It's been 50 years since the North Yorkshire Moors Railway ran its first service on the 1st of May 1973, with sole surviving J27 - 2392D piloting LH&JC - No29 over the fledgling heritage railway. Their '50th Anniversary Steam Gala', held over the weekend of September 21st-24th, would demonstrate the strength that the NYMR has gained in the last half-century.
A total of 13 locomotives would see service over the event, carrying out a range of passenger services over their metals and the Esk Valley Line to Whitby, as well as demonstration freight turns. The gala would see four locomotives visit the NYMR, complimented well by the lines' own array of traction. 439 Class - 55189 would pay a visit courtesy of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, having only recently been repainted into its BR guise, regaining its appropriate number of 55189 in the process. Two former residents would also make a return to the Moors for the event, in the shape of 60007 “Sir Nigel Gresley” and 9F - 92214. For the former, this would be the first time since 2015 that 60007 has run over the Moors in its accustomed BR blue livery, having been adorned by LNER wartime black during its visit for the 2022 gala. 92214 made a very welcome return to the north-east for the event from its current home on the Great Central Railway. Its presence would provide the rare opportunity to capture two 9F's in action together, as the NYMR rostered 92214 with their own 92134 for a couple of services, with the result of some spectacular performances as the pair battled the steep gradients that the line has to offer. Completeing the visiting line up would be Standard Class 4MT - 75069, visiting from the Severn Valley Railway.
The other 4MT running at the event would be resident 80136. The 4MT Tank would also appear as 80116 during the gala, from the Friday onwards, to commemorate the fact that 80116 had hauled the final service from Scarborough to Whitby West Cliff and Middlesbrough in May 1958. This service would have crossed over Larpool Viaduct, which the NYMR now runs services beneath on the Esk Valley Line en route to Whitby. Another resident receiving some attention before the gala would be J27 - 2392D. Before the event, the J27 had been adorned by a coat of BR black and its matching number of 65894. However, it was withdrawn from service shortly before the gala to receive a full repaint, emerging in LNER line black and carrying the number 2392D, representing the condition the locomotive appeared in during 1923 until early 1924 when the LNER adopted a different numbering system.
One of the major highlights of the already packed event came on the Sunday, as the J27 and No29 would perform an anniversary run of 1973s reopening special, recreating the service which started off the half-century long affair of preserved steam tackling the North Yorkshire Moors.
Locomotives:
LMS 'Black 5' Class 5MT - 5428 "Eric Treacy"
BR Standard Class 4MT Tank - 80136 (also appears as 80116)
BR Standard Class 9F - 92214
SR V 'Schools' Class - 926 "Repton"
BR Standard Class 9F - 92134
Ex-LNER A4 Class - 60007 “Sir Nigel Gresley”
Ex-CR 439 Class - 55189
LNER J27 Class (NER P3) - 2392D
BR Standard Class 4MT - 75069
BR Class 31 - 31128 "Charybdis"
Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Colliery Kitson - No29
East Brussels Tram Company Cockerill Type IV - No.8 "Lucie"
Footnote: Attending all four days of the event resulted in a very eclectic mix of raw clips to work with, featuring the various locomotives on differing coach sets in varied weather over the whole event, and no discernable way to piece the whole video together. As such, this version is the result of building the video around the timetable and locomotive allocations from the Friday of the event, using it as a framework with the clips from the other three days edited in as and where appropriate, to try and convey coherent coverage of the gala. This does mean that there are some obvious differences in coach sets and other minor details between sequences.
All footage filmed on Thursday the 21st, Friday the 22nd, Saturday the 23rd, and Sunday the 24th of September 2023.