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00:00i'm paul but most people call me piglet steam trains are my world and i help run
00:10one of britain's most popular heritage lines the north yorkshire mose railway
00:19stretching 24 glorious miles from the traditional market town of pickering
00:25heading over the north york moors and on to the coastal town of whitby north yorkshire what's not
00:35to light it's breathtaking i'm proud to be part of a thousand strong team working hard to keep this
00:44200 year old tradition alive that's what's brought me back all these years it's just one big family
00:50together we're facing the challenges of taking steam into its third century
00:57it takes passion everything that we do i'm really proud of skill when you're ready tom
01:04and as a charity some serious funds to keep the wheels turning on this heritage line
01:10five pounds six pounds but when you look out over this it's beautiful it's absolutely stunning and get
01:22to make people this happy there's not a better sight than that pulling out the station
01:29there's nothing else i'd rather do that's my kind of day in the office
01:32today i'm putting an 88 year old steam engine through its purses on one of the uk's steepest
01:43sections of track i'll embark on a heritage engineering first with a large-scale coal-to-oil
01:53conversion good job i didn't have a full english this morning
01:56and we'll meet the volunteer who needs expert timing to keep the passengers safe
02:03so this has to be lined up perfectly yeah you don't want to drop it
02:17this is grosmont it's a village up in the north york moose national park
02:23much of its character is rooted in a victorian past
02:30the river esk runs through here on its way to the north sea
02:35and it's home to britain's oldest independent cooperative shop
02:40grosmont grew in the 19th century thanks to the area's iron ore industry
02:45and a railway that was built for both goods and passengers
02:48today the ironworks and mines are a thing of the past but the railway lives on
02:57my days often begin here as one of the team who run the north yorkshire moose railway
03:02along with around 100 full-time employees and an army of more than a thousand volunteers
03:08we keep this historic line rolling on countless steam train fans come here every year to enjoy
03:16the experience of riding behind one of these beautiful engines
03:23it's from the engine sheds here in grosmont that steam locomotive set out on the north yorkshire moose railway
03:29and here it's where i'm climbing on board one of the stalwarts of our fleet number 5428 eric tracy
03:41i'm going to fire it on the run up to the next stop gorethland
03:45right so we're ready to depart grosmont it's a really steep hill out of it it's a one in 49 which
03:59for a a a railway is a really steep incline so we've got seven coaches on a real heavy load 350 tons
04:06so i need to make sure i've got a good fire on while my role today as fireman is keeping the fire burning
04:12sean is today's driver and he'll be making sure that we get to gorethland safely now smoking right
04:21my boiler's nice and full ready to climb
04:30before we depart i need to make sure that the train's safe and we get a green flag from the guard
04:36we also need a signal and we need the crossing gates to open and then we're good to go so i've
04:40got plenty of fire on boilers full we're all ready to go climb the hill
04:48it's hard work on a hop day like today as well
04:54green from the guard
05:10the section of line we are traveling on today is grosmont to gorethland it's a three and a half mile
05:22journey and it's full of history
05:28starting at grosmont we'll head past some of the old miners cottages at s valley then we really begin
05:35the climb and feel that 149 gradient with the engine working pretty much flat out as we go past the
05:42waterfall at beccol we'll encounter some fairly tight bends so it's not just the hill but also the curvature
05:48of the track that we'll be thinking about
05:58so as we come out the tunnel i'm looking for the crossing and the signal before we can continue
06:06crossing clear on this section of line the engine is working really hard and that's what people love to
06:13see us putting these big locomotives through their paces
06:24jiggies phones piece of paper
06:27it's just something about a locomotive powering its way up a hill there's just nothing like it
06:33this is our first time on a steam train in north yorkshire so far it's amazing
06:37it's hector loves steam trains they're his favorite thing in the whole wide world north yorkshire what's
06:42not to like but the only reason our wheels are rolling is because of the hard graft that's been
06:50put in in the small hours of the morning at the motive power depot or mpd in grosmont
06:56running a heritage railway is a complex operation
07:09and we rely heavily on the passions skills and dedication of a pretty special group of people
