Multi-million pound new facilities launched at heritage attraction
A £4m carriage stable and volunteer development hub have officially opened at North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).
Both premises are key projects in the attraction’s £10m Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey (YMJ) Appeal.
The five-track, single-storey Carriage Stable – featuring a cantilevered roof – will accommodate up to 40 of the railway’s heritage carriages, and for the first time enable vital servicing and cleaning tasks to be completed undercover.
This facility, which is in Pickering, will enter full service in 2022.
Funds for the Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey project have also enabled the NYMR to redevelop the old school at Stape with a new role as ‘The Outstation’, the railway’s new Volunteer Development Hub and outreach centre.
It provides a 20-berth, fully-equipped base enabling the NYMR to offer improved levels of engagement and experiences to new and non-traditional audiences.
The YMJ Appeal, designed to transform the railway and secure its future, is funded by grants from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Local Enterprise Partnership and by donations from the charity’s members and supporters.
The Carriage Stable and Volunteer Development Hub are just two of six major YMJ projects, which also include a new education coach at Goathland; ongoing lineside conservation; renewal and replacement of three worn-out iron bridges at Goathland and the conversion of four carriages to provide easy access, and tailored seating for wheelchair users and accessible toilets on every set of carriges.
The next part of the YMJ project is the renewal this winter of Bridges 24 and 25 at Goathland Station – crucial to the railway’s ongoing operation.
John Bailey, railway trust chairman, said: “The carriage stable and new volunteer hub are prime examples of the principal aims of Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey – that, 50 years from now, people will still be learning from and enjoying the NYMR and the experience of steam travel across the Moors.”
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a fully accredited museum and carries 300,000 passengers every year. It is Britain’s most popular heritage railway.
