North Yorkshire Moors Railway | |
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![]() Three LNER Class A4 locomotives at Grosmont loco shed in 2008. | |
Locale | North Yorkshire |
Terminus | Whitby and Pickering |
Connections | Network Rail (at Grosmont) |
Commercial operations | |
Name | North Eastern Railway |
Built by | George Stephenson |
Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Preserved operations | |
Operated by | North Yorkshire Moors Railway Enterprises Plc |
Stations | 6 (Including Whitby) |
Length | 18 miles (29 km) 24 miles (39 km) (Extended over Network Rail metals to Whitby) |
Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Commercial history | |
Opened | 1836 |
Closed | 1965 |
Preservation history | |
1967 | NYMR Preservation Society formed |
1 May 1973 | NYMR reopened |
1975 | Pickering re-opened officially |
1981 | Newton Dale halt opened to the public |
2007 | Services extended (via National Network metals) to Whitby |
2012 | Pickering railway station re-roofed (station roof re-instated) for the first time in 60 years. |
Headquarters | Pickering, North Yorkshire |
Website | |
www.nymr.co.uk |
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line between Grosmont and Rillington was closed in 1965 and the section between Grosmont and Pickering was reopened in 1973 by the North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. The preserved line is now a tourist attraction and has been awarded several industry accolades.
In 2007, the railway started to run regular services over the 6-mile (9.7 km) section of the Esk Valley Line north of Grosmont to Whitby. In 2014, a second platform was opened at Whitby which allowed the NYMR to run an enhanced service and led to passenger numbers in the same year of nearly 350,000 people.
As of 2020[update], the railway runs for 24 miles (39 km). It is owned and operated by a charitable trust, with 100 staff who work full time, 50 seasonal staff, and over 550 volunteers. The complement includes 30 engineers. As of 2020, the "NYMR is the UK’s most popular heritage railway" according to a news report.[1][2]