07:17duty fitter and train driver bungle is in charge preparing the engines today
07:22right so we'll see where the engines are parked this can be the thing some mornings you can be
07:26walking halfway to s valley and you still haven't quite found them so the reason we're here at five
07:30o'clock in the morning is to get these engines off shed on time ready for the service but in a safe
07:35manner so i first started here when i was 17 in 2013 as an engine cleaner and um slowly progressed
07:42onwards from there so there's eric there's the q6 now um if i get you started on eric
07:52and get these lads stacked on the q6 all engines have numbers but not all have names when they
07:58do it's often as a tribute such as our eric tracy after a bishop who was a prominent railway
08:04photographer it's just one example of how steep we are in history and that's something that drives us
08:11all whether staff or volunteer it becomes part of your daily routine you are keeping heritage alive
08:19without even noticing while bungle is one of the staff the rest of the early morning team are all
08:25volunteering their time for free my sister she works on the pullman um and she said like oh do
08:32you want to volunteer at the shed you can train up to be a fireman and eventually driver and i'm 19
08:37years old i started when i was 17 kind of like hooked on it really out that's my main hobby at this
08:42point yeah dampers are closed drain clocks are open and i checked the handbrake when we got on
08:48so um i'd say if you clean clean that grate yep you can get a file in that yeah yeah i'll wrap the
08:54grate now problem yeah perfect the coal sits on a cast iron grate inside the engine over time it clogs
09:00up with ash and residue called clinker so avanda rocks it dropping the waste into the ash pan keeping the
09:07fire clear ready for the next burn i mean you're waking up at five o'clock in the morning well early
09:15in that to get to here and obviously you're coming here and you're pulling you back doing that but
09:22it's a rewarding thing i mean at the end of the day when you like the engine
09:26once that's done the last few bits are pulled through with a fire iron into the ash pan
09:30ready to be removed later in the pit and with the firebox clear avanda can chuck in fresh coal
09:36and light the fire with rags and paraffin
09:41so one of the big things that i found when i started is that there was lots of generations
09:46lots of walks of life there's still some people here with steam knowledge from the days of actual
09:52operating steam pre-1968 and it's a lot of it is the knowledge that's getting passed down
09:57just a normal lighter and we'll just catch the end of the rag make sure we don't burn ourselves
10:04see it catches the light
10:12but lighting the fire is just one of the many tasks the team have to complete before the engine can enter
10:17service and they're up against the clock it's up to bungle to conduct a thorough hands-on fitness to run
10:24examination on almost every single nut and bolt
10:29a lot of it is just checking that nuts are tight and that's simply by noise certainly dirty jobs where
10:35you you're going to go in and getting your hands dirty but it's also a living job the engine's alive
10:40and it's speaking to you while you're doing it and you need to make sure that you speak back to it
10:44effectively as well as checking the engines are ready to run bungle has something equally important
10:50to take care of it's out here we've got our newest members of staff the rodent officers
10:57they're only kittens at the moment but they'll be after the breakfast
11:02so the titch and clinker are the names
11:04there they are look waiting for us we're getting all excited now they can hear the key
11:13we've got a 40-year tradition of having station cats they're here as a deterrent for rodents but
11:19they're lovely for the public too and us you're going to keep keep the rodents down and this is titch
11:27and show so they also raise money for themselves they have their own donation box and you're
11:31completely self-sufficient aren't you so yeah well you're looking at me as though you want breakfast
11:38come on then titch we'll get you some food
11:42there's yours
11:47as well as doing the engine's ash pans we also have the cat's ash pan to do it's a busy morning
11:54back in the yard with plenty of pressure and a fire finally at temperature it's time to move
12:05five four to eight over to the pit
12:09so each day the engine goes out you can't help but feel a warm feeling when you see and you
12:14i've started that engine i've got that working we lit that up and everyone who's been part of the team
12:19does feel a high sense of pride i think that's what makes us tick you know that's that's what makes
12:23the railway run and that's what makes it all work so well
