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About
the Society
The Midland & Great Northern Joint
Railway Society will celebrate its 50th anniversary in
2009.
It was established as the Midland & Great
Northern Joint Railway Preservation Society in October
1959,
just a few weeks after most of the network which had taken
Norfolk’s fish and farm produce to the markets of the
Midlands (and brought holidaymakers into Norfolk in
return) had closed. Ironically, perhaps, the section that
is now the Poppy Line survived the initial closure, but
was finally chopped by the infamous Beeching axe in April
1964.
The Society originally focused on re-opening the North
Walsham Town to Yarmouth Beach section. When that proved
impracticable, attention turned to the Themelthorpe –
Melton line; but that, too, was stillborn. Finally,
success was achieved at Sheringham, and the Sheringham –
Weybourne section was granted a light railway order in
1973.
North Norfolk Railway Limited (now plc) was formed to
operate services, and the Society became its supporting
charity, dropping the word Preservation to make its name
(slightly) easier to remember.
The Society’s ambition had always been to extend from
Weybourne up the challenging 1-in-80 bank to Kelling Heath
and Holt. Access to the town itself was not feasible, as
the A148 bypass road had been built on the old trackbed
and the station demolished. Accordingly land was acquired
alongside Kelling Hospital, just off the A148 and about a
mile from the centre of the town. The line was relaid by
Society volunteers along the original trackbed and the
extension was opened to a temporary terminus in 19 March
1969
The Society’s key recent achievements include the removal
of the original M&GN station at Stalham (“Gateway to the
Broads) and its careful rebuilding to serve as the Holt
terminus, the re-erection at Holt of a Midland Railway
signal box formerly at Portland sidings,
Kirkby-in-Ashfield (which should be fully commissioned and
in service by 2008), the construction of a replica M&GN
goods shed (based on the one formerly at Thursford) as the
home of the William Marriott Museum, and the rescue of a
Great Eastern weighbridge from Cambridge Station.
Today the Society has over 2,000 members, and is one of
the most active UK heritage railway groups. Click for
details of Society steam
locos, diesel locos,
carriages,
wagons and
William
Marriott Museum.
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