North York Moors Railway

We have had a coffee morning on the North York Moors Railway ( hereafter NYMR ). We started from Pickering and travelled to Grosmont, a few miles south of Whitby, and back again. Along the route we were plied with coffee, cakes, scones and a glass of sherry.

The NYMR is a heritage railway and one of the larger ones in the UK. With a nucleus of professional staff it is largely run by volunteers. The route is some 20 miles across the N York moors National Park. It is hard to imagine it was ever much of a commercial success although ironstone mining was a significant industry years ago. The passenger traffic would have been small as the stations are at small villages and often geography dictates quite far away from them. The villages with stations are Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont. There is a tiny halt not reached by road,berween Levisham and Goathland for use by hikers. At Grosmont the line joins the National Rail network from Teeside to Whitby. A major feature of the NYMR is that limited services carry to on Whitby with a couple of the steam engines approved to travel on the national rail line. Whitby station is fairly unique in being shared by National Rail and NYMR.

The service from Pickering to Whitby is purely a tourist route and not for serious travel. At one time the line continued south of Pickering but the line was taken up years ago. The rolling stock is a miscellany. Pride of the locomotives is 4-6-2 “Sir Nigel Gresley”. This streamlined engine was built by LNER as a one of its flagship class on the London-Edinburgh route by the East Coast main line. Our service was hauled by a unnamed former LNER loco while we passed 4-4-0 “Repton” former southern region a couple of times. At present “Sir Nigel Gresley” is undergoing heavy maintenance at the National Railway Museum at York.

We were in a first class coach built in 1935 with armchair type seats in pairs facing one another on either side of a central gangway. We were served coffee, scones and cakes concluding with a glass of sherry. Our fellow passengers were much amused by the ornate toilet compartment with a decorated toilet bowl. The carriage also featured a small bar, a kitchen and a meeting area with seats for at least a dozen. It also had a small observation area at the end which was also the end of the train.

In general the view is rather restricted. Of necessity the line follows the valleys so the general sensation is one of riding through wooded giant cuttings. The lush vegetation is impressive. The road from Pickering gives a better idea of the sweep of the open moors. The road also has the massive hills and valleys which the railway doesn’t have. The road has a steady slow climb out of Pickering until quite suddenly there is a transition from agriculture to a vast vista of moorland. The moorland road has some the biggest inclines I have seen. The route has won the most scenic in England award.

There has recently been a short TV series on the NYMR. I jokingly asked for the autograph of one of the stars, nickname Piglet, the head of maintenance. Our attendant pointed him out on the platform and I got a cheery wave as he walked past. We took great interest as Martin and family volunteer on the railway. Strictly Ellen is too young but as the family are well known to the organiser of the young volunteers she will be joining in the weekend shortly. The whole family will spend a night under canvas by the railway.

Our previous experience of the NYMR has been their “wartime” weekend which is a sort of combination re-enactment and giant party. We have been highly amused as Levisham is transformed into Le Visham as a French wartime station. In the past it has been “occupied” by German re-enactors  but apparently this aroused adverse comment and they are not to be included this year. The staff at Le Visham with berets and onions fully entered into the spirit of the transformation. I was astounded by how many people turned up in various uniforms apart from the actors themselves; I was very lightly disguised as a 40’s civilian in overcoat and hat.

The event is not just on the NYMR as Pickering is en fete for the occasion. The town is absolutely packed with  many displays and events some of which appeared only loosely connected to wartime

Our carriage bar and seating