NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY

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The 'North Yorkshire Moors Railway' (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England.

Contents

Overview

History

Stations

Locomotives

Steam locomotives

Diesel Locomotives And Shunters

Diesel Multiple Units

Special Events

TV and Film Appearances

Awards

External links

References

Overview

The 18-mile line is the second-longest heritage line in the United Kingdom and runs across the North York Moors from Pickering via Levisham, Newton Dale and Goathland to Grosmont. It is the middle section of the former Whitby, Pickering and Malton line which was closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts.

The NYMR is owned by the North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd (a Charitable Trust and Registered Museum) and is operated by its wholly owned subsidiary North Yorkshire Moors Railway Enterprises Plc.. It is mostly operated and staffed by volunteers.
Trains run every day from the beginning of April and the end of October, plus selected dates through the winter. Trains are mostly steam-hauled; however in some cases heritage diesel is used. At the height of the running timetable, trains depart hourly from each station. As well as the normal passenger running, there are dining services on some evenings and weekends. Recently, during summer months, steam services have extended to the seaside town of Whitby. Passenger numbers have exceeded 300,000 in recent years.

History

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway was first opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway. The railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the coastal town of Whitby. The railway was initially designed and built to be used by horse-drawn carriages. Construction was carried out by navvies and coordinated by top engineers. Their three main achievements were cutting a 110 m tunnel through rock at Grosmont, constructing a rope worked incline system at Beck Hole and traversing the deep Fen Bog using a bed of timber and sheep fleeces. The tunnel is believed to be one of the oldest railway tunnels in the world. In its first year of operation, the railway carried 10,000 tons of stone from Grosmont to Whitby, as well as 6,000 passengers, who paid a fare of 1 shilling to sit on the roof of a coach, or 1 shilling and 3 pence to sit inside. It took two and a half hours to travel from Whitby to Pickering.
In 1845, the railway was acquired by the York and North Midland Railway who re-engineered the line to allow the use of steam locomotives. They also constructed the permanent stations and other structures along the line which still remain today. The Beckhole Incline was re-equipped with a steam powered stationary engine and iron rope. They also added the line south from Pickering so that the line had a connection to York and London.

In 1854 the York and North Midland Railway became part of the North Eastern Railway.

Steam locomotives could not operate on the Beck Hole incline; so in the early 1860's the North Eastern Railway started construction of an alternate route which opened in 1865 - this is the route which is still in use today. The original route is now a pleasant walk named the ''Historic Rail Trail''.

In 1923 the North Eastern Railway was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921.

In 1948 nationalisation meant that British Railways took control.

During this time, little changed on the line. However, in his controversial report, Dr Beeching declared that the Whitby-Pickering line was uneconomic and listed it for closure, which took place in 1965.
This was not the end for the Whitby to Pickering railway. In 1967, the NYMR Preservation Society was formed, and negotiations began for the purchase of the line. After running various Open Weekends and Steam Galas during the early 1970's (by permission of British Railways} the NYMRPS transformed itself into a Charitable Trust (to ensure the future of the railway) and became The North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. Purchase of the line was completed and the necessary Light Railway Order obtained, giving powers to operate the railway. The railway was able to reopen for running in 1973 as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Since then, the preserved line has gone from strength to strength, and is now a major tourist attraction.

Stations

★ Pickering railway station is the southern terminus of the railway and serves the busy market town of Pickering. The station has recently been restored to its 1937 condition with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Original fixtures and fittings have been installed in the Booking Office and Parcels Office, as well as in the Tea Room. A park-and-ride service is provided to keep traffic out of the town during busy periods. The station is home to the railway's carriage workshops, and there is also a turntable. It is possible that in the future an authentic G.T.Andrews type overall roof will be restored to the station. Originally, the line continued south of Pickering to join the Malton to Scarborough line at Rillington Junction but this track has since been lifted.

