North Yorkshire Moors Railway

North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Three LNER Class A4 locomotives at Grosmont loco shed.
Locale North Yorkshire
Terminus Whitby and Pickering
Connections Network Rail (at Grosmont)
Commercial operations
Name North Eastern Railway
Built by George Stephenson
Original gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Operated by North Yorkshire Moors Railway Enterprises Plc
Stations 6
Length 18 miles (29 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Commercial history
Opened 1836
Closed 1965
Preservation history
1967 NYMR Preservation Society formed
1 May 1973 NYMR reopened
1975 Pickering re-opened officially
1981 Newton Dale halt opened to the Public
2007 Services extended (via National Network metals) to Whitby
2012 Pickering railway station re-roofed (station roof re-instated) for the first time in 60 years.
Headquarters Pickering, North Yorkshire
Website
www.nymr.co.uk

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England running through the North York Moors National Park. 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 then important seaport of Whitby. The line closed in 1965 and was reopened in 1973 by the North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. The preserved line is now a significant tourist attraction and has been awarded many industry accolades.

Overview

The NYMR carries more passengers than any other heritage railway in the UK and may be the busiest steam heritage line in the world, carrying 355,000 passengers in 2010.[1] The 18-mile (29 km)[2] railway is the third-longest standard gauge heritage line in the United Kingdom, after the West Somerset Railway (22.75 miles (36.61 km)) and the Wensleydale Railway (22 miles (35 km)), and runs across the North York Moors from Pickering via Levisham, Newton Dale, Goathland and terminating at Grosmont.

Some heritage rail operations continue along Network Rail tracks to Whitby. The railway is formed from 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 Accredited 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 to the end of October and on weekends and selected holidays during the winter (with no service from 24–27 December). 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. The extension of steam operated services to the seaside town of Whitby has proved extremely popular.

On 26 October 2009 the railway launched NYMR TV on its website and on YouTube, produced by two local journalists David Dunning and Wendy Homewood. NYMR TV provides exclusive footage and interviews reflecting life on and around the line and is updated every month.

History

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Legend
Whitby
Bog Hall Junction
Larpool Viaduct- over River Esk
Ruswarp
Sleights
Grosmont National Rail
- - Esk Valley Line
Grosmont Tunnel (144 yards)
Deviation Junction
Grosmont Viaduct- Over Murk Esk
Beckhole
"Bridge 30"- over Eller Beck
Goathland (Old)
Goathland (New)
Moorgates
Newton Dale Halt
Levisham
Farwath
New Bridge
High Mill
Pickering
Bridge Street
Mill Lane
Gilling-Pickering Line, Forge Valley Line
Y&NMR to Rillington

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 then important seaport of Whitby. The initial railway was 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 120-yard tunnel through rock at Grosmont, constructing a rope-worked incline system at Beck Hole and traversing the marshy and 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 Beck Hole 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 1860s the North Eastern Railway started construction of an alternative route which opened in 1865 – this is the route which is still in use today. The original route is now a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) rail trail 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; the last passenger service ran on 6 March 1965 with freight continuing until July 1966. The line was used in June 1965 to house the Royal Train for the Duke of Edinburgh's visit to the RAF Fylingdales early warning station.

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 1970s (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, with much of the traction provided by the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group.

The preserved line is now a significant tourist attraction and has been awarded many industry accolades.

Stations

BR 76079 arrives in Goathland station

Locomotives

Future and possibility of expansion

The possibility of reopening the 'missing "8 mile (13 km)" section' between Malton via Rillington Junction (on the York – Malton – Scarborough Line) and Pickering has often been discussed. It is included in a list of rail lines, where campaigns exist for reopening, issued by the Campaign for Better Transport[5][6]

This might allow the running of steam services from York to Whitby again (or even Scarborough to Whitby, if the short lived curve towards Scarborough were reinstated too). To achieve this would require considerable engineering work, not least in getting out of Pickering where a new road and several houses have been built on the track bed, just north of Kirby.

Reinstating this missing rail link was adopted as a policy objective by the North Yorkshire County Council some years ago; the NYMHRT board agreed to support this policy in principle, whilst having reservations about its implementation.

