Postcards used to be the thing to send your friends when you visited anywhere.
Here is one from Wansford.
A Postcard From Wansford.
A few more tickets
Previous posts showing old tickets have been popular with some site visitors asking if we have any more.
So here are a few more old tickets. I hope you enjoy them.
Well here we go again……
Today is New Years day and the start of the new year.
Many will be wondering what it will hold for the railway.
The answer is of course, nobody knows. I mean who on this day in 2020 would have been able to forecast how the year would turn out?
It was a year like no other for the railway, and the staff and working members/volunteers came through it.
Our sympathies must go to those who had to be made redundant, it was necessary to enable the railway to survive a very difficult period, they will be missed.
History will no doubt show that we owe a debt of gratitude to those on the railway both paid and volunteer who time after time went far beyond what was required or even expected to ensure that the trains we were able to run were as safe as they could be for the visitors and that the site was as safe as possible.
So please remember when things become more normal and you visit railway that your visit is only possible because of those people. The people who remained pleasant and smiling wether face to face or answering the telephone.
If you are a member of the public who travelled on either the Santas or other trains we were able to run. Thank you for your support of the railway, it is without exception appreciated and we look forward to welcoming you back in better times.
A trip on the footplate of Flying Scotsman 2018
A few locomotives from better times.
This year has not been a year for loco spotting!!
So here are a few pics from recent years when the sun really did shine down on the railway.
I will post a few more over the festive period.
Nene Valley Railway Closed Until Further Notice.
Mon 21st Dec 2020
Since we announced the closing of Nene Valley Railway with immediate effect, after the Government announced that Peterborough was moving into Tier 4 at midnight on Sat 19th Dec. Our dedicated team have been working tirelessly to answer all customer emails and messages. We thank all our customers for being patient with us. As you can image our inbox is very full. All requests for refunds will be honored and processed as quickly as we can do it. It is not an easy task to complete. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers old and new a Merry Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you all to Nene Valley Railway when it is safe to do so.
Recreating events.
One thing the railway often does is recreate events.
Here is a recreation of “The Pines Express” non-stop through Ferry Meadows station. This event is from April 2011.
The format of the video has been changed so hopefully more will be able to play it.
We have done both steam and diesel recreations.
Getting the best price.
Now it’s fair to say that the majority of the general public are a pleasure to deal with. But occasionally you will get some that defy all logic when it comes to prices.
Take this gentleman and his girlfriend for example.
Let’s set the scene, it’s a nice Wednesday morning, the trains are running and we are awaiting the first service of the day from Wansford.
Into the station wanders a pleasant man and his girlfriend. He asks how much it is for a single to Peterborough, and how much a return is.
He is given the prices and stands there puzzling you can almost hear the clicking of his brain.
Then he decides that a return ticket is too expensive, so can he have two single tickets Orton Mere to Peterborough Nene Valley and then two single tickets from Peterborough Nene Valley to Orton Mere for when they return later in the day as that he decides is the best option.
His girlfriend staggers out of the station onto the platform, sits on a bench and just cracks up. But by the time he wanders out to join her with four tickets in his top pocket she has calmed down.
Ten minutes later they get on the train with him telling her he got a good deal on the tickets. Actually he spent around £5 more than he needed to.
I have no idea what they did in the end because they did not return on any train.
It was just a normal Wednesday!!
Knowing the route.
One question we have been asked many times is why somebody coming off the main line needs a pilot.
One reason of course is their lack of knowledge about the line and where things like points, crossings and other restrictions are.
This is normally met with the comment the line is not that long how many can there be? The answer been more than you probably realise.
Here are a couple of excellent videos by John Wood which for want of a better description show what is where. The first is Yarwell to Peterborough Nene Valley and the second is that route in reverse. My thanks to John for allowing me to use them on the blog.
I hope you found the above useful and informative.
92 Squadron
There is nothing better than a large steam engine to get visitors to the railway.
This weekend we ran 92 Squadron which is a great favourite.
Here are four pictures taken today.
