The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a 5+1⁄4-mile (8.4 km) heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limited company, originally called Central Norfolk Enterprises Limited. The railway is listed as exempt from the UK Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2000.
Holt is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk. The town is 22.8 miles (36.7 km) north of the city of Norwich, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) west of Cromer and 35 miles (56 km) east of King's Lynn. The town has a population of 3,550, rising and including the ward to 3,810 at the 2011 census. Holt is within the area covered by North Norfolk District Council. Holt has a heritage railway station; it is the south-western terminus of the preserved North Norfolk Railway, known as the Poppy Line.
The Marriott's Way is a footpath, cycle-path and bridleway in north Norfolk, England, between Norwich and Aylsham via Themelthorpe. It forms part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) and the red route of Norwich's Pedalways cycle path network. It is open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Its total length is 24.6 miles (39.5 km). It has a mixture of surfaces: tarmac, compacted gravel and earth. The name of the route originates from the chief engineer and manager of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR), William Marriott, who held the position for 41 years.
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated in 1893. It was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway, and those companies had long sponsored and operated the predecessor companies.
The Midland Railway – Butterley is a heritage railway and museum complex at Butterley, near Ripley in Derbyshire.
The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links Norwich to Sheringham. It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the bittern, a rare bird found in the reedy wetlands of Norfolk.
A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.
County School railway station is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from Wymondham and is the northernmost station owned by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust.
Whitwell and Reepham railway station, also known as Whitwell station, is a former station situated in Norfolk, England. The station closed in 1959 and is a notable stop on the Marriott's Way long-distance footpath. It is being restored as a railway museum, including the re-laying of track.
William Marriott was the engineer, locomotive superintendent and traffic manager of the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN)
The Norfolk Orbital Railway – as the Holt, Melton Constable and Fakenham Railway Company – is a proposed rail project in Norfolk, England, which is proposed to look at bringing a new rail connection to North and Mid Norfolk.
Fakenham East railway station was a railway station in the market town of Fakenham in the English county of Norfolk.
Cromer is a railway station in the English county of Norfolk. Because the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) line approached Cromer from the west, following the coastal clifftops, it avoided the steep escarpment which had prevented the earlier line from Norwich running all the way into the town. Consequently, it became possible to build a far more conveniently located station, near to the town centre and the beach. The station opened as Cromer Beach on 16 June 1887 and was renamed Cromer on 20 October 1969, following the closure of Cromer High station in 1954. It is 26 miles 52 chains (42.9 km) down the line from Norwich. Cromer is one of only two former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway stations to remain operational on the National Rail network; the other being the neighbouring West Runton. Sheringham and Weybourne are the other two surviving M&GNJR stations; both are still served today on the heritage North Norfolk Railway.
Melton Constable was a railway station on the Midland and Great Northern Railway which served the North Norfolk village of Melton Constable from 1882 to 1964. Notwithstanding its rural location, the station became an important railway centre with lines converging from all directions providing connections to key East Anglian towns such as King's Lynn, Norwich, Cromer, Fakenham, Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Although long since demolished, there is a possibility that the station may yet be resurrected as part of the proposed Norfolk Orbital Railway.
Holt railway station was a railway station, since closed and dismantled, that served the town of Holt in Norfolk, England. It was part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network, which spread over much of East Anglia, providing connections to Cromer, Norwich and Yarmouth. Closed in 1964, there are proposals to rebuild the line through the locality as part of an orbital railway scheme.
Sheringham is the name of a preserved railway station in Sheringham, Norfolk. It was once part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network and closed in 1967 when a new station was opened by British Rail approx. 200m eastwards. Since 1975 it has served as the eastern terminus of the North Norfolk Railway. In March 2010, the link to Network Rail was reinstated.
Railways have played an important part in the history and development of the English county of Norfolk. It currently has thirty open National Rail stations, though there were once well over a hundred.
The East Norfolk Railway was a pre-grouping railway company operating a standard gauge 25 mile, mostly single track, railway running between Norwich Thorpe railway station and Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. It opened in 1874, reaching Cromer three years later, and remains mostly operational. The company also operated a branch between Wroxham and County School, which closed to passengers in 1952, and had proposed a branch to Blakeney in 1878, which was never constructed.
Melton Constable railway works was a railway maintenance and production facility on the Midland and Great Northern Railway. The buildings and operations in the village of Melton Constable from 1883 to 1964 were vital to the village economy and indeed it is known that the village itself was created to house the employees who worked there. The works are known by many as the 'Crewe of North Norfolk' as Crewe was similar to Melton Constable, although on a much larger scale. Since the loss of the works and rail links the village has never recovered to pre World War I levels.
