Moorsline opens new carriage shed and volunteer centre
THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway's new £4 million carriage stable at Pickering and its volunteer development hub at Stape have been officially opened.
Prof David Stocker, trustee of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and David Renwick, the fund's northern regional director, joined staff, trustees, donors and volunteers to mark the completion of two of the six major projects in the line's £10 million Yorkshire's Magnificent Journey (YMJ) Appeal.
Guests were given a tour of the state-of-the-art carriage care facility and the volunteer hub, and had the chance to see A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado and new GWR Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend, guest locomotives at the annual steam gala, as highlighted on pages 90-93.
The five-track, single-storey Carriage Stable, featuring a cantilevered roof, will accommodate up to 40 coaches and, for the first time, enable vital servicing and cleaning tasks to be completed under cover. It will enter full service in 2022.
The old school at Stape has been refurbished to perform a new role as The Outstation, the volunteer development hub and outreach centre. It provides a 20-berth fullyequipped facility, enabling the NYMR to offer unparalleled levels of engagement and experiences to new and non-traditional audiences.
The Outstation is intended to give a more diverse range of people and wider communities the opportunity to experience the pleasure and benefits of volunteering on a heritage railway.
Locomotive shed
The YMJ Appeal is designed to transform the railway and secure its future. It is funded by grants from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the Local Enterprise Partnership, and by donations from the charity's members and supporters.
Other major YMJ projects include the new education coach at Goathland; ongoing lineside conservation; the renewal and replacement of three worn-out iron bridges at Goathland; and the conversion of four carriages to provide fuss-free access and tailored seating for wheelchair users and accessible toilets on every set of carriages. The next part of the project is the renewal of bridges 24 and 25 at Goathland station this coming winter – crucial to the railway's ongoing operation.
NYMR Trust chairman John Bailey said: “The carriage stable and new volunteer hub are prime examples of the principal aims of YMJ – that, 50 years from now, people will still be learning from and enjoying the NYMR and the experience of steam travel across the moors.”
Elsewhere, the NYMR's supporting foundation has been informed that its bid for additional land near New Bridge has been accepted. It plans to build a new engine shed, given the increasing need to stable additional locomotives at that end of the line.
The area to be purchased consists of about 1.5 acres of land covered by the derelict buildings of a former pig farm, plus an additional 5.8 acres of adjacent field which lie just beyond the existing permanent way shed and locomotive stabling point at New Bridge.
Archaeological dig
The present stabling point was originally built to accommodate a single engine in very basic conditions. There is no covered accommodation for the locomotives and only a portable cabin for crew facilities.
However, with the advent of Whitby services, the peak timetable requires three locomotives starting from Pickering versus two from Grosmont, and off-peak services require two Pickering-based engines compared to one from Grosmont.
It has not yet been revealed what is planned for the site, but at least some covered accommodation for locomotives and crews must be a high priority.
Sadly, the possibility of relocating the former Pickering engine shed, which stands tantalisingly within sight of the line's bufferstops at Pickering station, is probably too farfetched to happen!
A potential obstacle to future developments on the site is the presence of the remains of a late Roman villa, which were identified by a dig carried out about two decades ago on the northern edge of the field under the railway and appear to continue under the railway towards Pickering Beck.
The villa itself remains to be uncovered, but the bath house was built close to the river with the villa itself further back on slightly higher ground. An archaeological survey is likely to be required prior to any further developments on site.