12:31with eric parked over the pit bungle is able to complete his final safety checks underneath
12:38avander can jump down and rock the ash pan to clear out any ash clinker or refuse into the pit so
12:44it can be disposed of or recycled water on please andrew you can see above there there's a grate which
12:54is um currently has a hot fire on all right that'll do andrew i'll just grab the rail over here
13:14all right that's that one done sorted
13:29final checks complete and with eric tracy fit for traffic the tender is stocked up with coal
13:44all fed watered and checked the engine is ready for a day on the tracks i'm ready for me to help fire
13:58it along the line towards today's destination the picturesque village of ghostland
14:04i'm piglet and i'm firing an 88 year old steam engine from gromont to gothland on the north yorkshire
14:17moors railway with a train full of passengers behind me
14:23we've left gromont and passed the row of old miners cottages and we're really into the climb now
14:28though i've been working here since i was a young lad these days i'm one of the people in charge of
14:36the railway which often ties me to a desk sorry driver more on the floor than there is in there
14:43that's the emergency supply so when i do get out it's just as much a treat for me as it is for the
14:49passengers just really enjoy the fresh air and the um the history of it even though it's noisy it's
14:57peaceful if you understand what i mean
15:02it's a picturesque route popular with our passengers who love seeing the engines powering up the incline
15:10even coming from a place like new zealand where the landscape is spectacular there's something about
15:15the north yorkshire malls it's just magical when you see a steep train going through it
15:20it's also popular with hikers who follow what we call the rail trail
15:25the rail trail follows the original route between pickering and whitby
15:32the line was re-routed in the 1860s to bypass the steeper valleys but there's still a climb as we
15:38had out of gromont which means i need to get stuck into some hard work
15:41and it's a bumpy ride while i'm at it
15:46i'm finding i'll lose your teeth yeah they're well included
15:52there so i'm putting water in now i'm going to give it as a moment i'm going to knock the water off
15:56going into the boiler and i'm going to put another round on
15:59a round of coal is usually about 10 shovelfuls but on this section it will only be a couple of minutes
16:08before i need to do it again
16:10so this area we're just past lonely pie and this is the steepest part of the railway so
16:21we're really working hard now but i've got good pressure plenty of water in the boiler happy days
16:27it's been unseasonably hot and dry in recent weeks rushing along it can be easy to miss how the
16:39countryside has been affected by the extreme weather as well as by the running of the railway itself
16:47all right lovely driver thank you
16:49but burnt patches of land dead vegetation and recently cut clearings are all the tell-tale
16:56signs that wildfires are an ongoing problem in this area and this causes more work for the volunteer
17:02teams so surprisingly even though we had rain yesterday we actually had a line-side fire here
17:09and that is one of the challenges that a coal-fired steam engine is we are getting some of them
17:14particles ejected into the air so that's one thing we're looking at and trying to see if we can
17:19mitigate that risk and carry on the line side is also trying to mitigate that risk as well
17:26time for another round
17:33fire sparks have been a challenge for the railway ever since steam trains began
17:38but in ever warmer times managing them has been paramount for us all
17:44not least our line-side conservation team
17:49this brilliant team made up of a mainly volunteer workforce is headed up by conservationist
17:57Kerry and their job is to look after everything that sits along the 18 miles of heritage track
18:04here on the moors they work in all seasons with much taking place in sites of special scientific interest
18:12good morning morning we've got two hedge trimmers and two brush carts is that right arnie yes
18:23so my job is to look after the line side it's habitat it's boundaries the walls the fences
18:28and the people that help me work it all right you're all okay remember 15 meters apart we've got the
18:34harnesses and the helmets and i'm going to need a lookout for people working down when we're down on this
18:40section ready to go let's get started
18:47the priority for Kerry's team right now is controlling the risk of line side fires
18:53with sparks flying out of the engines the chance of one catching on the undergrowth is not to be underestimated
18:59this year we have the driest spring on record and when conditions are dry there's always a risk that
19:05we have to suspend the service until we get some rain but Kerry's team are doing everything they can to
