The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) has revealed its programme for school half term week, including the visit of 104-year-old steam locomotive Great Western Railway tank engine 4277.
4277 will run every day from Saturday 17 to Sunday 25 February. It was built for the Great Western Railway at the Swindon Works in 1920, designed for use on heavy coal trains in the Welsh valleys.
It spent most of its working life based at Aberbeeg until being withdrawn from service in 1964 and sent to Barry scrapyard.
Twenty-two years later, 4277 was finally rescued from scrap in June 1986, and restored to full working order. The Dartmouth Steam Railway owns the loco and are lending it to the North Norfolk Railway for its first visit.
Visitors can also ride in awarding winning Railcar M56182, which returned to service on the Railway in 2023. The Railcar dates from 1957 and came back to work last year thirty-six years after last carrying passengers.
M56182 has been restored to its original condition, which includes a varnished wood interior and British Railways green livery complete with the ‘cat's whiskers' lining used in that era. It has large, front-facing windows, through which passengers can enjoy a driver's-eye view of the line.
The restoration took nine and a half years, and won a silver award from the Railcar Association. It has also reached the final of the Heritage Railway Association Awards.
North Norfolk Railway runs trains along an eleven-mile (return) stretch of railway between the Victorian coastal resort of Sheringham and the Georgian town of Holt.
NNR recommends booking in advance, which attracts a discount on fares.
There will be activity booklets for children, and guides who will highlight what to see at each station.
More information and timetables are available here on the North Norfolk Railway website.
I worked the 42xx engines for many years in the valley`s of South Wales, great engines. Had no problems with western shovels.
I used to work on tank engines among others with tenders. On tank engines you had to use a short handled shovel in the cramped cab. The times I blacked my finger nails! What I liked was a 9F, like the Black Prince/Evening Star, which were known as Spaceships.