Flag ready to be raised for the NYMR’s Railway in Wartime Weekend
Friday 10 – Sunday 12 October 2014
It is now 70 years since the Normanby beach landings, but for three days, the clocks will be turned back to the 1940s as part of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s annual ‘Railway in Wartime’ weekend, running from 10 to 12 October 2014.
During the Railway in Wartime weekend, anyone travelling along the historic railway will be greeted by 1940s characters at every station, whilst the car park at Pickering Station will become a hub of entertainment and activity, from vintage stalls to live bands. The weekend launches at 11.15am on Friday 10 October, when a flag is raised to mark the railway being officially handed over to the re-enactors.
“We have made a few changes this year so that we can cope with the tens of thousands of visitors that this event attracts every year,” comments marketing manager, Danielle Ramsey. “Due to the sheer number of passengers and re-enactors involved, access to the platforms at Pickering will be restricted to those who have valid tickets to travel and re-enactors, and we have moved more of our activities into the Pickering Station car park. We’re also hosting a marquee for the Sidings Theatre Club, and for just £1 admission, visitors can watch live music, singers, dancing displays and even a wartime cinema showing newsreel films to really get people in the 1940s mood!”
Further up the line, Levisham station will be transformed into the German-occupied French village of Le Visham, with its own Café Alles du Bois providing sustenance for visitors and members of the French Resistance! Goathland Station will provide a home for Pontefract Home Guard, with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s junior volunteers taking part in drills, whilst other civilians make the best of the wartime rationing with ‘make-do-and-mend’ displays throughout the weekend.
Although it may be better known as a railway station, Grosmont will become the base of operations for the RAF over the Railway in Wartime Weekend, with a replica Spitfire in the car park and an authentic RAF Dispersal Hut, which would have been used by fighter pilots as they awaited the call to take to the air. If low cloud or bad weather doesn’t scupper their strategic plans, the ground-based displays will be supplemented by a Tiger Moth fly-by at 1.00pm on Saturday and Sunday.
As usual, a full list of all the events, activities and articles, and a full timetable of trains along the heritage railway, will be included in the annual North Riding Chronicle – the official newspaper of the Railway in Wartime Weekend – is available from Pickering Station priced at just £1.
Visitors wanting to travel aboard the railway are strongly recommended to pre-book tickets ahead of the event, as the carriages often reach capacity during the Railway in Wartime event. Tickets can be booked online at www.nymr.co.uk, in person from any of the stations along the line, or by calling 01751 472508.
The 1940s action is not just confined to the railway, with a host of supporting events planned around the towns, too, including two parades through the centre of the Pickeringtown. On Saturday morning (starting around 10.50am), the Foot Parade of costumed re-enactors will march through the town centre from Middleton Road, down Potter Hill to pause at the Memorial Hall, and then onto Market Place and Smiddy Hill. The foot soldiers will be joined a few minutes later by a cavalcade of 1940s civilian vehicles, with the best viewing areas along Market Place and Smiddy Hill. On Sunday, a host of military vehicles will follow a slightly different route around the town, starting and finishing at Pickering Station.
For more details, please visit www.nymr.co.uk
ENDS
For further media information or photographs, please contact:
Jay Commins
Pyper York Limited
Tel: 01904 500698
Email: jay@pyperyork.co.uk
