YARWELL PROJECT – Stop Press - 8th Feburary 2011 by Hannah Hackett

Background: NVR was first contacted in 1999 by the Environment Agency who were looking to work in partnership with local councils and other bodies in a bid to attract people to the area, particularly in relation to the river. We were asked to offer suggestions and these subsequently became known as the Yarwell Project.

The Project is made up of various strands:

Yarwell Station: One of the aims of the Project is to attract walkers, cyclists and people without access to cars into the Nene Valley from Peterborough. In this respect, the A1 has always been a huge barrier. With the station at Yarwell, people can now join the train at any of the NVR stations, get off at Yarwell and be only a few minutes walk from the Nene Way and beautiful, unspoiled countryside, with the villages of Yarwell and Nassington only a short distance away. The recently established nature reserve at Old Sulehay is also within walking distance as is Prebendal Manor.

The platform at Yarwell was completed and the first passengers able to use it from 7th April 2007 – Easter Saturday. The building, which is based on a LNWR design, was handed over by the builders on Friday 7th September 2007. NVR was fortunate in successfully applying for a grant towards this building from WREN who administer the landfill tax. Rockingham Forest Trust also awarded a grant for interpretation boards for which can be seen at Yarwell outlining the history of the railway and the surrounding villages as well as highlighting examples of local flora and fauna.

During his visit to NVR in June, Prince Edward spent some time at Yarwell and was impressed with the amount of effort that had gone into fund-raising for this project.

The interior of the building was completed during the autumn/spring of 2007/2008 and the Grand Opening, performed by Sir William Proby of the neighbouring Elton Estate, took place on Friday 4th April 2008. Guests included representatives from all those who had helped to bring the project to fruition including members of 79 Railway Squadron and the Probation Service.

Much of the wood panelling and the fireplace in the building were kindly donated by the owner of the disused Streatham Station near Ely.

The Travelling Post Office (TPO) Group at NVR also installed an apparatus exchange at Yarwell which became operational in the same year and allows passengers to disembark at the station and view the exchange of mailbags before returning to Wansford.

As there are no services at Yarwell, it is intended to install atmospheric gas lighting in the station building and on the platform when sufficient funds have been raised.

Visitors’ moorings at Wansford: The construction of the visitors’ moorings was completed in time for the 2009 season and has seen many passing river craft stop and enjoy the railway. It also provides canoe portage which has also been used by individuals and groups of canoists travelling downstream to Peterborough. The facility will also provide a permanent mooring for the steamboat.

Steam Launch: NVR was originally intending to raise the money for a steam launch with a design based on the boat used by Captain Vipan of Stibbington Hall in the early part of the 20th century. However, an individual has offered to run a steam boat service operation at NVR thereby negating the need for another large fund-raising project and bringing forward the day that will see the first steamboat trip leave Wansford moorings. It is hoped that the first trips will take place during 2011. Work is currently taking place on preparing the boat which will be converted to steam later on.

Steamboat Moorings at the Haycock and Yarwell: NVR is still actively pursuing this element of the Yarwell Project.

Fund-raising: Fund-raising for the Yarwell Project continues. This is led by Bill Forman and Hannah Hackett who have raised more than £40,000, but with grants and “in kind” work carried out by the 79 Railway Squadron and NVR volunteers, alongside the construction of the mooring at Wansford, this figure is probably in excess of £230,000. We are still collecting old mobile telephones, foreign and old English currency or just plain old donations!

If you want to make a donation please contact Hannah Hackett at Wansford Office on 01780 784444.

YARWELL PROJECT – Stop Press - 16th December 2006 by Hannah Hackett

I am delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant of £20,000 towards the construction of the station building at Yarwell. The grant has come from WREN who administer the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

We have also been extremely lucky in having amongst our new members, a landscape gardener, who has offered to design and landscape the station grounds at Yarwell.

The first passenger services that stop at Yarwell Junction for people to alight will be on Easter Saturday and there will be a Grand Opening later in the summer when the station building has been constructed.

So by the summer, Yarwell Junction should be fully operational as the country station that we have been working towards for the last seven years.