19:12help with this you just need to try and make sure you get all the straggly ends because otherwise you drop
19:21more than you pick up yeah perfect
19:30so come next spring the bracken that you see green here is actually dry and dead and that's a complete
19:37tinder box for fires so if just a one stray ember rolls out of an engine what i end up with is this whole
19:44slope side ablaze but Kerry's work has many purposes beyond the risk of line side fires
19:50one of the reasons is that this is a really lovely habitat it's got nice grassland in it lots of nice
19:55wildflowers but they're becoming over dominated by the bracken and bramble and that's not good for
20:01the animals that live here so we've got adders on here we've got slow worms we've got common lizard
20:06and we want to retain that habitat for them
20:09further along a fire has recently taken hold the nature of the embankment here presents Kerry and
20:21our team with a bigger challenge we can't manage the slope because it's too steep it's not safe to access
20:28and it's not safe to access to put out a fire either so the best thing that we can do in these areas
20:33is to create fire breaks so where i'm standing is on the edge of the fire break and you can see the fire
20:38line actually stops bang on here we've removed the availability of vegetation for the fire to eat up
20:45here and then we've got the dry stone wall and the dry stone wall creates a fantastic final break for
20:51any fire that tries to get up here these dry stone walls have been here since the beginning of the railway
20:57pushing 200 years ago they're a barrier between ourselves and the rest of the moorland
21:03so as well as their role as a fire break they also keep livestock and people protected
21:08from the trains passing by the stonework here um i think it's astounding i think it's gorgeous
21:15it's lovely it's got a story to tell
21:20the line side conservation teams dry stone wallers work regularly along the railway headed up by jeff
21:26who had a career as a surveyor before becoming a volunteer you can smell the sheep like it down
21:31here can't you i help with leading the dry stone walling team largely self-taught having spent many
21:40years sat behind a desk to then retire and start messing around with heavy stones wasn't surprised but
21:46there we go all right this is where we're going to be doing doing the first stage of our project
21:51jeff's team are tackling mill scar wall part of an ongoing three-year restoration project
21:59it runs for a third of a mile along the moors edge winding down into the nearby hamlet of darnham
22:06its foundations have shifted and it's in a real state of disrepair
22:12i think there's plenty to do there some heavy stone about
22:14so if you can move any of that that would be absolutely marvelous just start moving it around
22:21and rebalancing it if we can yeah some of it will have to shift out but try and keep that to a minimum
22:29if we can just reset some of it so it's sort of level
22:34the majority of the volunteers that get involved in this are shall we say of a certain age i'll pass them to
22:41you generally speaking it's all got to be done by hand yeah let's have that that big one from over
22:51there that's excellent
22:54yep uh could do with a prop under there if we've got a bit of a bit of a wedgie under there lovely
23:09lovely yeah we'll just get some of the high spots off this one and see if that'll slot in where we want
23:19let's see what that looks like
23:31oh that's great yeah just the job just the job it's lovely to think that after i'm long gone the
23:38wool will still be doing its job with keeping everything safe right gentlemen that's about it
23:43for today we'll we'll come back another day when when we've got our strength back
23:54back with kerry and the team at darnon bridge it's been a productive day all the bracken has been cleared
24:02everything that we do i'm really proud of it's really good just to get this corner done
24:06so that we've reduced fire risk there it's a great habitat improvement and we'll finish the rest in the
24:11autumn and winter excellent turnout very very very good day right head down to the cafe for a cup of tea
24:19i think priorities yes quite right
24:22i'm more than halfway between gromont and goldland speeding through some spectacular scenery
24:41we're passing the water out bridge where a hidden footbridge underneath gives you access to a lovely
24:46waterfall here the line runs on a ledge high above the valley floor which is occasionally visible
24:53through the trees more than a hundred feet below it's one of the places that demonstrate how closely
24:59the railway has to work with the landscape the conditions are really nice nice dry rail so it's
25:04steaming really well which is what we want and i mean there's no better way to travel through
25:09yorkshire they're on a bump plate of the hard-working steam engine
