My visit back up to the North coincided with a couple of special railway events, one of those being a shed tour at Grosmont station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. These tours don’t come around that often and tend to allow you access to areas of the railway which are out of bounds to most visitors. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and I think everyone came away having learnt something new. I particularly enjoyed seeing a variety of locomotives in various different stages of restoration and inspection, some of which you will be able to see below.
We’re starting the day at Grosmont station where we need to cross the railway and head down the foot tunnel to the motive power department where the tour will commence. The foot tunnel is significant as it was built by George Stephenson as part of the original Whitby to Pickering Railway in 1833-85. The line was originally horse-drawn and the carriages carried up to 10 passengers. Notice how the tunnel facade looks rather grand, almost castle-like.
Once through the tunnel, you’re at the motive power sheds. The tour commenced swiftly and we were taken through the workshops and yard at Grosmont. Outside we get a good view of the coal loader which is still in use today. Coal is loaded into a hopper on the top of the loader and can then be dumped directly into the tender of the locomotive underneath. As we were observing this, Black 5 ‘Eric Treacy’ came steaming right past us.
We move on into the Deviation Shed. This houses engines which are both owned and undergoing restoration by The North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group (NELPG). It gets its name as it stands at the junction of George Stephenson’s 1836 line and George Hudson’s later line of 1866. Since Hudson’s line deviated from Stephenson’s original route, the name of track and structures around this area often include the word ‘Deviation’.
After passing through the Deviation Shed, we are out around the back of the main yard. Here we can see further locomotives which are planned to be restored. The shell of the engine you can see below is a War Department “Austerity” Class 2-10-0, Dame Vera Lynn. As you can see, she is a long way from seeing traffic just yet, with substantial corrosion and hole in the cylinder block. There is an active fundraiser to try and help with the restoration efforts.
One of my personal favourite engines can also be seen here, just without a boiler of any sort and in need of restoration, and that is the 0-6-0 LNER Class J94. There is also a complete, if not rather rusty looking steam crane as well. Everything out here has the intention to be returned to steam. Like so many things to do with the heritage railways, it all comes down to number of volunteers and money, of which there is never enough of either.
After finishing up the tour, it’s time to head back to Grosmont station where we are just in time to catch the Black 5 ‘44806’ doing a run-around to haul the next train back to Pickering.
