Goatland Station: Refreshments, gift shop

Grosmont Station: Refreshments, gift shop, shops, locomotive shed

The road to the important seaport of Whitby went over the Yorkshire moors, in poor weather conditions it was often impassable. To overcome this problem a railway was proposed. Plans were drawn up by George Stephenson who favoured a route from Pickering to Whitby. Approval was granted in May 1833 with work starting in September 1833. George Stephenson had estimated the cost of construction would be £48,000 by the time it was completed over £105,000 had been spent. Horses provided the motive power, though at one point the carriages were pulled up a steep 1:15 incline by rope at Beck Hole.

Many famous buildings in London, including Somerset House and Waterloo Bridge, were made from stone that started its journey on the Whitby and Pickering Railway.

In the end were three railways serving Whitby they came from Pickering, Middlesborough and Scarborough. The Beeching Report of 1964 recommended that all three should be closed. There was strong local opposition to the closures, for a town the size of Whitby to have no railway was inconceivable. Finally the line to Middlesborough was reprieved, the short section from Whitby to Grosmont was kept open as this is part of the route. After 129 years there were no trains from Pickering to Whitby.

For two years the Pickering to Grosmont line lay neglected with rails rusting and paint peeling from abandoned stations. A Preservation Society was set up in June 1967 with the object of reviving the railway. British Rail granted a six month delay on track lifting. Permission was given to commence restoration and in February 1969 a small tank locomotive steamed from Pickering to Goathland.

With help from supporters, local authorities and the English Tourist Board the Society was successful in purchasing from BR the track from Grosmont-Pickering. A Light Railway Order was granted with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) being officially open by H.R.H. The Duchess of Kent on 1 May 1973.

There are eight operational steam locomotives No.30926 SR 'Repton' 4-4-0, No.76079 BR 'The Pocket Rocket' 2-6-0, No.45212 LMS 4-6-0, No.5224 GWR 2-8-0, No.44767 LMS 'George Stephenson' 4-6-0, No.63395 NER 0-8-0, No.825 SR 4-6-0, No.60007 LNER 'Sir Nigel Gresley' 4-6-2. A large fleet of locomotives is required to give a reasonable timetable on the long length of line. A majority of trains have a connecting steam service to Whitby.

The NYRM runs through some outstanding countryside and there is no better way to view it, than from one of their trains.

A line from Skipton-Ilkley was opened in 1888, the Midland Railway added a nine mile branch from a junction near Embsay to Grassington in 1902. Passenger traffic ended in 1930, although special excursions were run up to 1967. The line was kept open as it was used for conveying limestone from  quarries at Swinden. In 1985 the Embsay Junction-Ilkley route closed after this was recommended by the Beeching Report.

A name change to Yorkshire Dales Society saw the Society rent the Embsay station from 1970. There was ½ mile of track still in place, so a pull-push shuttle service was operated but the Society had ambitions to operate a proper railway. It was obvious that the line to Grassington would not be closed so thoughts turned to extending in the opposite direction towards Ilkley.

Although not a train line, no website on steam railways could exclude the National Railway Museum (NRM) at York. Opened in 1975 the NRM houses to prevously separate collections - one from the Museum of British Transport, Clapham and the other from the London and North Eastern Railway Museum, York. 

Over 100 locomotives are on display dating from the conception of railways up to the present day. All forms of traction are represented including including steam, diesel and electric, covering a period of over 180 years.

There is a replica of the "Rocket", Robert Stephenson's steam locomotive from 1829 which was a major advance in railway engineering.  The largest engine is a 192 ton giant supplied to the Chinese National Railway. An important exhibit is the world's fastest steam locomotive 4-6-2 "Mallard", which reached 126 mph in 1938.

Everything used by railways such as posters, handbills, signs, tickets, are all in the section called The Warehouse, where there are over 750,000 items on view.

The NRM is the largest railway museum in the world and attracts 800,000 visitors a year. Railway enthusiasts will find they can easily spend a complete day at the museum, even those less keen will be entertained for 3-4 hours.

Keighley Station: Refreshments, mainline railway, turntable

Ingrow (West) Station: Museum of Rail Travel

Haworth Station: Shop, locomotive works, picnic area

Oxenhope Station: Refreshments, picnic area, shop, exhibition shed

There were sixteen mills in the Oxenhope area so the railway was kept busy with passengers, freight and coal. After World War I traffic declined with the mills changing from steam power to electricity they did not require coal. Road transport was increasingly being used for moving materials to and from the mills.

Encouraged by the success of the Bluebell Railway a society was formed called the Keighley and Worth Preservation Society with the intention of reopening the line. On 29 June 1968 the Society ran its first passenger train.

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is an entire branch line which has six stations, connection to the mainline, two tunnels, two level crossings, a viaduct, all packed into five miles of track. Steep gradients of up to 1:58 on parts of the line from Keighley to Oxenhope are a real challenge for locomotives.