25:16it's lovely you know just seeing the steam from the engine and like all the beautiful scenery yeah i
25:22could still see a bit of the heather still out in flowers a bit late in the year but uh yeah still a
25:27bit of it there on show nice little bit of purple to get us up the incline past beck hall the engine is
25:33more or less going flat out there's nothing left in there prior driver running all right kind of
25:46and each of these shovel falls costs about a pound
25:52so it's really expensive since covid our coal bill has more than doubled five pounds and to get a train
25:59along the line six pounds can almost cost us 600 pound a round trip in fuel alone and it adds up
26:06quickly in the busy summer season our coal deliveries cost us about 60 grand a month put some more water in
26:14and that as well as the fire risks these coal engines can present has me thinking about how we
26:19can future proof this important part of britain's railway heritage
26:23so last summer i traveled down to the south coast
26:31to the dartmouth steam railway to pay a visit to a couple of old friends
26:36loco 2253 better known as omaha and its owner peter best morning morning all right how are you doing
26:44nice to see you again it's been a while you as well big day coming up it is yeah i mean this is the start
26:48of a what is an exciting project isn't it absolutely oh but go and have a look at it yeah let's go have a
26:53look omaha is an american engine i know from my youth because it was part of our fleet back in
26:58yorkshire in the early 90s built in 1943 it was shipped across the atlantic to be used in the allied
27:05war effort in europe pete has owned it for the last decade and it's just one of 11 engines he's bought
27:12and carefully restored earning him a british empire medal for services to steam and heritage railways
27:19do you regret a purchase because i mean it's quite a purchase in it i mean you don't you don't take
27:24these things on lightly do you but i mean it's no the easy bit was buying it the the the hardest bit
27:29is keeping it going yeah after the war most of omaha's working life was spent on the polish state
27:35railway but now it's about to embark on a new adventure as working with peter we are going to
27:40convert omaha from coal to oil the engine will still be powered by steam but would be getting
27:46rid of the coal completely instead we'll be using bio oil possibly even rapeseed oil in the future
27:54it's a groundbreaking mission for a loco that means a lot to peter so what's the story behind the name
28:00peter omaha my father was involved in the omaha landings on d-day it was named in 2019 to
28:09commemorate those men british and american that that died on omaha beach right and the fact it's still
28:16here now to tell this story is pretty amazing absolutely and we're at the start of the new
28:20journey by oil firing it yeah
28:26right come on let's go and have a look on the foot plate and you're going to tell me what you're going
28:31to be doing to convert my engine yeah so this is where it's all going to change yeah yeah so i mean
28:38the most noticeable change that you're going to see is that all the coal will be gone and there'll be
28:44a big oil tank in in space unlike it is now where the fireman's constantly moving around the cab
28:50shoveling the coal and chucking it into the firebox all that's gone in effect we have a big steam
28:55powered flame thrower that mixes the oil in and that will ignite and it will get very hot the fireman
29:00literally sits down and and controls it but to all intents and purposes the rest of the engine will
29:07look just as it does right let's crack on and i'll get filthy excellent steam engines rely on precision
29:13engineering so i need to start measuring up identifying the potential pitfalls in our plans
29:18and working out where we're going to put that flame throwing burner there's only one way to find out
29:23yeah and that's clambering better luck yeah i might not be as clean when i come out
29:28oh that's why i used to work on this engine as an apprentice because i'm quite small i used to get
29:34shoved into places that not everyone could fit so i thought i'd just get in here actually and set the
29:40camera in with me because it's pretty tight in here i've just got to work out where i when i get the
29:46burner through then where the pipe goes i'm gonna have to cut a great big hole in it well not that big
29:50but hole in it to get the burner through and i'm gonna have to relocate all of this pipe work here
29:55and it's not the easiest place to try and work in if i'm honest it's a bit restricted but being a
30:00small chap that's why i always seem to get these jobs once i've drilled that hole for the burner pipe
30:06underneath the engine i then need to feed it up into the firebox so my next job is to climb inside
30:13check that it's in good condition and work out the best place to feed the pipe through
