NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY TO COMMEMORATE 50 YEARS SINCE LINE CLOSURE 6 – 8 MARCH On 4 March 1965 the railway route between Grosmont and Rillington, near Malton, was closed by British Railways under the infamous “Beeching Axe”. This March the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is planning to mark the 50th anniversary of this monumental event, which in 1973 would see a group of enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers re-open the line as the NYMR and over the 42 years has become the world’s most popular heritage railway. The focus of next year’s anniversary will start with a special event on 6 – 8 March. This will reflecting the traction seen when the line closed the weekend will see K1 No.62005 and K4 No.3442 (now 61994) “The Great Marquess”, B1 Class No 4-6-0 No.61264 and the scenic diesel railcar (Class 101 DMU) on hire from the “Daisy Group” (Midland Railway Trust – Butterley), which comes into service on the NYMR this winter while our resident unit is being overhauled. Class A4 Pacific No 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley in the locos last season before withdrawal for overhaul in September 2015 will also be in action. On Friday 6 March (exactly half a century after the official closure date Monday 6th March 1965), the two locos 61994 and 62005 will work a special Pullman dining train to commemorate completion of the project to rebuild a second platform at Whitby station and to thank the team of volunteers, staff and partners involved in the project which just this weekend took the top honour in the 2014 Heritage Railway Association awards. Philip Benham, managing director said “We are very much looking forward to celebrating all the NYMR has been able to achieve over the past 42 years and how over this time our volunteers, staff and partners have helped us prove the potential of this magnificent line.” Philip recalls that “on the last day of services back in 1965 ‘The Whitby Moors Railtour’ was jointly organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society and Manchester Railway Society to run from Manchester over to North Yorkshire covering many lines also closing at that time. This became the last steam train over the route south from Whitby and was worked by the two visiting locomotives, 62005 and 3442 (now 61994) which luckily both survived into preservation and we are excited to bring them together again for this celebratory weekend.” Over the weekend 61994 and 62005 will work together to recreate the last train from 1965 alongside the NYMR home resident 61264. The B1’s were the last regular class of steam engine to operate over the line immediately prior to closure. Philip adds “The NYMR is grateful to the loco owners, John Cameron, the North East Locomotive Preservation Group, Thompson B1 Locomotive Trust, The Sir Nigel Gresely Preservation Railway Trust and the Daisy Group for making their engines available.” 2015 also marks the 150th anniversary of the opening of the most spectacular section of NYMR, the deviation route from Grosmont to Goathland Summit which opened for traffic on 1st July 1865, more details about this anniversary will be announced in the New Year. The NYMR will be running a special service on the 14, 15, 21 and 11 March with services running only on the Esk Valley Line from Whitby, Grosmont and Battersby Stations before daily running on the heritage line commences from the 28 March until 1 November 2015. For more information and to book tickets visit nymr.co.uk and save up to 10% on day rover fares or call 01751 472 508, or follow on Twitter @NYMR or Facebook @North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 09:40:36 +0000
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