After a pleasant visit to the North Norfolk Railway at Sheringham earlier today, myself & Ed headed over to the Bure Valley Railway at Aylsham. Myself & Maisie called in a few years ago but the weather was so foul that day that we decided not to ride on the train. A return visit has been on the cards for some time and Ed's recent passing as a Steam Driver on the railway gave a good excuse! The BVR runs for 9 miles between Aylsham and Wroxham on 15" tracks laid atop the tracked of the former East Norfolk Railway, with standard gauge trains over the line having ceased in 1982. The BVR came into being in 1990 and is now a successful tourist attraction carrying well over 100,000 passengers per year. Ed has been crewing on this fine narrow gauge set-up for a couple of years now and had been regaling me on how great it all was. After a walk through the engine shed and a talk on the five impressive members of the fleet, we walked over to see BVR No6 "Blickling Hall" stood at the head of the final departure of the day for Wroxham; and very nice she was too...
Driver Mark was preparing for the off as we watched from the platform. No6 is one of two 2-6-2 ZB locomotives based on the line, loosely based on the Indian Railway prototype and built by Winson's in 1994. Being essentially a Winson's product, it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone to learn that they weren't the best machines from new. However, with massive potential in their design and a wealth of engineering knowledge at the BVR, the pair have been transformed into powerful, free steaming and reliable engines capable of fantastic performances. Ed has kindly arranged for me to spend the day with him on the footplate tomorrow on the 'Steam 1' service and, as you can imagine, I am looking forward to this immensely! I can't wait to see the BVR engines in action on the route and to enjoy them from the cab to boot. I'm sure it will provide a knowledge enhancing day. Thanks for reading all, Sam...
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