Author: Old Arkwright

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Well here we go again……

Today is New Years day and the start of the new year.

Many will be wondering what it will hold for the railway.

The answer is of course, nobody knows. I mean who on this day in 2020 would have been able to forecast how the year would turn out?

It was a year like no other for the railway, and the staff and working members/volunteers came through it.

Our sympathies must go to those who had to be made redundant, it was necessary to enable the railway to survive a very difficult period, they will be missed.

History will no doubt show that we owe a debt of gratitude to those on the railway both paid and volunteer who time after time went far beyond what was required or even expected to ensure that the trains we were able to run were as safe as they could be for the visitors and that the site was as safe as possible.

So please remember when things become more normal and you visit railway that your visit is only possible because of those people. The people who remained pleasant and smiling wether face to face or answering the telephone.

If you are a member of the public who travelled on either the Santas or other trains we were able to run. Thank you for your support of the railway, it is without exception appreciated and we look forward to welcoming you back in better times.

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Floods along the river Nene.

Flooding by Wansford station along the river this morning, though nothing to affect either the station or the track.

Here is a picture from the Railcam web cam this morning. The shot is from the signal box looking east.

© Railcam

For details of Railcam and their network of cameras on both the network and some heritage lines go to Railcam.uk

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A few locomotives from better times.

This year has not been a year for loco spotting!!
So here are a few pics from recent years when the sun really did shine down on the railway.

© Robert Maskill
© Robert Maskill
© Robert Maskill
© Robert Maskill
© Robert Maskill
© Robert Maskill

I will post a few more over the festive period.

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Sometimes you need more than just a locomotive.

One thing I see on a regular basis are countless pictures of locomotives.

But sometimes you need more than just the locomotive to make a picture.

Here for example is a picture from Jason Isaac taken at Wansford. I know tastes can vary but this is I must admit a favourite of mine.

© Jason Isaac. Duke of Gloucester at Wansford.
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Advertisements and tickets

Many tickets these days seem to have adverts on the back for a variety of things from half price burgers to free cinema tickets.

Well back in the day railway tickets also had advertisements , however these were in the form of slip in adverts into pockets in the ticket.

Here are a couple of examples, I do wonder how successful they were.

Would they have encouraged you to purchase anything?

Would you buy a ticket from Nassington and be tempted to buy China tea?

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A little bit of the white stuff.

This morning we awoke to snow, well to be 100% accurate we awoke to white stuff falling and not sticking because it was just too warm.

But it’s a good mood setter for the Santa trains that start this weekend.

So to get you further in the mood here are a few pictures of the railway in the snow that I have taken over the years.

City of Peterborough leaving Ferry Meadows (Overton)

Nothing like a steam engine in steam in the snow.

Now a few general shots, starting with a shot at the east end of Ferry Meadows Station (Overton)

Here we have Orton Mere in the snow. Facing west towards Wansford.

Here is a shot at Ferry Meadows before it’s excellent refurbishment.

Winter is an excellent time for photography around the railway and Nene Park, well worth a visit even if the trains are not running.

Come and pay a visit in the winter, you will get some excellent shots.

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The pleasures of Autumn.

It was cold this morning with the temperature sitting at +1c when I surfaced.

Looking out at the frost on the house roofs and the cars reminded me of Autumn mornings on the railway.

Now I think it’s fair to say that when you ask the average person what they imagine it’s like on a heritage railway station. They will wax lyrical about sunshine, happy visitors and endless enjoyable days.

In reality that can often be wrong, in the Autumn it can be cold, bleak, dismal and foggy and that’s mid-afternoon.

In the Autumn and Winter months we used to have a saying when people asked for a soft drink. “Would you like a cold one off the side or a warm one out of the chiller?”

This is what a typical morning can be like.

Down the track towards Wansford is never better.

We would open up as normal and the odd walker or cyclist would wander in looking for warmth, they were disappointed, the staff stood outside to get warm!
The favourite comment was “I could kill for a hot drink.” This was normally from people who had no money with them. But they stood with an expectant look on their faces in case a freebie was in the offing.

They tried to look especially desperate if any of the staff were standing there with a steaming mug of hot liquid in their hands.

They would wonder off dragging their dog behind them. The staff would retire to the kitchen to await the next poor soul.

You would find somedays that you could not see the signal box from the station because of the fog or mist. The first sign of life from the box would be the signal man coming through the door clutching an empty mug.

First train would arrive, normally late, but that’s another story. The crew either warm in their diesel cab or huddled round the firebox. The guard would be well wrapped up with often just a little round red face poking out from under a cap.

Once the train had gone back to Wansford we would get the iPads out and settle down for the arrival of the second train.

Oh the excitement of an Autumn day at a station!

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The spooks special.

Halloween is a time for scary things to come out, so what better than some pictures of some of the working members being scary.

First a few words from our acting Deputy General Manager

The Thomas Halloween Event started as a basic concept idea from a general chit chat between NVR office staff, after the decision was made to pull the Wizards Express this year due to the constraints of covid and social distancing.  The chit chat ended up as an amazing brain storming session that resulted in the Halloween Trick or Treat Ghost Train being born. Over the next couple of weeks the ideas came in thick and fast and before our very eyes, what looked like a great event had been built. Tickets went live for the one day event at 3pm on a Thursday and by Monday morning it was a sell out. The decision was made to add another date of which was another sell out within the week. With our customers showing confidence in what we were doing a small dedicated team of volunteers stepped forward to help make the event the success that it was. Big thanks to you all (you know who you are) your enthusiasm, customer interaction and Halloween attire showed NVR as the amazing place that it is. I look forward to the next event.

Tracy Spring 
Acting Deputy General Manager 

Below some images from Martin Owen.

I was playing the role of Matthew Hopkins, the infamous 17th Century “Witchfinder General”, on the hunt for witches. Looks like I found a few! The pictures can be seen larger by opening them in a new window.

The Witchfinder General found his witches.

A great time was had by all, though I gather there are a couple of scorch marks up platform 2 where a couple of witches did low passes on their brooms. As yet no culprits have been found. The acting General Manager and acting Deputy General Manager are in the clear. Apparently their respective broom sticks were both declared not fit to run before the event.