Mid Norfolk Railway Dereham – Mid Norfolk Railway Norfolk

The Mid Norfolk Railway Dereham history. The Lynn and Dereham Railway and the Norfolk Railway both obtained Parliament’s permission to build lines to Dereham in 1845, at the height of the so-called “Railway Mania”, when railways were being built across the whole country. The Norfolk Railway, building its line from Wymondham, reached Dereham first, and opened its railway to passengers on the 15th February 1847; while the line from Lynn had to wait until 11th September 1848.  Railway traffic was quickly transferred to the new railway, with more than 10,000 tons of coal being carried in the first year.  However, the cost of building the track line had been so high that it left the Norfolk Railway in a precarious financial position in spite of its success.

The financial pressures caused  the Eastern Counties Railway to take on a lease of the Norfolk Railway from May 1848.  Work was already under way on building the extension to Fakenham by that time, but after opening that section of the line on the 20th March 1849, the money to build the remainder of the line had run out.  Eventually, the independent Wells and Fakenham Railway was set up to build the final missing link, which opened in 1857, ten years after the first trains had run into Dereham.  Read more…

The outstanding Mid Norfolk Railway

Mid Norfolk Railway Map

Mid Norfolk Railway Operations

The Mid-Norfolk Railway is owned and operated by the volunteers of the Preservation Trust.  From our base in Dereham, Norfolk, we operate Heritage Rail services along the eleven mile line to the market town of Wymondham, just outside Norwich. We are are also working to extend services north from Dereham towards North Elmham and County School, with an aim of reaching Fakenham in the future.  Some of our heritage trains offer a drivers-eye view of the line ahead and this is exciting and a great view

In 2012 The Mid Norfolk Railway won the HRA “Rail Express” Modern Attraction award recognising our Class 47 Golden Jubilee Gala.  After a bumper year in 2013, featuring our Big Four Steam Gala and the opening of the line north of Dereham to Hoe, we won the Heritage Railway of the Year Award 2013 at the National Railway Heritage Awards.  The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust was set up in 1995 to buy the line from Wymondham to Dereham and is important.

Yaxham became the center of operations, and permission was given to clear the line of undergrowth and to build a platform in order to run trains. The station at Dereham was cleaned up, and open days held. After building a platform at Rash’s Green near Dereham, passenger trains were run between there and Yaxham in 1995. This was a huge success and provided tangible evidence of the Trust’s achievements and its ability to operate the line. After relaying track into Dereham station in early 1997, the first train ran from the station in the summer of that year.  Read more….

Have an event or function and hire the MNR

Hire the Mid Norfolk Railway Line

The Mid-Norfolk Railway is available to hire to our Industry partners as well as to Groups, Charters, Filming and for Driver Experience. The Mid-Norfolk Railway is keen to develop links with the Rail Industry and offers a number of opportunities in the East of England area.  We run for 17 miles through the quiet Norfolk countryside. There are currently 15 miles of operational track with another 1 mile to North Elmham and another mile to County School to be reinstated. The main base of operations is at Dereham Station just off the main A47 cross-country road, where we have a road-rail facility. At the other end of the line is Wymondham where we have our main line connection with Network Rail for the Ely-Norwich line.  Read more…

Mid Norfolk Railway Driver Experience Locos

Class 47 – Class 33 – new for 2019!  “Where Dreams Become A Reality”  The Dereham to Wymondham Abbey line, offers the chance to drive a former mainline diesel locomotive through eleven miles of glorious Norfolk countryside under the guidance of our experienced and qualified instructors.  We offer six different types of courses both shared and individual, to suit all levels of interest and budgets. Participants will learn the skills necessary to safely control and operate a diesel locomotive on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.  Read more…

Events

The Mid Norfolk Railway has many events throughout the year which also have food and drink because we know they are great and have included: The Polar Express Train Ride, Spring Diesel Events, High Tea Train, VE Celebrations, Biker Night at Dereham Station, Jazz Train, Cream Tea Train, Breckland Flyer – Fish & Chips Train, 1940’s Weekend Railway at War, Classic Vehicles Day, Beer and Music Festival and many more.

Some wonderful events are regularly held at MNR

Weddings and Wedding Receptions at The Mid Norfolk Railway. 

The Mid Norfolk Railway is proud to announce that we host Wedding Fairs  The events will be free entry and there will be a raffle taking place at the event.  Are you planning a wedding or civil partnership? Are you looking for the perfect venue to renew your vows? Or if you have a celebration or special occasion of an engagement, anniversary, christening, birthday party, Christmas party, new years eve party, team building, business meeting then call us because we will go out of our way to make it special.

Come and join us to see our unique, 1950s style heritage railway station and meet our hand-picked wedding suppliers showcasing great ideas for your special day.  Read more…

TV and Filming MNR

The Mid Norfolk Railway, with its 13 miles of operational track, offers numerous locations and possibilities for filming and production work. Several of the locations can be successfully used for filming set in most eras. Although the stations are typically painted in the colours used by British Railways in the 1950s and 1960s, the Railway also has a large number of more modern trains which can be used to set the scene in almost any era. We are unique in that we can offer a Countryside rural station, or Dereham could pass as a busy commuter station.  The railway is also available for still photographic shoots because its a great location.  Read more…

We hope to see you soon

Covid 19 measures are now relaxing and we hope to see you soon

mention you found us on Visit Breckland.