Locomotive Performance

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway
 
 
I first became acquainted with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in 1977. Whilst holidaying at Scarborough in August, I managed a trip on K1 class 2-6-0 no 2005 from Grosmont to Pickering and back. But it was a day of torrential rain, so the scenery left little impression. But in 1982, we had a family holiday at Pickering. I had two return trips from Pickering to Grosmont on 0-8-0 no 2238, and several diesel runs on the 1 in 49 section from Grosmont to Goathland.

Then in 1986, I drove up from the Midlands to Pickering for the NYMR October Steam Gala. I enjoyed it so much, that it became a regular event in my steam calender for the ten years or so. The variety of motive power increased, and the Gala's got better and better.

From a Locomotive Performance point of view, the interest was in the Grosmont to Goathland 1 in 49 section, and the continuation from Goathland to Moorgates summit. And northbound, the hardest work for the locomotives was from Levisham up through Newtondale.  
I have put together a log section covering runs, wherever possible, in both directions. Not all logs cover the whole of the line. I frequently changed trains at Levisham, for instance. And on one occasion, spent an entire day up and down the 1 in 49 from Grosmont to Goathland.

I have covered all the locomotives that I have encountered over the years, with the exceptions of 75014, with a 5 coach train that required very little effort, and 34027 Taw Valley, behind which I had three very poor runs.

A word now about speed limits. Whether the line was subject to the usual 25 mph speed restriction, I do not know. I was once told by a NYMR official that the limit was in fact 30 mph. As a general rule, on non Gala days, there were not usually any serious breaches. But on Gala days, with additional shuttles and freight services operating on the Grosmont to Goathland, and Pickering to Levisham, sections, time was soon lost, and late running became the norm, often up to an hour or more. When this occurred, then the crews did exceed 30 mph, often by some margin, in an effort to pull back time. But the NYMR excesses were small compared with what was occurring on certain other lines (which I had better not name). Nowadays, however, in our "blame and litigate" society, the limits have to be observed. 

Below are links to the performance logs, which are grouped into self explanatory sections, starting with the "home" group, the London & North Eastern.   
 
 LONDON & NORTH EASTERN LOCOMOTIVES: 
North Eastern class x 0-8-0 no 901:1991  [view log of 901] 
North Eastern class x 0-8-0 no 2238:1982  [view log of 2238]
Class K1 2-6-0 no 2005:1986  [view log of 2005]
 
 LONDON MIDLAND & SCOTTISH LOCOMOTIVES: 
Class 5MT 4-6-0 no 44767:1988  [view log of 44767]
Class 5MT 4-6-0 no 45428:1988  [view log of 45428]
Class 5MT 2-6-0 no 42765:1997  [view log of 42765]
 
   GREAT WESTERN LOCOMOTIVES: 
5600 class 0-6-2T no 6619:1986  [view log of 6619]
 
 SOUTHERN LOCOMOTIVES: 
Rebuilt West Country class 4-6-2 no 34101 Hartland:1997  [view log of 34101]
Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 no 34072 57 Squadron:1991  [view log of 34072]
Class S15 4-6-0 no 841:1987  [view log of 841]
Schools class 4-4-0 no 30926 Repton:1994  [view log of 30926]
 
 BRITISH RAIL & WAR DEPARTMENT LOCOMOTIVES: 
BR class 4MT 2-6-0 no 76079:1991  [view log of 76079]
BR class 4MT 2-6-4T no 80135:1990  [view log of 80135]
WD class 2-10-0 no 3672:1989  [view log of 3672]
S160 class 2-8-0 no 2253:1993  [view log of 2253]
 
 OTHER STEAM: 
Lambton 0-6-2T no 5:1989  [view log of no 5]
5600 class 0-6-2T no 6619 and Lambton 0-6-2T no 5:1989  [view log of 6619/5]
 
 DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES: 
Deltic class no 55009 Alycidon:1988  [view log of 55009]
Class 37 no 37137:1991  [view log of 37137]
Class 25 no 25191:1988  [view log of 25191]
Class 24 no D5032:1982  [view log of D5032]
Class 14 no D9529:1982  [view log of D9529]
Class 17 Clayton no D8568 & Class 25 no D7628:1991  [view log of D8568/D7628]
 
Certain of the above runs stand out. 901's tremendous climb from Grosmont on 18th May 1991...2005's excellent running in both directions on 4th/5th October 1986...A splendid climb by 45428 from Grosmont on 19th August 1988, with a visiting driver from the Kent & East Sussex line on the regulator...6619's thundering run from Pickering with load 7, on 4th October 1986...34072 made a superb climb up from Grosmont on 6th October 1991, but then the driver over-indulged on the downhill sections. Exciting, but foolhardy...Even one of my least favourite engines, the noisy 3672, managed  a good performance from Pickering end on 8th October 1989...And possibly the most exciting of the lot, the unusual combination of Lambton no 5 piloting 6619 on the first train from Pickering on 8th October 1989. How those engines roared up the valley.

And the diesels entertained also. The show is stolen by 37137 which put in some excellent work on 27th April 1991... But I also had a class 14, no D9529, up from Grosmont on 23rd July 1982...And on 27th April 1991, Clayton class 17, with D7628 on the rear, gave a great impersonation of a helicopter, also up from Grosmont.    
 

 

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