The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is offering a range of open days from the 6th-15th September 2024 to mark Heritage Open Days.

Heritage Open Days offer free access to a range of events and activities across England and this year’s festival celebrates how people and ideas moved around and come together throughout history.

The NYMR is marking this festival by offering a range of events that allow free access to areas not usually available to the public around the railway.

The events are:

• Volunteer Voices Exhibition – 6th – 15th September. Here volunteer stories spanning 50+ years about their passion for preservation
• Goathland Station Tour – 6th, 11th September. Take a guided tour around the station, learning about its history
• LNERCA Atkins Building Tour – 6th, 8th, 10th, 13th September. Visit the NLHF Atkins Building, home to the detailed carriage restoration of the London & North Eastern Railway Coach Association.
• Carriage Stable Walking Tour – 6th, 10th, 12th, 13th September. See the new facility and how the railway cares for their carriages
• Wagon Group Talk & Demo – 7th September. Take a short tour of the Atkins shed in Pickering, see progress on current projects, and watch the turntable in operation. The tour will explain what is involved in carrying out routine maintenance, right through to full overhauls.
• Motive Power Department Walking Tour – 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th September. See how the Railway’s locomotives are cared for to keep them running in tip-top shape.
• Guided Rail Trail Walk – 9th, 10th September. Take the 5.5km walk along the old original horse-drawn Stephenson’s Line from Goathland to Grosmont.
• Grosmont Station Tour – 9th, 12th September. Explore Grosmont, the 1952-themed heritage station, the true heart of the railway’s operations.
• Archives Open Day – 10th, 12th September. Find out more about the wide-ranging collection of over 8,000 objects covering rolling stock, signs, notices, signals, maps, drawings and artifacts.
• Pickering Station Tour – 11th September. Pickering is themed to the 1930s, explore this bygone age of rail travel first hand and see what life was like back in the Steam era.
• All A-Board Games Night – 13th September. Whether you’re a seasoned board game enthusiast or a curious beginner, the Board Game Night promises excitement for all. The All A-board Games Night, is an innovative event developed by young adults from the Heritage Open Days’ New Wave program, bringing fresh ideas and excitement to heritage celebrations.
• History of the Line Talk – 15th September. A talk about the history of the railway from the Beeching Era through to the start of the heritage railway NYMR.
• Signal Box Demo & Victorian Games – 15th September. Learn about the vital, unseen role of a signaller and how important they are to the railway’s operations.

The Heritage Open Days is England’s largest history and culture festival and helps people learn about stories on their doorsteps that they have yet to discover.

The event is organised by the National Trust with support of the People’s Postcode Lottery and locally is delivered by a wide range of historic-based organisations that help to teach the public about Britain’s heritage, like the NYMR.

Heritage Open Days is a great opportunity to showcase some of the behind the scenes elements at our heritage railway. We have some favourite tours and talks returning this year and we’ve also opened up even more locations for people to explore and learn about our charitable aims, including our Carriage & Wagon Department and on-site Archives

Macey Palmer, Learning and Intepretation Officer NYMR

You can learn more about the North Yorkshire Moors events here and about the festival as a whole here.