The North Norfolk railway has a great reputation for a friendly visit and great scenery. The motive power has often been a part of the railways reputation. On the day that I chose to visit, in between seeing the various loco hauled sets – the railway was preparing for its Gala weekend. As a result the S&DJR 7F was being used, it being a guest engine. With this machine often being described as S&D by a mistaken abbreviation of an abbreviation and its appearance being less than impressive in my opinion – it is not a favourite. It was seen departing the lines HQ at Weybourne and as it is not a Stockton and Darlington a la NER machine, I was indifferent at best to see it leave. I plumed to ride behind the B12, having sought to find BR standard 76084, which was seen on shed. The line has a nice ride up towards Holt, and returns towards Sherringham, even if the approaches to the latter starts to lack the full views past the housing and golf course. For all, the views can be nice out towards the coast, the line did fell shorter than I was expecting. I think a lot of this was due to visiting the line for the first time and not knowing the layout. It was clear that at Holt the layout was done to allow quick departures of trains when one arrives the other leaves due to the lines short length. The extension into Cromer would add valuable distance to the railway and give it another attraction to link up with, in an area that was already very busy during summer. Finally, overall it was a nice day out. The staff at the line were more than pleasant and welcoming. Their efforts seem to add that character to the line that will make me want to return one day, as it is a nice, short and enjoyable railway.
