Heritage railway celebrates landmark

A 10-day festival will begin on Friday to celebrate the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s landmark, four decades after the Duchess of Kent officially opened the line on May 1, 1973. One of the engines that pulled the original Royal train, the newly over-hauled Lambton, Hetton and South Joicey Colliery tank No 29, was employed on an anniversary service between Grosmont and Pickering yesterday. The train carried volunteers from the last 40 years, as well as one of the original drivers, Chris Cubitt, who is the vice-chairman of the owning North York Moors Historical Railway Trust and still drives steam engines today.

The NYMR’s general manager Philip Benham said: “It was wonderful to have so many people who have helped with the running of the railway to mark such a special occasion. A lot of people have dedicated an awful lot of time, and it proved to be an emotional but very enjoyable day.”

The festival will feature up to 11 engines which have been used on the NYMR including the Sir Nigel Gresley. The line, which carries almost 350,000 passengers a year, was established to open trade routes inland from Whitby but fell victim in 1965 to Dr Richard Beeching’s infamous cutbacks before re-opening in 1973.

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