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Thomas’ 50th Birthday Bash.

The Author Rev. W. Awdry naming Thomas.

The Nene Valley Railway is home to a little blue engine named ‘Thomas’ by the Rev. W. Awdry author of the famous books about Thomas and Friends. On 26th June 2021 it will be 50 years since Rev. W. Awdry signed Thomas’ cab at The Nene Valley Railway & we at the railway want to celebrate this day with all of Thomas’ friends old & new.

The 0-6-0T engine No. 1800 was built by Hudswell Clarke in 1947 at about the time when Rev.W Awdry wrote his second book in which Thomas appeared. The little blue engine spent its entire working life at the British Sugar Corporation Peterborough factory pushing wagons of sugar beet up an incline until the day came when a diesel engine replaced the steam power of Thomas. The Peterborough Railway Society purchased this delightful little engine on 9th September 1973 and he was moved to the Nene Valley Railway, where he has since delighted his friends and children of all ages.

Thomas lives at Wansford and can been seen most of time in the yard when not in steam, on some occasions he is moved in the shed to let the engeineers work on him. 

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Coming soon….

A series of hand drawn to scale images of LNER stations between Peterborough & Doncaster, these colour drawings date from 1891 onwards to the 1930’s.

Here is a sample…

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Visitors for a bit of simulation.

On Thursday 10th June, we had a visit from Armstrong Powerhouse to record every single sound of 45041 Royal Tank Regiment.

There was plenty of stopping and starting and lots of noise. They make sound packs for the leading online train simulator to make the experience sound as realistic as possible.

They got everything they wanted and have said how very helpful the NVR has been for organising this.

This is their second visit, as they came to record sounds from 31271 a few years ago but I’m sure it won’t be their last visit. 

Below are some images from the day.

My thanks to Harvey Harrison for some of the above text and all the images below.

© Harvey Harrison
© Harvey Harrison Microphones in place
© Harvey Harrison Checking things at Overton Station
© Harvey Harrison Running round at Yarwell Station

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Well that’s the first few weeks out of the way.

Here we are with services running again on the railway. Granted it may not be as many as we would like to run and we are running with reduced capacity. But we are running!

It’s nice to see visitors back at the railway enjoying themselves.

We have lots of events planned, the most notable being Thomas’ 50th birthday bash at the end of the month. Plus of course the The Steam EnGIN Express on the 24th July. I will be interested to see how the event goes. I feel that it will be popular and hopefully become a regular perhaps yearly event.

This coming Saturday the 12th of June sees the Wansford Miniature Railway Grand Opening. A lot of work has gone into the miniature railway’s construction and it will without doubt be popular.

Locomotives in Steam and on Display

Steam Locomotive Sweet Pea “Holly”
Steam Locomotive War Department No 90776 Royal Anglian Regiment 
Steam Locomotive GWR King “King Edward II”
Steam Locomotive GWR Parire No 4588
Steam Locomotive Sweet Pea “Joe”
Battery Electric Class 14 No 9520
Battery Electric 08 No 08679
Under Overhaul LNER B1 Roedeer on Display
Sweet Pea 

  • For the Opening of the Miniature Railway Train Services are £1 per return trip, tickets purchased on the day from the Miniature Railway 
  • Miniature Freight Train
  • Miniature Railway Shop with a selection of fund rasing items for sale
  • Miniature Traction Engines in Steam 
  • Special Celebration First Day Postal Covers
  • Blue Circle in Steam
  • Social Distancing is to maintained at all times in line with Government guidelines 
  • The NVR will be running main line Steam services on the day
  • Refreshments available at Wansford Station. 
  • All attractions subject to availability and Covid restrictions 
  • Please note to travel on the miniature railway you must be in possession of a Platform ticket or Main Travel ticket.  

If you’re visiting the railway please give it your support.

So lets look forward to a summer of trains and visitors.

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The magic of The Nene Valley Railway.

When I joined the railway some sixteen years ago people often commented about the magic of the Nene Valley Railway, and I never quite understood what they were on about.

Today I am sitting here watching families arrive at Wansford Station, and see them showing their young children the view through the gates. I see the children hopping from one foot to another excitedly, looking forward to seeing Thomas and having a trip behind him.

Then I see the adults smiling as well already enjoying their visit and looking forward to what’s ahead.

Looking at that I now understand what people mean when they talk about the magic of the Nene Valley Railway.

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Ready Steady GO!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow sees the recommencement of services on the NVR, hopefully with no more lockdowns ahead.

Services will still be far from what we are used to, we still have social distancing.

Looking at the official railway web site we have lots of special events coming up, please support them. This is still a critical time for the railway.

For those who do visit and travel, you are most welcome, thanks for your support it is appreciated.

The railway has played a very important part in Peterborough’s history and development and it’s fair to say the city would be very different if that first train had not steamed into the city in 1845.

Whilst we can’t fully recreate those days, travelling on the railway does give you the opportunity to travel on part of the first railway route into the city.

If you take some nice photographs during your visit and would like to share them please feel free to send them to me and I would love to include them on the blog. The email address can be found to the right of this posting.

Welcome back to The Nene Valley Railway.

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Track Trespass.

It’s fair to say that all lines be they heritage or network suffer from track trespass occasionally. And this is not always done by youngsters. In my experience of catching trespassers they can be of any age and of either sex.

At the moment we are having problems with this around the Orton Mere station. With pupils going to and from school.

So this blog post is aimed at locals to the NVR.

Please remember it is an offence to trespass on a railway. It’s a dangerous place. Trains can run at any time and on any of the lines.

Now I am aware that the above video is of a train on the national network but the principal is the same.

A few hundred tons of train can’t dodge a trespasser and just because a train is on a heritage railway does not mean it weighs less. Walking on the track or beside the track is dangerous, there are numerous trip hazards some more visible than others.

So if you are one of those who trespass on railways just remember that railways can kill they are dangerous places. Graveyards and crematoriums are full of people who thought trespassing on a railway was not dangerous.

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Coming to a screen near you.

For several years Railcam have had three cameras on the NVR.

Well I am pleased to announce that one of the cams showing the Main Wansford station and crossing is now available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mO_xi4GHig for the direct connection

Our thanks to Railcam for providing this for the railway it is appreciated.