30:19my job i didn't have a full english this morning
30:23yeah if you could rock the left hand side i will yeah give it give it a full rock
30:29and i'll work out which is the best way to go
30:33right so go forwards that's the best that's the best position there that's lovely so leave it like that
30:40so i'm gonna take some pictures of that the firebox looks looks all right good there's no leaks
30:49there's a moth in here living in here
30:51that's my kind of day in the office
31:08so yeah i think i've got everything we need i've had a good look round good good wearing most of it
31:13light brilliant well thanks very much indeed for coming down so next time i see this engine it'll
31:19be up in yorkshire and hopefully it makes it in one piece
31:24fingers crossed
31:31back in grosmont it's a year since i went down to see peter and we've steamed through plenty since
31:37omaha arrived in one piece and i've even operated an oil conversion engine in florida
31:42to help us better understand what we've embarked on
31:47in the shed we're over halfway through omaha's conversion from coal to being able to run on biofuel
31:54lots done but still a long line ahead to the finish manifold then
31:59yeah giving it a go just looking at all the bits and building it up and just working out where it all
32:03goes i started in the t room at 11 so i've got a long history with this railway i did my apprenticeship
32:07here and i've worked up through the ranks that goes there just like mccano when you're a kid
32:15i got my 30-year badge last weekend omaha's really important to convert to oil it's um
32:20say it's part of our future i'm sure it is and other engines as well
32:23the burning of oil is zero spark emission just about it means that our engines can run through
32:31our 18 miles of stunning moorland without setting on fire which is a huge bonus because this is the
32:37first time a heritage steam engine of this size has been converted from coal to oil in the uk
32:43the engineering is completely new to us which presents massive challenges don't drop it now
32:50richard and nick are attempting to fit a really important piece of kit called a manifold
32:56it will be used to operate all the controls for the new burner so this is the one thing that when
33:01you're climbing the cab of this engine will distinguish it from a coal burner the fact that
33:05there isn't any coal as well but you'll climb in and a steam engine doesn't have this this is the oil
33:08burner control that controls the burner inside the firebox but i think that should do it okay so i'm
33:14currently perched on the edge of the fireman's seat and i think if i shuffle back into a better seated
33:19position i'm still going to be easily able to reach all of these valves well i suppose the seat's quite
33:23critical now because when it was a coal burner the fireman would be stood there shoveling yeah it kind
33:28of almost looks professional with the placement of the manifold agreed richard is going to cut a
33:36hole for another new part the oil valve where he puts it will determine where the fireman can sit
33:42it'd be a very good day if we can get this to fit so it's rather important
34:01it looks good but my only concern now is the distance between there and the fireman's seat it's a bit of a
34:05geometry nightmare really because we're trying to build around an engine that already exists
34:08i'm now sitting in the in the fireman's seat and you're going to have this right between your legs
34:14perfect time for another meddler to come and stick their oar in you don't want to risk catching your
34:19your bits in that do you no that'll be a bad afternoon that's not actually the hormone they see
34:25we can raise that up that i'll jam that in there and you just sit that on there so you will have
34:31we'll have valve handles here then so that's probably a bit high so you only want a two and
34:35a half liter tank painting not a five liter paint i'm sorry how high do you want that where do you want
34:41it if i'm sat there because i'm leaning out right i can do that i can do a bit of that i can adjust the
34:47oil i can adjust the steam the steam mix can it go there that'll be all right right i like that that's
34:53all right it's happy days one problem down but this groundbreaking conversion could take us a year to
34:59complete but it's projects like this which are vital to keeping the future of steam and our line alive
35:17i'm on the footplate of eric tracy steaming across the north york moors continuing our journey through
35:24the pretty area of dharnaum we head beyond the picturesque elebec the hillside above here is a
35:31favorite location for people who like to look down on the trains battling up what is one of the steepest
35:36railway gradients in the country it's gorgeous it's um it's like home from home really because we live
35:44just on the edge of dartmoor so um the scenery is absolutely beautiful actually and i just think
