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North Yorkshire Moors Railway passenger joy

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by 4472, Feb 4, 2009.

  1. 4472

    4472 Member

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    A LEADING attraction has defied both bad weather and the economic downturn.

    The North Yorkshire Moors Railway last year recorded the second highest number of passengers in its 40-year history.

    A total of 315,000 visitors rode on the heritage railway, despite the poor summer and economic pressure.

    General manager Philip Benham described the figures as “remarkable” and added: “We are very pleased with these results.

    “There has been a lot of hard work and the figures reflect a railway which continues to be appealing for tourists and enthusiasts alike.

    “Despite a small decline in volume, we remain the market leader in heritage steam and remain one of Yorkshire’s finest attractions. This puts us in good stead to face the challenges ahead.”

    Extended services beyond Grosmont to Whitby were one of the key factors. In 2008 the number of services running between Pickering and the coast increased by half.

    Last October’s Railway At War event was the biggest yet, attracting over 10,000 visitors to Pickering and its neighbouring villages along the route of the railway.

    However, on the downside the railway was hit hard by the cost of coal, which doubled in price during 2008.

    “For a railway operating a very busy timetable every day between April and November, this represents considerable outlay,” said Mr Benham.

    The hiring of steam locomotives from alternative sources also added to the bill, but was necessary to ensure that the railway had sufficient engines to operate its timetable, which at its peak delivers 12 return services per day.

    Looking ahead to this year, Mr Benham said the railway would continue to plan for the delivery of a comprehensive timetable, offering as much choice as possible for visitors. Most fares have been held and the railway plans to deliver a number of special events, including a Spring Steam Gala featuring the newly-built A1 Pacific steam locomotive Tornado.

    Yorkshire Tourist Board chief executive Gary Verity said: “The figures are very good news and we support the excellent service being delivered by North Yorkshire Moors Railway.”
     
  2. Dan Hamblin

    Dan Hamblin Part of the furniture

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  3. Britfoamer

    Britfoamer Well-Known Member

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    Excellent news for the NYMR, loco owners, area tourism and above all our hobby (or in some cases - jobs!). Well done to all concerned! We made several visits last year, including the snow plow fest (A4 chimes - ahh) and to see/ride our mega machine from Bury, 71000.
    For enthusiasts NYMR's inventive events (looking forward to the A1) is obviously a good receipe, but I doubt this gets the general non-enthusiast punter in. On the weekend of the 71000 visit the trains we travelled on were packed with mostly joe public, our coach (the lovely restored Thompson vehicle) had a sizeable American tour group who had done the walk from Goathland down to Grosmont and were chatching the train back. I spent some time 'educating' them about the railway and train they were travelling on. So what is the ratio of enthusiasts to joe public (non-enthusiast) who travel, I once read some years ago it was probably 15:85?
    Well done NYMR. Harold. =D>
     

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