A brief history of early steam trains

An invention that changed the world is 200 years old in 2004. Britain is celebrating the bicentenary of the steam railway locomotive with a year-long events programme, but it is not an engineering giant such as James Watt or George Stephenson being fêted The man who first put steam engines on rails was a tall, strong Cornishman described by his schoolmaster as “obstinate and inattentive”. Richard Trevithick (1771-1833), who learnt his craft in Cornish tin mines, built his “Penydarren tram road engine” for a line in South Wales whose primitive wagons were pulled, slowly and laboriously, by horses.

On February 21, 1804, Trevithick’s pioneering engine hauled 10 tons of iron and 70 men nearly ten miles from Penydarren, at a speed of five miles-per-hour, winning the railway’s owner a 500 guinea bet into the bargain. He was 20 years ahead of his time – Stephenson’s “Rocket” was not even on the drawing board but Trevithick’s engines were seen as little more than a novelty. He went on to engineer at mines in South America before dying penniless aged 62. But his idea was developed by others and, by 1845, a spider’s web of 2,440 miles of railway were open and 30 million passengers were being carried in Britain alone

Perhaps because it was the birthplace, Britain can boast more railway attractions per square mile than any other country. The figures are impressive: more than 100 heritage railways and 60 steam museum centres are home to 700 operational engines, steamed-up by an army of 23,000 enthusiastic volunteers and offering everyone the chance to savour a bygone age by riding on a lovingly preserved train. The surroundings – stations, signal-boxes and wagons – are equally well preserved and much in demand by TV companies filming period dramas

Wales deserves a special mention for its Great Little Trains. Though small in stature, these narrow-gauge lines are real working railways, originally built to haul slate and other minerals out of the mountains, but now a wonderful way for visitors to admire the scenery, which is breathtaking. There are eight lines to choose from and one, the Ffestiniog Railway, is the oldest of its kind in the world.

Then there are the railway museums that are historic in their own right. “Steam” at Swindon is built into the former workshops of the Great Western Railway (GWR) which has near-legendary status among rail fans; the GWR Railway Centre at Didcot re-creates its golden age in an old steam depot where polished engines are tended lovingly. Part of Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry is situated in the world’s oldest passenger station; and the ‘Thinktank’ museum in Birmingham contains the world’s oldest active steam engine, designed by James Watt in 1778.

But it is North East England that is known as the birthplace of railways for here, around Newcastle, the world’s first tramways were laid and, later, the world’s first public railway between Stockton and Darlington steamed into life. At Shildon in County Durham, a £10 million permanent Railway Village is taking shape, to open in the autumn, the first out-station of the National Railway Museum

At nearby Beamish, the open-air museum of North Country Life – where the past is brought magically to life – there’s an opportunity to see one of the earliest railways re-created. Feel the wind – and steam – in your hair as you travel in open carriages behind a working replica of a pioneering engine such as Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1, built in 1825.

The North Norfolk Poppy Steam Railway

http://www.nnrailway.co.uk/ 

The North Norfolk Railway offers a 10.5 mile round trip by steam train (vintage diesel trains on some journeys) through a delightful area of North Norfolk designated as being of outstanding natural beauty. To the south are wooded hills and the Norfolk beauty spots of Kelling Heath and Sheringham Park. To the north, the sea. All within easy walking distance from the various stations. The flowers are a sight to see throughout the year. In spring and early summer there are primroses, bluebells and the yellow gorse. Later in the year the poppies abound and are set off by the mauve heathers. Enjoy a ride on an historic steam train - you can break your journey to look around the stations and marvel at the steam laden atmosphere from a bygone age. But the North Norfolk Railway is much more than a train ride. There are historic stations, a museum of local railway history, a museum signal box and a visitors centre. There are also buffets and souvenir shops.

Sheringham Railway Station, the Railway's headquarters, is more than just a station. There is a Visitor's Centre, Museum of Local Railways, a Museum Signal Box and a Souvenir Shop and Buffet. The station is ideally situated for you to take a stroll through the town and walk along the promenade before joining your train. Weybourne  Railway Stationa delightfully preserved country station and our locomotive and carriage maintenance and restoration centre. Enjoy a cup of tea from the buffet and take advantage of the picnic area to watch the trains come and go. Several walks are available through Weybourne Woods and Sheringham Park, with direct access to the Kelling Nature Trail, or walk down to the sea and take the coastal footpath to Sheringham. A free leaflet outlining these walks is available at our stations. Or at week-ends and during the holiday season come and visit the model railway which is located in the parcels van on Platform 3.