★ Levisham railway station is a small countryside station set in the scenic Newton Dale valley. The location of the station is notable, as it is nearly two miles from the village which it serves, and whose name it takes. The area is ideal for walking and a wide variety of wildlife and flowers can be found within a short distance of the station. Levisham Station has been renovated and preserved to represent a small NER country station, circa 1912. The station has a traditional camping coach, which is let for holidays.

★ Newton Dale Halt is a remote walkers' request stop. There are excellent walks and beautiful scenery within easy reach.

★ Goathland railway station is another typical countryside station, almost unchanged since its construction in 1865. The station has been restored to represent an NER country station post World War 1 circa 1922. The station is popular with tourists due to its appearances in Yorkshire TV's ''Heartbeat'' and the ''Harry Potter'' films (see below). The station has a newly refurbished Tea Room which is inside a Goods Warehouse. The station also has a traditional camping coach, which is let for holidays.

★ Grosmont railway station is the old northern terminus, and houses the locomotive sheds. The station itself has been restored to the British Railways style circa 1955. The shed area has facilities to provide water and coal for the engines, as well as stabling. The sheds are also used for the maintenance and overhaul of the engines. At Grosmont, the line connects with the Network Rail operated Esk Valley Line, where passengers may change trains to travel to the coast at Whitby, or inland to Middlesbrough and the rest of the national network. Thus platform one of the station is served by Northern Rail services, whilst platforms two, three and four are used by the NYMR.

★ Whitby railway station is the new northern terminus of the NYMR as of 2007. There will now be regular trains to Whitby from Pickering throughout the year.

Locomotives

Steam locomotives

Number & Name	Description	Disposition
80135	BR 2-6-4T Class 4MT	Operational.
30926 ''Repton''	SR 4-4-0 Schools Class	Operational.
29	Lambton Collieries 0-6-2T	Operational.
75029	BR 4-6-0 Class 4MT	Operational.
45212	LMS 4-6-0 Class 5MT	Operational.
6619	GWR 0-6-2T 5600 Class	Operational.
60007 ''Sir Nigel Gresley''	LNER 4-6-2 Class A4	Operational
62005 ''Lord of the Isles''	LNER 2-6-0 Class K1	Operational - Currently based at Fort William for Railtour commitments.
5224	GWR 2-8-0 GWR 5205 Class	Operational
49395	LNWR 0-8-0 G2a	Operational, on loan from the National Railway Museum
3814	GWR 2-8-0 2884 Class	Awaiting a major restoration.
44767 ''George Stephenson''	LMS 4-6-0 Class 5MT	Undergoing overhaul at Hepscott.
45428 ''Eric Treacy''	LMS 4-6-0 Class 5MT	Undergoing overhaul.
2238	NER 0-8-0 Class T2/LNER Class Q6	Restoration completed, painted as BR Q6 63395, awaiting debut to service
69023 ''Joem''	NER J72 Class J72	Undergoing overhaul at Darlington, recently re-wheeled and boiler work started, planned to be completed in 2008.
30825	SR 4-6-0 Class S15	Currently at East Lancashire Railway for contract repairs.
30830	SR 4-6-0 Class S15	Undergoing restoration.
30841	SR 4-6-0 Class S15	Awaiting overhaul.
34101 ''Hartland''	SR 4-6-2 West Country Class	Undergoing overhaul.
3180 ''Antwerp''	WD 0-6-0ST Class J94	In storage.
3672 ''Dame Vera Lynn''	WD Austerity 2-10-0	At Grosmont located in the sidings next to the Deviation Shed (awaiting overhaul).
5	Lambton Collieries 0-6-2T	Undergoing overhaul, planned to be complete in 2009.
2253	USA 2-8-0 Class S160	In storage, awaiting sale.

