North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) has announced that £400,000 has been raised towards the funds needed to stabilise and permanently repair its historic Bridge 42.

The £400,000 represents more than 50% of the target set by a fundraising appeal launched earlier this year to raise the estimated £800,000 required to repair Bridge 42.

 

Interesting wording. The last update I saw (Moorsline) said that the target had been increased to £950k. Bearing in mind where we now are in the year it does beg the question there the gap is going to be funded from if this work is going to be done this Winter.

 

The choice of words there is important. "Stabilise and permanently repair" if that amount is net of expenditure on propping the bridge, then there is a long way to go still and it's not as impressive as it sounds.
I really hope that is not the case and the figure quoted is what is held in the bank for repair purposes.

Sawdust.

 

Out and about on Omaha this afternoon, she really seems in fine fettle. It’s also quite nice to be able to windowhang without getting cinders and ashes in your eyes.

Also caution to anyone approaching Grosmont eastbound - the road at the bridge just before entering the village is closed. I did not have time and had to drive to Goathland instead which was actually quite pleasant, had better parking and a much better tearoom.

 

Any heritage railway raising £400k in the current climate is impressive. Obviously more to do though.

Bridge design and repair works can be phased to suit cashflow although a longer project duration can lead to a higher overall cost e.g. the effect of inflation and the cost of mobilising & demobilising to site. Also, temporary works on this scale are eye-wateringly expensive unfortunately, so it's a trade off between having enough cash in the bank to commit to starting the works and completing them in full, versus delaying the works or taking longer overall in the hope that more funds can be secured.

There is no perfect answer and I think people underestimate the challenges faced by heritage railways in trying to make the right call.