Kelling Heath Park  Railway Station is our smallest station serving the Nature Trail and Kelling Caravan Park. Owing to the steep gradient steam trains do not stop here on the journey to Holt but will stop if a clear signal is given to the driver on the return trip from Holt to Sheringham. Holt Railway Station is our western terminus and is just about 1 mile from the centre of this lovely Georgian Town. Whilst on the station be sure to drop in and see 'Broad Sidlinch' a 300 square foot model railway, which was featured in the Railway Modeller in July '99: this is open at weekends and during the 'red' service.

The best way to travel is to purchase a ROVER ticket which entitles you to travel for the whole day. Dogs and cycles are welcome on our trains although there is a small additional charge. Buffet facilities are available on some trains. A wide range of hot and cold drinks are available in addition to sandwiches, light snacks, cakes and confectionary. Sip your freshly made tea as you watch the countryside roll by. And, finally, the answer to why we are called the Poppy Line: The train passes many fields covered in red poppies

The current North Norfolk Railway formed part of the former Midland & Great Northern Railways Joint Committee main line which joined the Midlands and the North to the Norfolk coast. As its name implies the line was operated jointly by a Committee formed of representatives of the Midland Railway, which was responsible for the loco department, and the Great Northern Railway which assumed responsibility for the signalling and track. The Committee also administered the lines of the Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railways Committee, jointly with the Great Eastern Railway. 

Prior to its creation as the M&GN in 1883, the line consisted of many different companies such as the Norwich &Spalding Railway, the Spalding & Bourne Railway, the Lynn & Fakenham Railway, the Great Yarmouth and Stalham Light Railway and many others, each operating short stretches of line, many having 'running rights' over their neighbour's lines.  Much of the line was single track largely resulting from the shoestring budgets on which many of these companies operated. Many of the lines were built more to prevent the competition gaining access to a specific town than because they were viable economically. More were built with a view to being bought out by the larger national companies which were seeking access to East Anglia. Indeed the reason that the branch was built from Melton Constable to Cromer rather than to Blakeney, which was a bigger port at the time, was the desire of the company to make it more likely to be taken over by the Midland Railway which was seeking access to a coastal resort. So the M&GN was not logically designed, it just grew. The alternative title of 'The Muddle & Go Nowhere Railway' as well as being apt, was more accurate than most acronyms! 

The line finally ran from Saxby through Spalding linking up at Sutton Bridge with the line from Peterborough. From Sutton Bridge the line continued to South Lynn, from which a branch diverged to Kings Lynn, and then onwards to Melton Constable, the hub of the network. From Melton the main line continued, through Aylsham and North Walsham, to Yarmouth Beach whilst a single line branched off to Norwich Thorpe. Another line, also single, branched off from Melton to Cromer though Holt, Weybourne and Sheringham which, of course, now form part of the North Norfolk Railway. As well as being the major junction of the M&GN Melton Constable also housed the locomotive and carriage works of the M&GN and was justly known as the 'Crewe of East Anglia'. Some remnants of its railway heritage can be seen in the town, notably on the industrial estate where a number of the buildings can be identified as being part of the original works.

The Grouping of the railways in 1923 largely bypassed the M&GN although representatives of the LMS and LNER joined the Board. However in 1936 the LNER took over the operation of the railway and much of the atmosphere of the line was lost as the locomotives and coaches were replaced by the standard types then in operation on the LNER. The Melton works were closed in December of that year causing considerable unemployment. The railway was again largely unimpacted by nationalisation in 1948 although that was eventually to sound the death knell of the line. The infrastructure of the consolidated railway was woefully deficient, being single line for more than half its length and more miles were travelled by empty coaching stock than that provided for paying passengers. This arose largely because of the need to keep locomotives and rolling stock available throughout the year to cater for the huge peaks in the summer when many Midland towns, such as Leicester, decamped en-bloc into Norfolk for the annual holidays.

The main line duplicated the cross-country facilities provided by the former Great Eastern lines and rationalisation led to the closure of the majority of the line in 1959 when it became the first main line to be closed to passenger traffic. The branch from Melton to Sheringham and Cromer was spared the axe. Some lines remained for freight operation but these were gradually closed as their market was eaten away by road transport. In 1964 the diesel service, which had taken over, from Melton to Sheringham ceased to operate and the only remnant of the once mighty M&GN left operating was the Cromer to Sheringham portion which formed part of the Sheringham to Norwich line. The forerunner of the NNR took over Sheringham station in 1966 and the rest, as they say, is history!