A more detailed discussion of this topic, with some of the possible advantages and disadvantages from the NYMR point of view can be found in the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Conservation Management Plan (available from the NYMR).

Hopes for this have been dampened as of October 2014 with reports that the Managing Director of the NYMR stating that they did not support any trains running alongside their tracks.[7][8]

Bridge & Wheels Appeal

In March 2009, the railway announced that bridge 30 over the Eller Beck at Darnholme near Goathland needed to be repaired/replaced over the winter of late-2009/early-2010, otherwise the railway would be forced to close. The railway therefore launched an appeal to raise £1 million to cover the costs of the bridge work with any excess raised going towards the restoration of locomotive 80135. £610,000 was raised in time,[9] and the bridge was replaced over the winter-Christmas/new year period of late-2009/early-2010, with the first trains crossing over the new bridge in March 2010. The bridge was formally opened by Pete Waterman on 27 March 2010.[10]

However, the next bridge located a few metres between the tunnel & level crossing at Grosmont is likely to be the next in line for replacement according to a source on the BBC's Look North report.

Special events

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

War-Time Weekend

Other special events include a Vintage Vehicle Weekend, Music on the Moors and a Wizard Weekend.

TV and film appearances

The railway has been seen both on television and in film. Michael Palin hosted/produced an episode of the first series of Great Railway Journeys of the World, titled "Confessions of a Train Spotter". Filmed during late July/early August 1980, it featured a 15-minute segment filmed as he traveled the entire railway and visited the repair shops. The station at Goathland has been used as Hogsmeade Station in the Harry Potter films,[11] the New 2016 Dad's Army Film [12] and Aidensfield in the popular sixties drama Heartbeat.[13] Pickering Station was used in the film Possession and Keeping Mum. Other appearances include Casualty, Brideshead Revisited, All Creatures Great and Small, The Royal, Poirot, the Sherlock Holmes television series, and the film Testament of Youth. The railway has also featured in the documentary Yorkshire Steam, which ran for two series on local television, and in the second series of Great British Railway Journeys. Goathland station features in the 1985 music video for Simply Red's Holding Back the Years, along with BR Standard Class 4MT Tank No. 80135. The railway has also appeared in a series of "Thomas and Friends" learning segments, with LNER Class A4 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley.

Accidents and Incidents

Awards

Gallery

North Yorkshire Moors Railway and surrounding lines 
LMS 45407 leaving Whitby on the Esk Valley section of the NYMR 
ex-NER Class T2 at Grosmont station (2008) 
Goathland station (2003) 
ex-British Rail Class 25 with train (2004) 

References

  1. "End of the line for Philip after 12 glorious years on the railway". Whitby Gazette. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. "North Yorkshire Moors Railway - About Us". North Yorkshire Moors Railway website. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  3. http://www.thetrainofthought.co.uk/
  4. "North Yorkshire Moors Railway's new platform opens". BBC News (BBC). 16 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  5. http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/re-opening-rail-lines
  6. Howell, Rhys (12 September 2014). "Campaign aims to restore rail link". Whitby Gazette. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  7. "Businessman David Reall backs reopening of Pickering to Rillington rail link". Northern Echo. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  8. Howell, Rhys (10 October 2014). "End of the line for rail link campaign?". Whitby Gazette. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  9. "Grants for railway bridge appeal". BBC News York & North Yorkshire (BBC). 28 November 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  10. "Pete Waterman opens railway bridge on North York Moors". BBC News York & North Yorkshire (BBC). 19 April 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  11. "Harry Potter And The Locations Of Filming". Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  12. http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/local/dad-s-army-movie-to-be-filmed-on-historic-railway-1-6887045
  13. http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/outandabout/film_tv_locations.htm
  14. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270789/Railway-fanatic-crushed-death-steam-train-slipped-wrong-gear-trapped-carriages.html
  15. 1 2 NYMR Press Release, 21 November 2007, giving details of 2007 awards.
  16. announced on NYMR web site, 27 November 2007.
  17. "Visit York’s Annual Tourism Awards – Winners Announced". Visit York. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.

Further reading

External links

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