History of The Bure Valley Railway

The route of the Bure Valley Railway has a rich and varied past. Originally opened as part of the Great Eastern Railway network in 1880, the line between Wroxham and Aylsham served rural communities for over a century before being reborn as Norfolk’s longest narrow-gauge railway.

Plans to extend the East Norfolk Railway to Aylsham were approved in the 1864 Act, but the formal Parliamentary Bill was not granted until 16 April 1876. Contractor William Waddell won the build with a bid of £43,971.

Construction progressed rapidly:

  • By November 1878: 100 men, 14 horses and 43 wagons were at work.

  • A month later: 187 men, 22 horses and 46 wagons were employed.

Despite this, poor weather and labour shortages delayed completion.
The line finally opened on 1 January 1880.

Originally operated by the Great Eastern Railway (GER), the line was formally absorbed by the company in 1882. Aylsham was the second largest town in North East Norfolk, yet passenger numbers remained low — only around £8 a week in revenue during the 1880s.

Typical trains carried between 5 and 25 passengers, with a peak of 47 on a busy Saturday market day. By contrast, the modern Bure Valley Railway now carries around 120,000 passengers a year, with trains of over 200 passengers at peak times.

During the First World War, railways came under government control. Freight, including timber for the Western Front, increased slightly — but local passenger demand remained limited.

After the war, the arrival of early bus services offered a more convenient alternative, stopping directly in villages rather than at rural stations. Competition for passengers intensified.

In 1923, the line became part of the newly formed London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). Traffic increased with the construction of RAF Coltishall, adjacent to the line, and wartime conditions saw both military freight and civilian travel boosted once petrol rationing reduced road transport.

Following the end of petrol rationing in 1950 and improved fuel supplies in 1952, bus services expanded rapidly. Passenger numbers fell so low that British Railways withdrew the service.

The last passenger train ran on 15 September 1952 - over a decade before the Beeching Report.

Freight continued for several decades:

  • Aylsham dispatched grain for the Scottish whisky industry.

  • General goods were handled until 1974.

  • A new chord at Themelthorpe allowed concrete beam traffic to continue until late 1981.

British Rail officially closed the line on 6 January 1982.


A weed-killing train ran in 1983, and track-lifting trains followed in 1984 - seemingly marking the end of the route.

Fortunately, this was not the end.

Norfolk County Council aimed to convert disused railways into long-distance, traffic-free paths. The Aylsham–Wroxham section was purchased by Broadland District Council, who sought a sustainable way to develop both the footpath and the route.

Several councillors and officers were railway enthusiasts, leading to a bold idea: Build a narrow-gauge railway alongside the footpath.

Narrow gauge required only half the trackbed, leaving space for a fenced, safe public path.

The contract to build the new railway was awarded to John Edwards and R. Hudson, in partnership with RKF Ltd, owners of Pleasurewood Hills. Construction began on 8 May 1989, and the line officially opened on 10 July 1990.

With no locomotives ready, early services were hauled by hired engines from the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway.

High interest rates pushed RKF into receivership, and the railway followed. It was operated temporarily by administrators until purchased by the Hart family of Sheffield. During this time:

  • The Romney locomotives returned to Kent.

  • New motive power arrived:
    – Sian and Sandy River No. 24 from Fairbourne
    – Tracey Jo, originally a diesel-outline locomotive, rebuilt into a true steam engine in 1992 and renamed Wroxham Broad.

In 1993, the line was sold to Robert Baker, who invested in more powerful locomotives.

The first purpose-built ZB locomotives arrived in 1994.

Two further ownership changes in 1995 and 2001 followed, marking a decade of instability - five owners in ten years.

In 2001, a small group of railway-enthusiast businesspeople purchased the line, bringing much-needed stability. Since then:

  • No dividends have been paid to shareholders.

  • All profits have been reinvested into locomotives, carriages, infrastructure and visitor facilities.

The railway celebrated its 25th anniversary on 10 July 2015, marked by a gala featuring the first locomotive to run on the line, Winston Churchill, and the drivers who operated her.

The railway has now also celebrated its 35th anniversary on 7 June 2025, marked by a gala featuring two very special guests from the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in Kent - No. 6 Samson and No. 9 Winston Churchill. 

Today, with strong partnership between the Directors and the Friends of the Bure Valley Railway, the future of the line is bright.

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