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50th anniversary steam on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway September 21, 2023

Eric Treacy, one of the North Yorkshire Moors Railways' home fleet of steam locomotives, is joined by several steam visitors at the galaGoathland Station hosts a beer festival during the four days of the galaThe North Yorkshire Moors Railway is celebrating with its 50th Anniversary Steam Gala from Thursday to Sunday (September 21 to 24).

It is 50 years since passenger services were restarted on the railway through the North York Moors National Park following preservation of the line by a charitable trust which had been formed six years earlier.

The railway runs for 18 miles from Pickering in North Yorkshire via Levisham and Goathland to Grosmont where trains join the route of the main rail network to proceed for a further 6 miles into Whitby station.

Sir Nigel Gresley on the North Yorkshire Moors RailwayThe railway plans to have a dozen locomotives in steam for the four days of the celebration Gala.

As well as locomotives from the railway's own fleet, there will be visiting preserved locomotives from around the country, including Doncaster-built LNER A4 Pacific locomotive Sir Nigel Gresley from the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust. This is now back in the British Railways dark blue livery in which it was painted for a short period in the early 1950s. The locomotive, named after its designer, originally entered service in 1937 in the garter blue of the London North Eastern Railway and also spent some time in a wartime black livery which was replicated again last year until a blue coat was restored earlier in 2023.

Stations along the line will be hosting events during the Steam Gala Weekend including a beer festival at Goathland station for the four days and with live music on Saturday evening. There will also be a model railway exhibition at Pickering station hosted by Scarborough and District Railway Modellers. Levisham station will have an exhibition of vintage stationary agricultural engines.

Find out more at the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway website.

For links to other railways see our Heritage railways page.

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