North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion

I have to say that's a pathetic answer, worthy of the management! If the trains were packed but losing money, why was that? Because free travel was offered to anyone in period costume? It's hard to see any other reason, and if that was the case it was a stupid policy and could have been changed to allow a Discount, rather than completely free. We now have a CEO with an advertising background - can't she work out how to run a popular event so it makes money? If she can't, why she's still there? Last weekend there was virtually nothing to do other than provide some extra seats on a service it was already running, and it couldn't even do that! Pathetic.

 

I did know about the mine workings, I thought others who don't might like the explanation. It's not the first time they have caused trouble. Incidentally the dining set was stabled four vehicles on the eponymous Pullman siding and three on the turntable road back in the day, with the two halves clanged together about an hour before departure. Staff accessed the train throughout the day via ladders, a wholly unsatisfactory arrangement that saw the back road at grosmont transformed into a platform.
It is my understanding that the carriage barn at Pickering included facilities to allow stabling and diner prep there, what happened to that? Did it end up that there was no money to fit it out or something else?

Sawdust.

 

The station was packed (the tea shop and toilets were manic) but there were plenty of spare seats on all the existing trains purely because 1940 attendees didn’t want to leave / miss “the main event” because of the length of overall travel time to / from Pickering. So why provide additional seats on existing services? I do think the only way to attract such attendees if the overall journey to / from Pickering would be about 60 minutes, requiring an additional service to Levisham but only if financially and practically viable.

 

no idea what happened to potential Pullmans starting from Pickering, and which I’d wholeheartedly welcome. But can’t think how it would timetabled, unless there was an evening diner but would that mean abandoning the existing lunchtime diners or running an ECS to / from Grosmont.

Dave

 

I'm confused - how could the trains be packed, but produce little revenue? (I have a vague memory it was due to re-enactors riding for free?)

Noel

 

My understanding is that only people offered free travel were a limited number of accredited re-enactors. Just because someone was in period costume they would not qualify. Having witnessed the packed trains it seems obvious that TTI’s would find it physically impossible to check more than a few tickets. Whether passengers boarded realising tickets would not be checked and intended to avoid paying ,or were prepared to pay but were never asked , the effect would be the same.
.

 

So it wasn't loss making per se, more a case of becoming a victim of it's own success until the point at which it became unmanageable.
I remember the last time I witnessed one of these events, I was alarmed by the volume of people on the station with some 300 odd having just got off a train and another 300 odd wanting to get on it. My thought to this was if trains could pass between Pickering and New Bridge the numbers on the station could be reduced by only having one train worth of people on the station at once, this would also create longer layovers allowing crews time for a break.

Sawdust.

 

Somewhere, probably over a thousand posts back, I’ve given chapter & verse on why it’s problematical to run diners from Pickering in the present circumstances. Basically it comes down to the timetable, loco rostering, lack of a third platform face and facilities. The carriage barn was supposed to provide for the latter but, unlessed they’ve been changed, weren’t practical.
With regard to passenger accommodation on dining trains, we used to run 7-8 coach diners regularly. This would give 3 coaches for non-dining passengers. However Pullman cars are Jean
By beasts and a 8 coaches diner was really too much for a Black 5 or B1 and it really needed a class 6 to do the job with confidence. Today’s diner can be handled with a smaller loco allowing more flexibility In rostering.

 

I and others have long suggested double track between Pickering and New Bridge as being a solution to increased line capacity. However, the powers that be decided to build the carriage barn where it is instead of diagonally across the field (which was a much neater solution) and this has scuppered any chance of it happening. Perhaps we could go to the HLF for a grant to move it? Only joking

 

The real point here is that I was at Pickering at around 14.30 on Sunday, when the diner arrived. Potential passengers weren't allowed on that train in case they had dogs! there wasn't another train for about an hour and a half later. In other words, the NYMR management felt it wasn't necessary to make some provision that could enable those otherwise empty seats to be sold and bring in some much needed cash? Does anyone really wonder why I call it a pathetic approach?

 

Yes, I thought it a very short-sighted development, the trouble is the powers wanted to move C&W down there as well (with a design for a shed just as awful as the present one). Would a fully signalled loop still be possible twixt barn and the ever so awkward occupation crossing just before New Bridge?

Sawdust.

 

Looking for additional income from existing trains does not seem to be considered important.

Sawdust.

 

There was plenty of room for a relatively large C&W workshops where the barn now is. With my scheme, the two would have essentially swapped basic positions but not footprint area. This would have kept what is referred to as the long siding free to become the down running line. Apart from a couple of short bits track already exists all the way from the station to New Bridge so creating a mile of double track would have been relatively easy. It just now has a barn built over some of it.

 

Seems slightly obtuse/shortsighted even if such a plan (to double track) was a long way off/a bit unlikely? Was there something on site found in the ground investigation (like a culvert or stream) that forces the current position?

 

Other than occasional visits and a one off footplate return trip Im not familiar with the NYMR. How is the 'out of Pickering section' authorised? Is it original act, light railway order or TWO? Playing with grandfather rights by proposing a second passenger carrying line over a public road or even an user worked crossing can be very expensive indeed.
Possibly writing off any commercial benefits even if the costs of the physical work are modest?

 

Not usually a problem to add railway line within the curtilage of an existing LRO is it?

 

When the railway started operations, the siding was the running line and the other track had been lifted by BR. All of the route was formerly double track with prior to closure only New Bridge to Levisham being singled during the first world war.
Sawdust.

 

High Mill had three tracks at the crossing.

 

Some limitations imposed by meeting flood risk requirements.
But I know not what they are.

 

It’s an LRO as far as I’m aware. Certainly predates and TWO legislation.