Road and rail steam come together to celebrate a Golden Jubilee. May Day Bank Holid

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Bressingham Steam Museum in Norfolk is this year celebrating 50 years since its founder Alan Bloom laid the 2’ gauge Nursery Railway and re-introduced narrow gauge steam to East Anglia.

The main celebration will be a special Heritage Steam Gala held over the bank holiday weekend of 30th April, 1st and 2nd of May, to which a number of special road and rail steam engines have been invited.

Locomotives DeWinton “Chaloner” and unique Baguley “Rishra” will be visiting from the Leighton Buzzard Railway. They will join the home fleet for an intensive service which will include demonstration freight trains and some double heading on the Nursery Railway. Large Quarry Hunslet “George Sholto” which opened the line in 1966 is also rostered for all three days.

Away from the rails, Bressingham's own resident road engines (Garrett 4cd “Bunty”, Burrell Roller “Buster" and Burrell single crank compound portable) will be joined by many visiting engines as the museum is working closer than ever with other organisations in the area. Several engines from the Burrell museum in Thetford have been invited, including a steamroller and the showman’s engine “Queen Mary” which should be generating for Bressingham's Victorian Gallopers.

All of the narrow gauge and miniature railways will be operating a steam service (2’, 15”, 10.25” and 7.25” gauge). The Victorian beam engine will also be in operation.

There will also be the opportunity to inspect standard gauge locomotive A1X terrier “Martello” of 1875 in the final stages of its overhaul, raising the prospect of a return of standard gauge steam to Bressingham later this year. Early quarry Hunslet “Gwynedd” will also be on show but its overhaul is unlikely to be complete in time for this event.