Thursday, 14 March 2024

Norfolk heritage railway to feature visiting Class 33 and 50 diesel locomotives

50008 Thunderer

50008 Thunderer. // Credit: J. Bowley/North Norfolk Railway

Visiting locomotives at this year's “Rails & Ales” event at the  will include  No. 50008 Thunderer and  No. 33012 Lt. Jenny Lewis RN.

These locomotives will visit the line as part of a rail tour, and will be among the eight-locomotive line-up which will also include a visiting London Underground 4TC set.

The Rails & Ales event will be held from Friday, 7 to Sunday, 9 June. As well as plenty of action on the line, each of the line's three stations will have a selection of ales on offer.

At  and  stations there will be a selection of bottled beers and ciders on offer, whilst at  station there will be a real ale bar.

50008 Thunderer
50008 Thunderer // Credit: Dan Sutcliffe

Buffet cars on some of the trains will also offer a number of brews and other onboard refreshments. Visitors will be able hop on and off as many trains as they please to discover around 25 beers and ciders that will be available at the three stations each day.

Class 50 No. 50008 Thunderer was built by English Electric in 1968, and initially hauled services on the then non-electrified part of the West Coast Main Line from Preston to Glasgow.

It later transferred to the Western region, moving first to Bristol, then to Plymouth Laira and in 1978 was named Thunderer after the Royal Navy warship. It was withdrawn in 1992, and now works for Hanson & Hall Rail.

D6515 LT Jenny Lewis RN at the Severn Valley Spring Diesel Festival 2022
33012 Lt Jenny Lewis RN running as D6515 on the Severn Valley Railway. // Credit: Cameron White / RailView

Class 33 No. 33012, Lt Jenny Lewis RN was built in 1960 for the Southern region of British Railways. It was withdrawn in 1997 and is now based at the Swanage Railway in Dorset.

33012 was named Lt. Jenny Lewis RN to commemorate Lt. Lewis who was a fan of the Class 33s and passed away in active Royal Navy service.

An unusual visitor for the weekend will be a London Underground 4TC set, which was built as part of the 1967 Bournemouth electrification programme. The set is completely unpowered, but its wiring and controls have been modified to allow it to be driven from other multiple units, and specially modified class 33/1 locomotives fitted for push-pull operation.

4TC London Transport push-pull carriage set Corfe Castle ANDREW PM WRIGHT
4TC London Transport push-pull carriage set. // Credit: Andrew P.M. Wright

London Underground later acquired the set for use as coaching stock for its “Steam on the Met” and other charter operations on the Metropolitan Line.

As well as the “Rails & Ales” event, the North  Railway operates services daily throughout the summer, with full details available online at www.nnrailway.co.uk.

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