We are still fund-raising as we haven't quite got enough in the pot to pay the bills! So we're still collecting Old English and foreign currency, mobile phones, used cartridges and we also accept plain old money! (Please telephone 01780 784444 if you would like to make a donation of any kind)

Update - 27th November 2006 by Roger Manns

The great news is that our new station at Yarwell Junction is well on programme for opening on Easter Saturday 7 April 2007

During the last week from Monday 20 November, the new 7 coach platform took considerable shape.

On Monday and Tuesday I supervised a 360 excavator placing fill behind the platform wall, together with some compaction from a vibrating roller.

On a wet Wednesday, Hannah Hackett, Philip Marshall, Neil Hoffman and myself had a wet [pouring with rain] site meeting to discuss future landscaping around the station site.

On Thursday 23 November the last of the concrete oversailing blocks on the wall were completed by our contractor MAWCO construction. At 08.00 that morning, the excavator commenced placing several hundred tonnes of spent rail ballast from Metronet 'Falcon' wagons to form the top capping layer. The 10 Falcons were delivered to site by GBRf class 66 loco 66712 'Peterborough Power Signal Box'.

The Falcons actually had made several journeys Yarwell - Peterborough - Yarwell as part of GBRf's training and competency assessment of LUL Metronet drivers, so the fill material travelled over 200 miles on NVR before offloading!

So by the end of Thursday, the basic platform had taken shape.

On Friday 24 November I supervised a RoadRailer to form the footpath link eastwards from the station, and in the afternoon we used the R/R to unload 156 metres of precast concrete copings along the platform from our own works train. Thanks to the efforts of Brian Dolby and Philip Marshall we have used several oversailing blocks and copings in stock from Ferry yard and from Wansford. So the platform only uses half of its length as new purchased copings.

Next steps are for MAWCO to lay the copings before Xmas. Then we will grade and compact the surface and gravel dressing in the spring, together with S&T works, fencing, signs, nameboards, landscaping etc.

Update - 9th November 2006 by Hannah Hackett

The Yarwell Project comprises two elements that are currently active:

1) New Station ay Yarwell Junction, and
2) River Moorings at Wansford.

Wansford Moorings

• The environment Agency expects to commence in January 2007 the construction of the new river moorings, located alongside our Wansford station picnic site. These moorings form a first phase for the planned ultimate river boat service to link to Yarwell Junction Station.

Update - 12th April 2006 by Roger Manns

During the last two weeks, from Monday 27th March to Friday 7th April, trackwork has taken place at Yarwell in preparation for a new station to hopefully be opened in 2007.

I would like to offer a massive thank you to both Nene Valley Railway volunteers, the personnel and officers of 79 Railway Squadron and the Royal Engineers without whom this extensive trackwork project could not have been completed.

The works were undertaken safely, to budget and, importantly, delivered on time to enable passenger services to be re-instated from 8th April.

Again my most grateful thanks to everyone who helped on this project.

A gallery of pictures taken during the work can be found here.

Update - 13th February 2006 by Hannah Hackett

Platform at Yarwell:

• The army is coming to assist the NVR civils gang for two weeks at the end of March/beginning of April to do the trackwork associated with the project and to put in a much needed siding.
• The Probation Service has assisted by clearing the site of vegetation.
• Spoil has been moved from Wansford site to Yarwell and trackbed preparation has started.
• Royal Haskoning have recently been awarded the contract for the design of the works at Yarwell and NVR and the Environment Agency met with them on 1st February for discussions. They will design the platform and station building and work is scheduled to start in September/October 2006. (Construction of the station building is subject to funding.)

Moorings at Wansford Station:

• The Environment Agency carried out bore-hole tests on the picnic site at the end of last year and, unfortunately, met a layer of limestone only a metre below water level.
• The EA then commissioned Drake's Towage to carry out bore hole tests on the river bed.
• The presence of limestone so close to the surface has meant that the EA are looking at alternatives to the standard piling in the construction of the moorings.
• They have scheduled the construction of the moorings for September 2006.

Steam Launch & Boathouse:

Candy Reed from the Environment Agency and I have been seeking funding for this and have just completed an application which would give a substantial amount towards the cost of the launch. Fingers crossed!

Moorings at the Haycock and Yarwell for the steam launch:

These will be pursued on acquisition of the launch.

Update - 29th January 2006 by Roger Manns

The single line diagrams below show the changes: