Beer as well as steam will be welcoming visitors to the North Norfolk Railway during its Rails & Ales 2026 event from Friday, 12th to Sunday, 14th June.

Joining six of the railway’s own historic steam and diesel locomotives will be two visiting locomotives. But the number of beers to be sampled will dwarf the number of locomotives, with over 40 local ales and ten Norfolk ciders on offer at the railway’s three stations, and at bars on board some trains.

To get visitors in the mood, there will be live music performances from local bands. Even better, tickets allow unlimited travel throughout the day, so passengers can hop on and off to experience different Norfolk beers at each station.

There will be an intensive timetable in operation, with trains running from around 9.30 am to 9.30 pm on Friday and Saturday and from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm on Sunday.

Visiting the line for the event will be Class 50 No. 50050 (D400) Fearless, owned by Locomotive Services Limited, and Class 52 No. D1015 Western Champion, from the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire.

One of the home fleet steam locomotives scheduled to appear is 97-year-old Newstead, which was recently overhauled and returned to service last year; Newstead will be in charge of a variety of carriages, including the line’s train of magnificently restored Victorian carriages. Newstead recently appeared at the West Somerset Railway’s Spring Steam Spectacular 2026 at the beginning of May. 

Other home fleet locomotives include diesel locomotives Class 37 No. D6732 and Class 31 No. D5631 hauling trains with carriages from the 1950s and 1960s. Class 08 diesel shunters Nos. D3935 and D3940 will make rare appearances on passenger trains, and the last of the line-up is something rarely seen on heritage lines: one of the line’s heritage railcars in a five-car formation.

More information about the weekend and the locomotives can be found here.

The North Norfolk Railway is currently overhauling Sir Nigel Gresley’s oldest surviving locomotive, No. 1744, in its workshops at Weybourne.

“We’re excited to be showcasing many of Norfolk’s fantastic breweries and some of the brilliant local musicians, in contrast to our visiting engines, which all hail from the West! Our team are busily preparing all the last-minute details, and we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors back to the railway for more steam and diesel celebrations.”

Events Manager, Sarah Carpenter