50 Years of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway! - ’Annual Steam Gala’ 2023

On 8th March 1965, the branch line between Whitby and Malton in the Yorkshire Moors saw its final service. However, just two short years later, a plucky band of locals banded together to rescue thier historic railway heritage and in 1973, the route reopened. Today, it has become one of the most popular and beloved heritage lines amongst holidaymakers, enthusiasts and the occasional Hollywood blockbuster: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Having officially celebrated thier 50th anniversary on 1st May, the railway expanded festivities with a four-day gala in September. No fewer than four visiting locomotives would grace Moors metals across the event. Topping the bill was LNER A4 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’, which called the Moors home for twenty years and is still very much associated with the line. The A4 ran light from Crewe on Thursday before joining the gala on Friday. Following in her footsteps would be BR Standard 9F 92214, based on the line from 2009 to 2014 and once named ‘Cock O’ The North’. The