Work starts on £500,000 final phase of station renovation

WORK has started on the final phase of a major redevelopment of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway's main station, which will restore its roof to its 19th century glory.

Contractors have begun to put in place the steel trusses for the 500,000 scheme which will see a new roof created across Pickering station's platforms.

It is the third and final stage of the overall 1.7m redevelopment project which saw the launch of an education facility in the spring and the official opening of a visitor centre last month.

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The railway marketing manager, Phil Bustard, said: "If we started all over again, the chances are that we would not have been able to secure the funding with public money being so tight as it is now.

"The roof will add protection and give us somewhere to keep our rolling stock, as well as reintroducing a very important element of the station's heritage."

The conservation work will involve restoring Pickering station's roof to how it looked in the mid-19th century after the building was finished in 1847.

The station's roof is being built to the original design of architect GT Andrews, although the original structure was removed by British Rail in 1952 and replaced by canopies.

It is hoped that the new roof will be completed by March ahead of the start of the heritage railway's summer season.