Steam lovers thrilled to see locomotive passing through Melton

There was a thrill for steam train lovers at Melton Mowbray railway station on Saturday when an engine chugged through on its way to Worcester from Norwich.
By Nick Rennie
Published 9th Apr 2024, 09:53 BST
Updated 9th Apr 2024, 10:14 BST
Stanier Class 5MT No 44871 passes Wyfordby with a Norwich to Worcester special train on SaturdayPHOTO Paul DaviesStanier Class 5MT No 44871 passes Wyfordby with a Norwich to Worcester special train on SaturdayPHOTO Paul Davies
Stanier Class 5MT No 44871 passes Wyfordby with a Norwich to Worcester special train on SaturdayPHOTO Paul Davies

The trip was organised by Kings Lynn-based Railway Touring Company, which was originally set up by Melton man Nigel Dobbing in 1997.

A plaque to his memory was memorably unveiled at the town station in April 2019 when a memorial train conveying family, relatives and guests stopped there for this poignant ceremony.

Saturday’s locomotive hauling the train No 44871 is a Class 5MT – also picked up passengers en route at Thetford, March and Peterborough and passed through Oakham, Leicester and Birmingham on its way to its destination.

This particular locomotive was one of the four allocated to work ‘The Fifteen Guinea Special’ which ran on August 11, 1968, organised by British Rail to officially mark the end of trains hauled by steam.

Related topics:Melton Mowbray