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NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILROAD
Steam Heritage Railway Celebrates 175 Years
The
English moors, those forlorn nearly barren lands of scruffy brush and bogs
evoked in Sherlock Holmes stories of hounds and Dickens’ escaping
criminals are the stuff of moody color and mystery. In North Yorkshire
a national park is dedicated to preserving this natural native English
landscape
and one of England’s most popular heritage railway runs right through
the heart of it, steam locomotives chugging through the low rolling hills.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railroad runs from a station in Pickering,
about an hour from the city of York (see Walking
York Walls) to the coastal port
town of Whitby, where the somber haunting ruins of Whitby Abbey help
inspire Bram Stoker to conjure a vampire named Dracula, and from whence
Captain Cook sailed for his round the world sailing discoveries (see Whitby
Abbey - Bram Stoker and Captain Cook). It is through the
Yorkshire moors that the train in the "Harry Potter" movies heads to
Hogwarts.
175th Anniversary Rail Festival - Apr 29-May 8 2011
The Whitby & Pickering
line of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway first opened in 1836 celebrates
its 175th Anniversary in 2011 with a 10 Day Rail Festival from Friday April
29th to Sunday May 8th. The event marks the completion of the ten year
restoration of Picketing Station. Special attractions will run each day,
including a demonstration running of the early “Rocket” and “Planet” steam
engine (replicas) famously competing for the right to power the first passenger
line of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (see Manchester
Science & Industry
Museum). The race was won by Robert Stephensons “Rocket”. It
was Stephenson’s father, George Stephenson who built the line from
Pickering across the moors to the coast port of Whitby.
As many as eleven steam locomotives are expected to be in operation during
the Festival, with some added diesel engines the weekend in May. Also making
an appearance for the special event, the mighty ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ locomotive
which holds the post-war record for speed by a steam engine, the ‘The
Duke of Gloucester’, the last express passenger steam engine built
for British Railways, celebrating its 57th birthday on May 1st, and an ‘NER’ coach
from the Open Air Museum at Beamish (see Beamish
Durham).
On Sundays May 1st and May 8th some services will run on the Esk Valley line
between Whitby and Battersby. An evening excursion along this picturesque
line along the northern fringes of the North York Moors, including a ‘pie
and pea’ supper will run to Battersby on the evening of Tuesday May
3rd
pulled by the ‘Duke of Gloucester’. Adult fares for
each day start at £20 round trip return, with multi-day
rover tickets starting at £32. An ‘all-event’ ticket can
also be purchased for £175 which includes the mid-week Battersby excursion
and a ride behind each of the historic replica engines.
The
NYMR line travels for 18 miles through the beautiful national park
country side, with stops at historic stations evoking days past,
with opportunities for nature walks, sight-seeing, lunches and dining
experiences.
Pickering Station has been restored to how it stood in 1937, a step
back
in time, with a tea room and booking & parcels office with original
furnishings and features. Levisham Station is a stop in the Newton
Dale Valley, which remains much as it was in 1912, perfect
for wildlife and
flower walks. Goathland village was used as the location for a British
television series made famous as “Aidenfield”. The Grosmont
station has been the principal terminus of the line, refurbished
as a classic English railway station of the 1950’s where a
look into the locomotive sheds is a must for enthusiasts. In Whitby,
take a trip to the abbey ruins or visit Captain Cook’s house and
museum, and have some authentic English Fish and Chips.
On
weekend and holidays, the North Yorkshire Moors Railroad offers luxury
dining and Sunday brunch trains, with “Orient Express” style
dinner service. In summer the line runs a Murder Mystery Train and
in winter months December to New Year, a unique Christmas Moorlander
Diner
Train presents an opportunity to enjoy the moors in winter from the
cozy comfort of a first class dining coach. For steam rail enthusiasts,
the
NYMR also offers an opportunity to learn how to operate a restored
steam locomotive, through its Taster, Sampler
and Meal learning course. The eating references represent 1 to 5
day courses, ranging from a one day lunch and behind the scenes
tour and workshop talks on railroading, to a full course of hands-on
instruction on all aspects of locomotive and railway operation, including
signaling, boiler management, braking and lubrication, with participants
taking turns firing and driving the engines on passenger runs. So
if you’ve ever wanted to be a steam rail engineer motorman, this
is the place. The courses are open to anyone from age 16 to 70 who
is physically
fit.
And if you just want to ride on the footplate a special ticket is available
for that, too.
Visiting
NYMR Pickering
For regular operations Standard Tickets range from £14 for adults, £12
for seniors and £7 for children for all day travel between Pickering
and Grosmont. A Family Ticket is available for £30 for two adults
and up to four kids. From Pickering to Whitby is £20 for adults
and £12
for kids. The line runs daily from March to the end of October and
weekends in the winter. Pickering can be reached by car from the
A170 between
Scarborough and Thirsk. Whitby can reached along the Whitby Coast
Road. There are
no
British national rail connections to Pickering, though Whitby can
be reached by rail from Middlesborough on the Esk Valley line. By
bus,
the Coastline Bus Service runs from Leeds and York to Pickering and
Whitby. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Find the best travel deals in North Yorkshire at TripAdvisor
Stay
in Pickering
Best Western
Forest & Vale Hotel
Web Info
North Yorkshire Moors Railroad
Coastliner
Bus Service
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
See Also:
DIDCOT
RAILWAY CENTRE OXFORDSHIRE
LOCOMOTION NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM SHILDON
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