ghost's Recent Activity
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ghost liked 35B's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
As you'd expect given my views of governance at other railways, I think this is an excellent idea, and should be regarded as a high priority. But. But. All the modifications in the world will only equate to moving the deckchairs on the Titanic...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:22 PM -
ghost liked Kirk Oswald's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I don't think either Grosmont or Pickering are looking for handouts or railway funding, just action to restore confidence and a resurgence in passenger numbers. If that could be achieved consequential benefit to local business would automatically...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:20 PM -
ghost liked Jamessquared's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I might be wrong, but I think that is the sort of future that @jnc has been mooting. It does presuppose that there is a meaningful amount of money available from supporters who have the best interests of the railway at heart, but who are...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:18 PM -
ghost liked Jark91's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
This isn't quite true though is it? Or not that relevant. "End" of the line is true on a technicality only. Grosmont is the operational hub. I don't know if your wife disliking it is a good enough case for the railway not having a responsibility...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:16 PM -
ghost liked Sawdust's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
What radical change? The basic problem is for those that are worried about the future of the line is that there is nothing forthcoming from those in charge about how they are going to escape the current doom loop, other than carrying on as is in...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:16 PM -
ghost liked 35B's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
My apologies for pulling this sentence out of a longer post, but I think it's absolutely at the heart of the current issues. It's a truism hat leadership does sometimes require taking unpopular decisions. Like most truisms, it's also a half...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:10 PM -
ghost liked MellishR's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
There seems some uncertainty as to what steam locos were available for traffic and therefore how much steam operation there might have been in the absence of fire risk; but anyway in some periods there was hardly any apart from Tornado. Insofar...
Sep 23, 2026 at 10:06 PM -
ghost liked Kirk Oswald's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
Steve makes an important point and, as is usual with Steve, he is right to do so. The divisions are now so deep and so fundamental that I don't think they can be reconciled if nothing changes. I'm very clearly on one side of that division. I...
Sep 23, 2026 at 9:58 PM -
ghost liked pmh_74's post in the thread Bridge that Gap: Great Central Railway News.
People are strange creatures, aren't they? A video link is posted to a forum. Some people watch the video. Fine. Others take time to tell anybody who will listen that they don't watch videos. Also fine, I guess. But, you could just go to the...
Sep 23, 2026 at 9:30 PM -
ghost liked 21B's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
De-notification is possible, just highly exceptional and usually only occurs when the environment is changed irrevocably. But I think we may be in a cul de sac here. The SSSI worries don’t seem to be an issue when it suits.
Sep 23, 2026 at 5:26 AM -
ghost liked Jark91's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
A lot of repeat custom will be lost if people turn up expecting steam and get diesel haulage. During a hot, dry summer that will be forgiven but at other times of year not. Especially when it's badly or not at all communicated. Even last week...
Sep 22, 2026 at 9:51 PM -
ghost liked 35B's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I said earlier that I was really uncomfortable with this view. Your expansion crystallises why. Firstly, this is a decision about fire risk. That is a safety decision, but you are introducing a commercial dimension where the safety decision...
Sep 22, 2026 at 9:48 PM -
ghost liked Sawdust's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
If non celebrity steam is just as important to the customer who pays for it and believe me it is, past trends tell me it is. Then why should celebrity steam be any different. You are basically saying one set of customers matter and the others...
Sep 22, 2026 at 4:23 PM -
ghost liked 35B's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
If I'm honest, that's not a very comforting answer. It suggests, slightly to my surprise, that absolute safety decisions are actually subjective, relative, and determined by revenue. It also omits the minor issues that a) diesel substitution is...
Sep 22, 2026 at 4:19 PM -
ghost replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
So normal trains can't run because of the SSSI, but if a celeb loco turns up then all the nice words about responsibility and the SSSI go out the window? If it's possible to run Tornado by using mitigation measures then why couldn't normal...
Sep 22, 2026 at 1:39 PM
