Category: History

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Fifty Years Ago.

This weekend marked a very monumental milestone in the history of the NVR – 50 years since the first train in preservation ran on the railway.

The train consisted of Hudswell Clarke no.1539 “Derek Crouch” and one Mk1 and ran from the BSC site up to Wansford and return, departing at just gone 13:00 on Sunday 7th April 1974. The trip was a members special acting as a test run for the first public train on the 9th April which would carry local dignitaries.

Nathan Wilson.

Wansford – Just before excited volunteers took over – But we only had the track and signal box!
From an original posting by Kingsley Harris.
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Thomas at the Re-opening of The Orton Mere Signal Box

The signal box at Orton Mere was re-opened on the 9th March 2024 after it’s rebuild following the arson attack on it.

Thomas was in attendance and carried passengers from Wansford Station and back again for the event.

The following images are © Jon Benton and my thanks to him for sending them to me.

Exchanging the staff as Thomas arrives at Orton Mere.
Thomas at platform 2.
The Plaque on the Signal Box re-opened by Miranda Rock DL the railway’s president.
The crew with The President.
The refurbished inside of the signal box.

The box looks excellent and it’s thanks to both the fundraisers, of all ages. And the team that did the practical work. They can all feel proud of their efforts.

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Orton Mere Signal Box.

Here is a picture of Orton Mere Box taken at night. Awaiting a guest locomotive that was spending the night with us.

© 2024 Phil Venn

The box is rarely open at night so pleased to get this picture sent by Phil Venn and my thanks to him for sending it.

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656 In Denmark.

656 of course ran in Denmark before it arrived at the Nene Valley Railway.

I have been kindly sent two images, one from 1955 and a second from 1971. Please respect the copyright of these images.

First we have 1955. Taken in Nyborg.

Secondly we have 1971. This image was taken at Esbjerg.

I hope you enjoy looking at these images and I hope to be able to post more in due course.

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Well that went well.

Last weekend saw Danish locomotive 656 hauling passengers for the first time in 38 years.

© Nathan Merryweather.

Here it is arriving at Peterborough Nene Valley on Saturday.

It looked right hauling the three Belgian coaches and the single Danish coach. There are many members who were not even born when this locomotive was last in service.

Sunday saw it in service again, and here it is approaching Overton on its way to Peterborough.

© Tom Elston.

I have seen lots of comments from both members and visitors with very positive comments.

Without doubt this will be a popular locomotive, and it’s nice to see it back on the line.

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73050 CITY OF PETERBOROUGH OVERHAUL APPEAL

73050 CITY OF PETERBOROUGH OVERHAUL APPEAL

Now in her 55th year in preservation, the locomotive has been overhauled three times. The current work started in 2017 and has progressed to the stage where re-assembly of the frames, wheels and motion is gathering momentum in the NVR workshops at Wansford. The boiler, with the 70-year old steel fabric needing a most comprehensive overhaul,

Help is Needed

Thanks to generous donations from individuals and from the Peterborough City Council the overhaul has been able to proceed quite well, although the Covid-19 pandemic has had direct and indirect effects. But we need more money, the estimated cost to complete the overhaul is over £500,000 and funds are currently about half that amount. We’re running a series of programmes to suit all pockets.. We hope that one of them will appeal to your kindness.

To find out how to help and donate https://nvr.org.uk/article…/152/73050-city-of-peterborough

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It’s a diesel weekend.

This weekend we are running a diesel service. Yesterday we had the class 14 and today we are running the Peak.

Ever since I joined the railway there have been two camps, one for and one against running diesels in the summer.

Personally I have always been of the opinion that we should, on a regular basis run all that we have available. We are not just a steam railway we are a heritage railway, a fact that many often forget about.

From when I ran Orton Mere I can count on one hand the number of times that a visitor decide not to travel because we were running diesel.

I would hazard a guess that most of our visitors have never travelled behind a steam train when they were in service on the network. but many have travelled behind diesels when they have needed to travel by rail.

So enjoy whatever we are running it is all part of our history!

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Orton Mere 1978

Roy Harrison who died recently was a prolific photographer of The Nene Valley Railway.

Here is a picture taken by Roy at Orton Mere station in 1978. The area around the station looks very different today

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Work on Wansford signal box.

Work has commenced on 12 to 14 weeks. of refurbishment work on the box.

The box was built in 1907 by the LNWR, and is one of the largest signal boxes in preservation and in its original location.

Currently surrounded by scaffolding, it’s ready for the work to commence.

Should you wish to make a donation towards the cost of the work to preserve the box for many years to come please contact the office at the railway on 01780-784444. You donation will be most welcome irrespective of the amount.

The box will remain operational during the works.