'Flying Scotsman' Meets 'Locomotion’ on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway! - 01/11/2025

Everybody knows that the world’s first public railway opened between Shildon and Stockton in 1825. However, fewer may realise that George Stephenson was instrumental in constructing countless other lines all across the country. Barely six years after the opening of the S&DR, he was asked to survey a route from the seaside port of Whitby over the North Yorkshire Moors to the market town of Pickering. Commencing operation in 1836, the line has seen almost two centuries of evolution, but several of Stephenson’s radical ideas remain, including the rock tunnel at Grosmont and the use of sheep fleeces to float the railway over Fen Bog. Today, it persists as one of the UK’s most popular preserved lines.

Fittingly, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway planned multiple major events celebrating two-hundred years of the modern railway, the centrepiece of which was the return visit of world-famous LNER 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’. Having wowed the crowds back in March 2016, the railway hired in the Gresley A3 for a three-week period, beginning with the October half-term holiday. However, a much smaller engine threatened to steal ‘Scotsman’s spotlight. Hot on the heels of its anniversary journey on the mainline, the replica ‘Locomotion No.1’ would star alongside the A3 for a fortnight. What’s more, passengers could ride behind the pioneering machine for the first time in her accompanying coach ‘Experiment’. Where else could you find two of the world’s most famous steam locomotives running on the same stretch of line?!

‘Flying Scotsman’ took charge of three return journeys from Grosmont to Pickering five days a week. Despite high prices, thousands of tickets were sold upon announcement, giving the Gresley ‘Pacific’ a taxing job of hauling eight coach trains up gradients as steep as 1-in-49. Therefore, services were banked between Grosmont and Goathland by resident heavyweight BR Standard 9F 92134. ‘Locomotion’ wouldn’t have such demands placed on her, running shuttles over the predominantly-level section between Pickering and Newbridge every thirty minutes. Regular services were provided over the full length of the line by BR Class 31 31128 ‘Charybdis’ and LMS Stanier ‘Black Five’ 44806, having recently received her mainline certification.

I visited on Saturday 1 November. I had steered clear of the railway for the first weekend due to the large crowds wanting to get a glimpse of ‘Flying Scotsman’. Just as well, as Grosmont ultimately became gridlocked with traffic and over twenty parking penalties were issued. Whilst still busy, the line thankfully wasn’t overpopulated with spectators, apart from those awaiting their ride behind ‘Locomotion’ at Pickering. The weather was somewhat supportive, with sunny spells creeping in from time to time, although this was offset by strong wind gusts. All pre-booked trains were packed out, although services ran up to twenty minutes late for much of the day.

I hope you all enjoy the video. It was good to see ‘Flying Scotsman’ in action again after a string of static appearances and it’s always a treat to see ‘Locomotion’ in steam. My personal picks would have to be 44806 catching the sun at Water Ark and 60103 and 92134 in full glint at Esk Valley. If you enjoyed the video, why not check out our Instagram page at   / secondvalvesteam   for more content. Thank you all for watching and don’t forget to like comment and subscribe!