M&GN has acquired Ringhaw and Horace the crane off the NNR.

Society devises assistance package for North Norfolk Railway The present Coronavirus pandemic has brought difficult times for all heritage railways, with lines closed and no fare income likely for some months. The North Norfolk Railway, which announced its closure last week, is no different in this respect but has the benefit of a supporting charity, the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Society whose trustees moved quickly to offer a much-needed support package. Chairman Neil Sharpe, speaking early last week, said “The Society Trustees have spent a lot of time over the past few days thinking how we can assist the Railway in the current emergency and have devised a programme of support which we have discussed with senior managers of the railway and which the NNR Board have now taken”. The package aims to provide the NNR with much needed cash during the closure period and thereafter stimulus in the form of new business through projects and grants to assist with the recovery process. The most significant element of this is the purchase of popular Hunslet 0-6-0ST locomotive No. 1982, Ring Haw, which has been a long time resident on the line and is shortly due for overhaul. By purchasing the locomotive the Society is not only offering a substantial lifeline to the railway’s cashflow but also taking over responsibility for the cost of the locomotive’s next overhaul which it hopes to bring forward to provide new business for the Railway.