North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion

For the September steam gala?

 

Forget Snape slow road away from railway, use A 169 for Goathland and Grosmont, expect to pay for parking. Take first left sign for Goathland, then drive back up over the bridge to A 169, next left takes you to Grosmont. As well as the station shop there is mainly second hand model shop in the loco shed access by foot through the tunnel.

 

It makes sense for the Summer season as this is rapidly becoming the year of the diesel with the various hot periods, but I'd suspect they are talking to engine owners about the Gala. You never know if the weather carries on the way it has so far there may be some engine owners trying to make up some usage fees due to the amount of non-running days this year. It might open up some interesting options for the railway.

 

It's shaping up to be like 1976.
I was at the diesel gala and thoroughly enjoyed it. The railcar is excellent and runs well.

The kindness and helpfulness of the staff was a stand out feature.

 

To be honest, the slow tiny roads are part of the attraction for me!

 

In that case take the B1363 north out of York and head for Hovingham, Nunnington, Kirkbymoorside, Hutton-le-Hole, Rosedale Abbey, Egton Bridge and Grosmont. Its very slow, very steep, very scenic and littered with sheep. Should tick all the boxes for you. Enjoy.

Peter

 

Just coming back to this - does that mean the railway was considering hiring in a steam loco as cover over summer?
If so, presumably a Whitby-friendly machine was needed… in which case the only things I can think of that might have been available are either 45699 or 44932?

Also, someone mentioned earlier about the location of the Stape volunteer accommodation. Having driven past today… it really is in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Who thought that was a good idea, and why?!

 

This was regarding the steam gala, railway was being cautious incase of the continued dry spell lasts throughout the rest of the summer and beyond.

As I said, fact of fiction - time will tell along with the great british weather!

 

Hopefully there will be some rain soon on the Moors to change the thinking then. I can't think of any other railway that hasn't announced what the plans are for Autumn Galas yet. A lot of them are selling Santa Special tickets as well already but no mention of them on the NYMR either.

 

The answer to that perfectly reasonable question is that Stape was always intended to be a facility to encourage volunteering by groups using it for a few days at a time rather than as traditional volunteer accommodation. Its primary purpose is to provide an opportunity for such groups to experience volunteering in areas such as lineside conservation. A facility that had that objective was a fundamental part of the Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey project that amongst other benefits helped fund the carriage stable and the vital replacement of two bridges. Without including a centre like Stape ( now known as the Outstation) the rest of the YMJ project would have been at risk. An exhaustive evaluation of every other property option established that at the time only the Outstation could tick the necessary grant enabling boxes at a cost that was within the YMJ project cost envelope. Every train that today can pass over bridges 24 and 25 is testimony to why the only viable accommodation option was a good idea.

 

In view of other comments, that response raises as many questions as it answers. To put the question another way, if a would-be volunteer doing a "traditional" operational role is beyond reasonable driving distance, what accommodation options are available to them without renting self-catering/paying for general B&B/hotel?

 

It's interesting that the press release put out by the HLF when the grant was awarded said "Building a new volunteer hostel at Grosmont." so they obviously thought things would be different. It would be even more interesting to read what was put in the the NYMR's original application to the HLF. I'm sure that the original intent was not as described by John Bailey. Having said that, I readily admit that HLF projects can and do change as they progress.

 

Dead right Steve. The original intent was to provide better quality volunteer accommodation to supplement what is currently available at Grosmont, Goathland and Levisham Ideally there would be quality volunteer accommodation at a convenient location in Pickering although , in fairness, of those who responded to the recent volunteer survey 91% said they had no interest in it wherever it’s provided . Nevertheless for some it’s really important and in the context of the expectations of fatique management likely to become more so. The problem was that despite intensive analysis and costing of various options there was nothing else that could fit within funding parameters of the YMJ project. To keep that on track Stape was included as a facility for the enhancement of volunteering experiences targeted at groups rather than individuals. Its obvious drawback as routine volunteer accommodation is that it’s six miles from the fleshpots of Pickering but as well as the other options it is used by some volunteers who appreciate the standard of the facilities on offer. Nevertheless decent volunteer accommodation in Pickering should be a priority even if it’s apparently of no benefit to the majority of volunteers.

 

But the HLF press release said "Building an new volunteer hostel." Tio get anywhere with the HLF there must have been concrete plans to do that. The HLF would not go with a pie in the sky scheme. They require ownership or long leases on land to even consider it. So, what went wrong?
Turning attention to your very correct statement that volunteer accommodation at Pickering should be a priority, what about the Station Hotel which currently stands empty and is in the ownership of the Railway? Has the Trust board not considered approaching the volunteers for assistance in modernising and renovating the building? Although I've not been round the place I'm sure that, being hotel, it would make ideal premises for this and could easily be the Pickering equivalent of Grosmont's Crossing club which was converted almost entirely by volunteer labour and subscription and has been an undoubted success.

 

MHR Gala Oct 3 to 5 according to our gala thread, no mention on website of an event and those days the calendar currently shows no service.
Swanage Sept 12 to 14 in the past couple of weeks added the home fleet to the page and TBC for visitors.

Have not checked others but I do not think it is unreasonable 12 weeks out. Especially as if the weather holds they may not even be able to hold one.

 

Thank you for those figures, which are definitely interesting. I think your answer crystallises my discomfort at the broadening of the charitable objectives because, though "a facility for the enhancement of volunteering experiences targeted at groups rather than individuals" is a nice thing, I'm struggling to see how it supports the core purposes of the railway even if it has obvious advantages for more conservation volunteer oriented activity.

 

I'm surprised the NYMR didn't make use of the former Caledonian Sleeper Mk.3 it acquired from Wembley a few years ago. It seems it was bought, taken to Grosmont, dumped in the headshunt and then disposed of at the same time as the 'rat infested' (to quote Moors Line) sleeper. It must have cost a bit to transport/buy it and then do nothing with it before getting rid of it.

 

I’m shocked. A heritage railway owns a Hotel, and does not use it for either or both of volunteer and visitors accommodation.
Played right, the visitor income could subsidise the cost of volunteer accommodation.
The mind boggles.

 

And also with careful work, recreate to some extent the past of hotels owned by railways. Admittedly for the leisure traveller rather than the commercial traveller, but if the selling point of heritage rail is experiencing a (fantasy recreation of) the glory days of rail travel, it seems a bit of a missed opportunity.

 

That's jumping down a rabbit hole isn't it?

IIRC the building at Stape is a former Primary school though I stand ready for any correction of that. Whilst its been converted into 'group' volunteer accommodation/hostel, trying to make it into a fully staffed and operating 'railway hotel' is a very different ball game. In an area with a lot of competition I'd struggle to see how the railway would then break even on such a venture without taking its eye off the core railway operation.

Its also worth remembering that the railway already has two camping coaches and a holiday let. To the best of my knowledge they are effectively shut down out of season due to lack of business.