Category: Summer

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Well it’s here!

The locomotive Bahamas arrived yesterday, and is with us over a couple of weeks.

It’s pulling services on 21st & 22nd plus 28th, 29th &30th over August bank Holiday as well as other events and driver experience.

Have a look on the main web site for event details and timetable. If your looking for a good day out then please come, travel behind the locomotive and support the railway.

Should you just be planning to visit and take pictures please remember to buy a platform ticket etc. It’s cost a lot of money to bring the loco in and none paying visitors will do nothing to ensure the weekend is a success and enable us to bring in more locomotives.

Here’s to a great visit by the locomotive.

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Just one of those days

Occasionally we have a day where everything aligns and it’s as near a perfect day as you can get.

Yesterday August 4th was such a day.

The weather was just right, not too hot, not too cold.
The trains all ran to within a minute of time and we were busy.

It was a perfect day, and here’s to many more of them as we trundle through summer.

If you were one of the visitors who travelled yesterday, we hope you enjoyed the experience and come and visit us again soon.

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It’s big loco time.

One thing that’s always popular with volunteers and visitors alike is the visit of a big loco.

The 15th August sees the arrival of the locomotive “Bahamas.”

Now I could wax lyrical about all the events that it will be doing whilst it’s with us, but instead please look at the main railway web page at www.nvr.org.uk for the latest information.

If you can’t visit the railway and experience a ride behind the locomotive then please remember the cameras we have via Railcam covering Wansford and Orton Mere. The Railcam site is at www.railcam.uk. If you are not a member of Railcam then one of our two Wansford cams can be seen on YouTube.

Here is the YouTube feed of our main Wansford cam.

It will be a super visit so please come along to one of the events and travel behind this superb locomotive. As good as they are cameras are no substitute for a trip behind a locomotive.

I will be on the YouTube cam chat on most of the Bahama running days so if you have any questions or queries then please give “Old Arkwright” a yell. Though please note I can’t deal with ticket or booking enquiries.

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Well that was a nice weekend.

Some weekends can, shall we say be a little difficult. Due to things like breakdowns or the weather. But last weekend was not one of those

Saturday saw the main service diesel hauled by the Peak locomotive, which seems to be popular with both normal visitors and enthusiasts. Please note I am not saying that enthusiasts are not normal!!!

There were two cream tea runs as well using the Polish steam locomotive and the continental coaches. Nice to see people on there enjoying themselves. The day was topped off with a Gin evening on the train, again very popular and something we have not done before.

Sunday was tame by comparison with the Polish tank engine pulling the Mk1 coaches. It ran to time all day, which is always a bonus.

Weekends like this are important to the railway, it’s been a far from normal period that we are hopefully coming out of. But we need events that appeal to visitors and are also profitable.

Bahamas arrives on the 7th August and there are some great events planned with that and I look forward to observing them.

It promises to be a good summer and then we have the Santa trains, always popular with both the public and the volunteers alike.

Sitting typing this in the evening where it’s still a bit on the warm side perhaps the Santa trains in cooler weather can’t come quick enough.

Something to cool you down in the hot weather.
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All clear!! Or is it?

Well a lot of the restrictions are being lifted on Monday, the railway will not have a restriction on seating numbers and the rover ticket is being reintroduced.

The question is of course is for how long? The number of infections, especially amongst the young is skyrocketing.

So all the railway can do is as much as it can to make visitors enjoy a visit without being restricted or limited.

So we shall see how it goes, we can of course do nothing more, but personally at the moment I feel like I do on a bright summers day.

It won’t last!

Please note these views are mine and do not represent any policies of the railway now or in the future.

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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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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.