Diesel Locomotives And Shunters

Number & Name	Description	Status
DSRM No 1 Ron Rothwell	DSRM 0-4-0	Operational.
DSRM No 2	DSRM 0-4-0	Awaiting repairs.
No 2	BR 0-4-0 88D	Awaiting repairs.
2207	BR 0-6-0 Class 04	New wheels needed.
D4018	BR 0-6-0 Class 08	In service.
08556	BR 0-6-0 Class 08	Operational.
12139 ''Neil Barker''	BR 0-6-0 Class 11	Operational.
D5032 ''Helen Turner''	BR Bo-Bo Class 24	Undergoing Overhaul.
D5061 ''Experiment''	BR Bo-Bo Class 24	Undergoing repairs.
D7541 ''The Diana''	BR Bo-Bo Class 25	In store, pending removal by new owner. Grosmont sidings
D7628 ''Sybilla''	BR Bo-Bo Class 25	Operational. Is now Main Line certified
D200	BR 1Co-Co1 Class 40	Awaiting repairs - On loan from the National Railway Museum
50027 ''Lion''	BR Co-Co Class 50	Operational.

Diesel Multiple Units

Number	Description	Formed of	Disposition
101680	BR Class 101	51511 + 53204	Operational.
205205	BR Class 205	60110 + 70547 + 60810	New wheel set needed Found awaiting time to fit.

Special Events

The NYMR runs several special events through the year, usually revolving around a particular theme.


★ Steam and Diesel Galas are weekend events popular with heritage railway enthusiasts. On these days, a full timetabled service is run alongside extra trains, such as local shuttle services and demonstration freight trains. Trains may also be double-headed, where two engines are used in tandem to haul a train. This is particularly spectacular when two steam trains work together.

★ The War-Time Weekend is a demonstration of the operation of railways in the UK during the Second World War. The stations are decorated to appear as they would in war time: sandbags are used around entrances, windows are taped up and station names are covered. Many period re-enactors attend in military or civilian costume to add to the authenticity. Periodic entertainment takes place, and there are events such as mock air-raids. Usually a period dance and a military parade will take place; also a wreath is laid in memory of those railwaymen who have died in service as a result of war.

★ On a Day Out With Thomas, the engines are transformed to resemble the fictional characters from Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The Fat Controller provides entertainment and the naughty Diesel can be seen shunting some troublesome trucks.

★ Santa Special trains are run in the Christmas period, complete with Elves, Santa's Grotto, presents and mince pies. The winter scenery of the North Yorkshire Moors adds to the charm of these events.
Other special events include a vintage vehicle weekend, music on the moors and the wizard weekend.

TV and Film Appearances

The railway has been seen both on television and in film. The station at Goathland has been used as both Hogsmeade Station in the ''Harry Potter'' films, and Aidensfield in the popular sixties drama ''Heartbeat''. Pickering Station was used in the film ''Possession''. Other appearances include ''Casualty'', ''Brideshead Revisited'', ''All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Poirot'' and ''Sherlock Holmes'' television series. The railway has also featured in a documentary series for local television.

Awards

★ Visitor Attraction of the Year, 1995 (Yorkshire and Humberside Tourist Board)

★ 1990 Ian Allan Railway Heritage Awards, Commendation for the wooden Waiting Room / Booking Office, re-located from Sleights to the extended down platform at Grosmont.

★ 1999 National Railway Heritage Awards, Railway World category, Commendation for the renovation, almost amounting to rebuilding, of Levisham waiting and ladies room, including the provision of a completely new ‘period’ interior with in-style ladies toilets

★ 2000 National Railway Heritage Awards, Ian Allan Publishing Award, for the renovation of the Goods Shed and the coal and lime cells at Goathland in 1999, including the conversion of the Goods Shed into a café using restored open wagons to provide seating.

★ 2001 National Railway Heritage Awards, Westinghouse Signalling Award, for the new signal box at Grosmont built to an 1870’s design.

★ 2006 National Railway Heritage Award, for the provision of staff, public and disabled toilet facilities adjacent to Goathland Goods Shed in a converted goods van; thus providing these essential facilities in a manner that blended in with their surroundings.

External links

★ North Yorkshire Moors Railway website

★ NYMR Diesels website

★ Unofficial NYMR Forum website

References

★ NYMR Guide to the Line Booklet

★ NYMR home page