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3rd October 2011  North Norfolk Railway

A couple of pictures taken during the NNR/M&GN Society Members' Day on Saturday 1st October. The day saw the final run of J15 65462 which has now been withdrawn for its 10-yearly overhaul. (After the departure of 43106, that's two of my favourites gone in only a few weeks – I'm finding it difficult to cope!) Click to view.

5th September 2011  North Norfolk Railway

Another excellent NNR Steam Gala. Once again, I was rostered fireman on the Friday which meant that the weather was reasonably good! But I couldn't complain as I had a star turn on visiting Ivatt 4MT 43106. Weather on Saturday eventually played ball, and I came away with some very reasonable shots. Click to view.

A brief introduction

32G was the shed code of the former railway village of Melton Constable (Norfolk's answer to Crewe). Melton was a major railway junction on the former M&GN (Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway), with lines to Kings Lynn (South Lynn, and the Midlands), Cromer (Beach), Norwich (City) and Yarmouth (Beach). It was also home to the M&GN's locomotive, carriage and wagon workshops, where repairs to the company's locos and rolling stock would have been carried out. The M&GN was the first major casualty of the railway closures which took place in the late 1950s and 1960s. On 28th February 1959 the majority of the 161 mile M&GN network was closed. Melton remained open until 1964 when the Cromer branch was cut back to Sheringham. If you drive through Melton today you would be forgiven for thinking if there was actually a railway there at all, let alone a once busy railway junction. However some the buildings still remain, including: the engine shed, water tower, goods shed. These are now utilised as part of Melton Constable Industrial Estate.

This site is predominantly a photographic website, and all the photos you will see have been taken by myself. I choose the name 32G because I have a particular fondness for the M&GN, and Melton Constable would have been the closest engine shed to my home had it still been there today.

For those that are interested, I'm currently using a Canon 50D with a Canon 24–105 L IS USM lens. (Older photos were taken with Canon G2 before I upgraded to a Canon 300D using a Canon 28–135 IS USM lens or 18–55 EF-S.) All photos are copyright to Benjamin Boggis. Please feel free to view and download as many images for your own personal use as you wish, however they may not be reproduced under any other circumstance without permission from myself.