50 Years of the M&GN Society

Article By David Rees, founder member of the M&GN Society.

"We are all aware of the 50th anniversary of the closure of most of the M&GN system on 28 February this year, but another important anniversary should not be overlooked.

Saturday 10 October 2009 was the 50th anniversary of the formation of the M&GN Joint Railway Preservation Society with the inaugural meeting being held at the Town Hall Great Yarmouth on Saturday 10 October 1959.

The idea of saving a section of the M&GN goes back to mid-1958 when the closure proposals were first announced and indeed literature was produced under the name M&GNJRPS (proposed) very early on and certainly before the official inaugural meeting.

The original scheme was for the retention of the North Walsham to Yarmouth Beach section as this was thought to be the most well used and attractive part of the route. However, as is well known, BR were determined to remove all traces of the M&GN as soon as possible starting with the Yarmouth section. As a result a large number of potential supporters became disillusioned with project and there was considerable debate about whether we should actually go ahead, hence the long delay between initial concept and actually forming the Society.

In spite of all this doubt, Brian Clark and I went ahead with the inaugural meeting and the Society was born.

The rest is another story."