New GoAThlAND BRiDGe ‘kiT’ To ARRive ThiS moNTh
A kit of parts for the new steel bridge at the south end of Goathland station is expected to arrive on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in December.
As road access to the site is constrained by steep hills, sharp corners and low bridges, transport of the components to make up the 59ft 6in skew span over the Eller Beck is planned to take place by rail. The ‘out of gauge’ load is to be brought from Middlesbrough by train, following a road move of the 83-ton structure from Darlington, where it is being built by Cleveland Bridge UK.
Replacement of Bridge 27 is part of a £9m-plus infrastructure project that covers repair and replacement of bridges in the Goathland area, as well as undercover carriage stabling for the 18-mile PickeringGrosmont line (SR473). Two more bridges near Goathland (Nos. 24 and 25) are to be replaced in a year’s time, completing the renewal of the railway’s four largest steel and iron bridges. This began with the replacement of Bridge 30 on the Grosmont side of Goathland in a separate £¾m project during 2010.
In its current form, Goathland’s Bridge 27 dates from 1908, when the North Eastern Railway upgraded its Whitby line to carry heavier trains by installing spans that had already seen use elsewhere. The two sideby-side wrought iron spans carrying the running lines overthe Eller Beck are now life-expired and will be replaced by the new structure, while a third parallel span supporting a siding will be refurbished.
Today’s NYMR carries higher axle loads than the route did under BR and, in its final weeks, Bridge 27 supported ‘King’ No. 6023 King Edward II – with the highest axle load (22½ tons) of any UK steam class – during the autumn gala.
Ever since the launch of the ‘Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey’ project in late 2017, the intention has been to replace Bridge 27 in an eight-week period starting in January 2020. Lifting of the spans is to take place using rail-mounted cranes.
The last services over the old Bridge 27 will take place during post-Christmas operations which run until January 1. The line will then reopen for its new season in early April; there will be no February half term services or pre-season guest locomotive event in 2020.
‘Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey’ has been supported by a £4.6m National Lottery Heritage Fund grant – the largest ever to a preserved railway.
Fundraising continues. See www.nymr.co.uk/yorkshiresmagnificent-journey