It’s an exciting time to be at the railway

It was a huge relief when the government announced its road map, which now enables the railway to plan and prepare for our reopening on Saturday, May 15. It’s great to see the staff and volunteers preparing the engines, stations, shops and tea rooms, ready to welcome passengers once more. It’s an exciting time to be at the railway.

One of my favourite elements is the Pullman service; I believe there are few pleasures in life better than riding in a Pullman carriage behind a steam locomotive; you’re instantly transported back to the golden age of steam – a once in a lifetime experience.

The carriages – Opal,

Garnet, Jos de Crau and Robin – all date back to the 1960s and have been sympathetically restored with every attention to period detail.

Colin Kitching, our Pullman chef, has devised four delicious seasonal lunch menus for our 2021 Moorlander services; with years of catering experience behind us, we pride ourselves on offering the highest quality of service, seasonal menus featuring the best locally sourced food and drink, as you journey through the heart of our wonderful countryside.

The Pullman service is just one part of our catering services. We have to keep all our passengers fed and watered – hence our tearooms dotted along the line, not least at Pickering, where it’s enjoyed a beautiful refurbishment in the past 12 months.

Changes are more than cosmetic, however – like the Pullman menus, food is seasonal and locally sourced where possible, and sustainability is a big focus, using recycled packaging.

While the Pullman service is a taste of yesteryear, there has been a great deal of work happening behind the scenes including introducing Covid-19 mitigations and new staff appointments.

The Pullman services adhere to the latest government guidelines and we have reduced capacity on board our carriages to allow for social distancing between tables.

We also ‘fog’ our carriages every 20 days and regularly clean all our touch points.

As well as great food, fantastic service and beautiful scenery, we can also confirm we have received Visit England’s ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation to ensure that we are Covid-19 secure.

We’re now taking bookings for our Pullman carriages with Thursday to Sunday services departing from Grosmont from May 20; we are also taking bookings for our daily services too.