Ride behind Sir Nigel Gresley in teak coaches on Moorsline autumn specials
EXCLUSIVE journeys on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway are being booked to mark the eagerly-awaited return of record-holding LNER A4 Pacific No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley after an overhaul lasting seven years.
Tickets can now be purchased for pre-booked journeys behind the steam icon in matching teak carriages restored by the LNER Coach Association.
The specials run on October 3-5 and 10-12, departing from Grosmont to Pickering at 9.30am, 12.30pm and 3.30pm, costing £51 return for adults. Children travel free.
A compartment ticket for up to a maximum of six people can be bought for £204.
Limited edition souvenirs
As part of the ticket, each fare-paying passenger will receive a limited edition gift bag featuring a Sir Nigel Gresley enamel badge, NYMR guidebook, and pen, as well as some local Lottie Shaw biscuits.
On arrival at Pickering, visitors will have 15 minutes to take photographs. Furthermore, a limited number of tickets will be available on the day to visit the locomotive footplate via the unique corridor tender, originally used for footplate crews to change shifts without the need to stop.
Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust chairman Nigel Wilson said: “We are delighted to be visiting the NYMR this autumn and hope passengers will enjoy the exclusive experience of travelling behind the only operational class A4 Pacific.”
NYMR CEO Chris Price added: “The whole NYMR team is incredibly proud to be able to facilitate this journey and can’t wait to welcome passengers along to the event marking 85 years since the locomotive originally entered service in November 1937.”
Emerging from Doncaster Works as the 100th Gresley Pacific built by the LNER, No. 4498 entered service following a naming ceremony at Marylebone station on November 26 that year. It was mainly based at King’s Cross, with a spell at Grantham during the Second World War, and was briefly renumbered as No. 7 before becoming No. 60007 when the LNER merged into BR.
On June 3, 1956, Sir Nigel Gresley hauled the Royal Train from King’s Cross to York with The Queen on board.
Official record
The Stephenson Locomotive Society Special of May 23, 1959, was the first train in the UK with a booked or advertised schedule of more than 100mph.
During that trip, No. 60007 set the official postwar speed record for steam traction of 112mph.
The LNER Coach Association (LNERCA) was formed in 1980 with the objective of obtaining, restoring, and operating a collection of exLNER and/or constituent companies’ vehicles. For more information, visit lnerca.org
➜ To purchase tickets, visit nymr.co.uk/ sir-nigel-gresley
➜ GCR Standard Five and Taff Vale 02 for Moorsline gala – see News, page 38.