North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion

Back in the dim mists of pre-Internet time, the MIT AI Lab had an aphorism, ha-ha, only serious, a take-off on 'ha-ha, only joking'. I suspect it applies here!

Noel

 

On a less serious note, I was unexpectidly reunited with an old friend yesterday, namely 34072. It was here for the summer of 1991, my first year as a cleaner and I got on it quite a bit back then. Here are a couple of contrasting photos.

19/6/1991


15/10/2025

Ok, back to the serious stuff

Peter

 

Maybe you were on one of these then Peter on 27/06/92. Did 257 stay for a year or more or were they separate visits?

 

I think it only stayed for a season, but there was talk back then that the owners had approached the NYMR with a view to basing it there permanently. I can't recall why it didn't happen; perhaps other home-based engines were approaching the end of their overhauls and it was felt that it wouldn't be needed, but just about every year since then, apart from one or two purple patches, has suggested that the NYMR were wrong!

 

I think it only visited for a gala in '92. I was on 44767 that day but did one round trip in 34072 the following day. I see from my notes that it was on the East Lancs by August that year. It also came back to some event or other in June '93. I did three round trips on it firing to John Fletcher on a pipeing hot day and I was well knackered at the end of it. They are hot locos at the best of times but at least with a bit of speed you get some air circulating through the cab but not at 25mph. A memorable day but for the wrong reasons.

Peter

 

Didn't it visit for the whole summer, the same year as 34027, or am I getting my Spam Cans confused? They all look the same! It was the one that visited for the summer, where there was talk of it staying, in part because John Russell, the NYMR operations manager was a shareholder in it.

 

34027 which is of course a rebuilt, was there on 12/06/91 as it took me and the wife from Grosmont to Newtondale Halt.

 

34072 was there for the whole summer of 1991, the same year that 34027 was also there. It was also the season that I started on the Moors. I well remember the Saturday morning that both were chalked up on the roster board, 34027 for the G1 turn and 34072 for the G2 turn. Driver Dave Jones ("Wakefield") turned up for the G1 turn and prepped 34072, much to the delight of the G2 driver who signed on to find his loco already prepped. Wakefield was not amused that he had to prep a second loco that morning.

Here is the pair of them on shed in June 1991


34072 returned briefly in both June 1992 and 1993 but did not stay long on either occasion.

Peter

 

Yes, both light Pacifics were hired in by Frank Pearce, without any reference to the MPD, to cover for a likely shortage of steam motive for the peak holiday season. He was correct they were needed and they helped produce a very healthy amount of business that year. Quite a few NYMR people made investments in Southern Locomotives ltd, I believe and there was even a MK1 they owned which was painted in SR green livery.
I remember Les Barwick having to Stihl saw a bit off platform 2 to allow the injectors to clear on one of them while the other had no such issues.

Sawdust.

 

That was the reason I referred to "Spam Cans" - even I can tell one from the (far more handsome, imho!) rebuilt version.

 

Now that my memory has been prodded I am reminded of the time I was watching Vera bring its train into platform 1 at Pickering. I happened to be stood near Bill Carr. As the train stopped a beaming Cliff Brown stepped down onto the platform and strode over to the GM, where I overheard him say, "Do you know Bill, I've decided to bring Repton here as well".
This then entailed a load of expenditure raising the axle loading to 21 tons, which turned out to be money well spent allowing much greater scope of visiting locos.

Sawdust.

 

Those were the days! It's hardly surprising that the current shambles of a management inspires looking back at what was, rather than looking forward to what could.

 

Frank Pearce took a lot of sick at the time (some things never change) but he did go out and get the contract for setting up the Elsecar Railway from the local authority there, even though some of the work ended up getting sub contacted out, on his own initiative, which I believe was very profitable and as I mentioned before created the wartime weekend idea. Bill Carr before him recognised the importance of full steam haulage in the summer peak, the introduction of which far outweighed the cost of the extra light engine miles, this set the pattern of operating for many years.

Sawdust.