North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion

Just looked in on Grosmont webcam to see the J27 coupling up to 29 ready for the 50th Anniversary train.

 

A bit of a feeble non-event in comparison with what it could/should have been, imho. Too many of the management have no real feel for what has been achieved over the years, or for those who have achieved it.

 

Never a truer word ... ... ...
It's no comfort to you, or to me, to know that you're not alone.
Pat

 

I probably sound like a disgruntled old so and so, but I fear the NYMR has lost its way On the one hand it seems to prefer being a safe haven for paid employees with railway enthusiast volunteers and their aspirations/preferences treated as a necessary inconveniences, whilst on the other hand they seem to be going all-out to pander to peripheral groups in the hope that this will bring in large sums of grant money. IMHO it's a misguided approach, in that such grant money (for lineside conservation, for example, is unlikely to help with the costs of running and maintaining the railway (the conservation work could continue if the railway closed) and may indeed add to them - the inability to use weedkiller sprayed on the trackbed will not help maintenance, for example! Nor is it particularly likely that those conservation volunteers will turn nto operational or maintenance volunteers in significant numbers. It's almost a though the railway is becoming a sideshow to other areas and I don't see that there is a long term future there.

 

On the other hand I thought it was a really good low key celebration put on by those who have been closely involved with the operation for the last fifty years. It was great to see so many from both NELPG and NYMR who were involved with the original opening special still active today. No management orchestrated ballyhoo, just a pleasant gathering of volunteers past and present largely organised by themselves to rightly acknowledge the amazing achievement of the last half century. It was so much better with minimal razzmatazz and little input from senior management in my opinion.

Here at Goathland are three of todays participants who were on duty on 1/5/73, Driver Chris Cubitt, Signalman John Bruce and then Fireman, now Driver, Terry Newman. It would seem that progression through the ranks must be very slow as only Terry seems to have been promoted up the ladder since then.

Peter

 

Good to see five engines in steam today (J27, 29, Repton, Eric and S15).

 

Was it supposed to be a big thing or a low key celebration today?

 

It was a good atmosphere there today we had no idea it was the 50th anniversary train until we got to goathland booking office but then was told all about it from that moment till the moment we left for home. Very enjoyable day and nice to see more steam locos out and about

 

Might have been a fairly low key event but all the trains seemed quite busy today, particularly the 12 noon ex Pickering and 14.10 ex. Whitby departures and on which I travelled, with both appearing 95% full at times and a considerable interchange at Goathland. Nice to see a good number of through passengers as well as those travelling to and from Goathland; from those wanting to travel on a heritage railway behind steam there and back; travelling from Pickering to visit Whitby, from Whitby to visit Pickering as well as those using the railway to just visit Goathland village or walk the rail-trail walk.

I do think the NYMR had it all today!

 

I agree with most of what you say but I still think that it is disappointing that the NYMR management could not find a way of marking this milestone in a less low key way. Isn't the railway supposed to be looking for ways to boost revenue? Shouldn't this have been a great opportunity to do so? It was a bank holiday (long) weekend after all.

 

It was on the local news as well.

 

What were you expecting though some sort of gala? Whilst the WSR and MHR are at opposite ends of the country there are only so many enthusiasts to go around.
Sometimes less is more especially in financially strapped times. 5 loco in steam as reported above does not make it sound like a normal day to me anyway.

 

Actually, yes I would have expected at least a mini-gala, and something that paid tribute to not just the three singled out but also the hundreds of other volunteers, including quite a few others who have stayed working on the line since before the public opening and who are still there today.
For most railways, the 50th anniversary of opening would not be a low key occasion!

 

92134 has ventured out today for the first time after having winter maintenance, the keen eyed may notice that the loco has been turned to face Pickering

 

Nice to see that 92134 carries her Birkenhead shed code, although she's a lot cleaner now than when she was a 8H loco.

Bob.

 

Some good news that seems to be emerging from the NYMR is that Standard tank 80136 has been donated by its owners to the Trust. It still has three years left on its current boiler ticket, so there is a chance we'll get to see both 80135 and 80136 in steam together.

Also, NER TO 945 has been outshopped in full NER livery but has now been moved to the carriage shed. It is hoped to have it on display alongside the Atkins Building for the summer. There's still quite a lot to do to finish it - particular steam heating remains to be fitted, which will require much of the interior to be stripped out, so it's some way off being finished. It is reported in the latest LNERCA Newsletter that it has been donated to the LNERCA, having previously been in the Association's care but owned by the NERCG. There's no indication yet of where it may enter service, though.

For pics, see:https://www.facebook.com/LNERCA

 

good news about 80136. I wonder if they fit the signalling gear to make it a Whitby engine as that sounds like a smart move to me...

 

Whether they do or not (I don't believe it's a necceserily quick or cheap process), 80135 is planned to be fitted when it re-entes traffic, with electronic cubicles being included within what was the rear tank space beneath the bunker last I saw the loco.

 

Probably not the course of this boiler certificate, I suspect. It only has till early 2026 I think.