By Faye Mayern via SWNS
The world’s smallest public railway have said they are fighting for survival against rising costs to keep their heritage trains running.
The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway in Norfolk have recently had to dip into their own reserves to pay for a new boiler in their iconic Norfolk Hero steam locomotive.
The 110-year-old tracks run four miles down a coastal route and has been a popular fixture for locals and tourists since it opened in 1982.
The not-for-profit group of volunteers have now said they have faced a 65 percent increase in their fuel and energy costs in the past two years.
They have launched a fundraiser to raise $25k to maintain the steam trains and the heritage railway said everything they do is for the ‘survival of the railway’.
Nick Champion, managing director, said Wells and Walsingham hoped to keep the ‘magic’ of steam locomotives for future generations but costs were making it harder.
Nick, who is the grandson-in-law of the railway’s founder, said: “We want to keep going despite the successive issues thrown at us.
“Since Covid and the Russia invasion of Ukraine, we’ve seen our costs go up by 65 percent.
“We were paying $250 a ton for fine Welsh steam coal to run the locomotives – and now we’re using a composite coal at $600 a ton.
“The railway run around 9,000 miles per year and the carbon we emit is less than a return flight from New York.
“Everything we do is orientated to the survival of the railway. We’re a family owned business and a not for profit company.
“We’ve got a beautiful example of something that work, is timeless and has a Norfolk charm. We’re the jewel in the tourist crown of East Anglia.”
The Wells and Walsingham Railway was founded by Commander Roy Francis who always had a passion for steam and took the engines around fairs in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, he volunteered to run passengers down to the coast at Wells-next-to-the-Sea as a way to combat problems with traffic in the area.
In 1982, Lieutenant-Commander Francis opened the public railway along tracks, now 110-years-old, that used to serve London and stretch four miles.
Champion, 55, took over running the railway in 2004 when Commander Francis’s health began failing and said the family have been determined to ‘keep the charm’.
He said: “Steam trains remain so ingrained in popular culture and our steam locomotives are essentially an evolution of those in the 1930s and 40s.
“The big standard heritage railways that are absolutely focused on the past will struggle to remain relevant but for us, we are a charming steam railway.
“We offer a wonderful experience and we hope to keep the relevance and magic of steam trains going.
“We’ve seen a grow in our visitor numbers by 30 percent in the last 10 years.”
The Wells and Walsingham railway owns two steam locomotives including the Garrett locomotive ‘Norfolk Hero’ which was built in 1986.
Champion said Norfolk water is ‘renowned’ for being hard on the train’s boiler and steam is inefficient as 90 per cent goes up the chimney rather than the wheels.
He said: “We’ve worked to nurse the boiler along for a couple more years but last year the inspector said it was marginal.
“We put safety first and we chose to withdraw Norfolk Hero. We launched the GoFundMe then as we needed to raise $20,000 to buy and install a new boiler.
“We’re extremely luck to have had the boiler delivered and we have the winter to see if it fits.
“We’ve had to go into our reserves to pay for it and we don’t have much left. We’re looking for public generosity to get those contributions back.”
Wells and Walsingham hope that Norfolk Hero will be back on the tracks by March next year.
More than $10,000 has been raised for the project, which is almost halfway to the goal of $25,000.
