway 2-8-0 tank No. 4277 visited the line.
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