Preservation
The land was purchased in 1973 and the preservation society was formed in 1974. The first steam locomotive to arrive on site was No.WD190 shortly followed by No.72. Members of the preservation society began to operate the locomotives on a short section of line, which developed into a tourist attraction.
Although originally a main line railway, the track was taken up in the late 60s, during the Beeching axe era, so when the railway was purchased there was no remaining infrastructure. The original Hedingham station was one mile away and was taken down carefully brick by brick. The bricks were numbered so that it could be easily and correctly reassembled on the preservation site.
The hedingham, signal box came from Cressing. The timber top half (first floor) was saved for preservation and remounted on a new higher (ground floor) brick base re-constructed for it. The bridge crossing the River Colne came from Earls Colne in 1982.
Despite its short length, the CVR is home to three ex-mainline steam locomotives and holds Pullman dining services on a monthly basis.
Read more about this topic: Colne Valley Railway
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—Hendrik Verwoerd (1901–1966)
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—John Locke (1632–1704)