35:50that it's perfect setting for a heritage railway once we reach this point we're almost at the end
35:57of the incline so my hard work is done and now i'm preparing for the station and this steam engine only
36:05performs as well as i do so it's very critical that the fireman gets it right focuses on the job
36:12and that really makes a difference in how the engine performs absolutely crucial you're very
36:17much at one with the machine really really enjoyable and rewarding and warmer the day like today
36:30with ghostland station approaching some of our passengers recognize it and the nearby village high
36:35street as the setting for the long-running tv series heartbeat but a new generation of railway fans
36:42come here because ghostland platform featured in the first harry potter film as hogsmeade station
36:50green signal is green and we've got an m on the indicator for the base platform so all this good
36:58and as i come into the station i've got a crossing here so i just need to make sure that that's clear
37:15that's it we're pulling into gulfland good climb up the hill lap everything went to plan which is good
37:22you're sweating a bit now like it's quite a warm day my last job is one of my favorite things about
37:27heritage railways i have the token handing it to the signaler thank you handing that token over
37:37might seem a simple process but it's one of the most important things we do to keep the railway safe
37:47making sure the handover goes successfully along with many other things are the railway's hidden heroes
37:53the signalers it's going to be a bit different today we're putting the second locomotive onto the
38:02whitby pickering train at gormont i think it's the first time i've done that so that'd be quite nice
38:07yeah i'm looking forward to seeing it coming through yes we're a good site coming up the bank there up
38:11into the station in class 87 well absolutely richard and david are two of the four signalers we have
38:18working on the route today on a busy shift locomotives can pass by their boxes around 80 to 90 times a day
38:26anything different to report about the signal box from last time you were there or is everything as
38:30normal nothing that i can think of now it's it's as it normally is here they need to be ready and in
38:38position before any of our locomotives can begin working the line well i hope you have a good day here
38:44and everything goes well and according to plan and i will contact you from gromont as normal shortly
38:51okay bye see you later while david is based in the signal box here at goathland
38:57richard is based on the platform at gromont back where we started our steam train journey
39:04i've always had an interest in signaling um when i was a child on the days you could do that sort of
39:09thing i was allowed to go into the local signal box at my local station i trained for signaling role as
39:15part of my time with british rail my railway career went quite a different way i got involved in
39:21performance management on the railways so i didn't do the sort of basic operating jobs that i'm now doing
39:26here it's the first time i've actually been in charge of a signal box on my own and we're pretty proud of
39:32our signal boxes we've saved and restored many original levers cables wheels dials and bells in
39:39all our four signal boxes
39:51and they work pretty much as they would have done decades ago
39:54good morning gromont signalman goethl and signalman speaking i make it 0924 i make it 924 an exchanged
40:06opening and also it's still 924 now that's perfect i'll see you soon no news yet i'll speak to you
40:12later in the day thanks david all right cheers bye up on the railway we often call ourselves one big family
40:18but for some of us that statement is quite literal david who is currently at goethl and signal box today
40:27is my son he's been involved in the railway for as a volunteer slightly longer than i have
40:33it's nice because he's inherited my interest in railways it's something we both understand and enjoy
40:38together and it doesn't stop there so all of the family are involved in the railway my mom's training
40:44as a foreman here at goethlund and my sister is a booking clerk here at goethlund it's
40:48a really nice family thing for us to do together once father and son have made their opening
40:54exchanges and something else i've got to write down they have to record everything with a good
40:59old-fashioned pen and paper it's a legal document of their day it's one thing to read about it in a
41:06book it's another thing to be able to come and see and smell and experience what the past on the railway
41:11was like another traditional part of their job is to use the signaling block system
41:17it's a 175 year old method of communication using bells it's quite fun speaking to my dad on the bell
41:25system it's almost a bit like morse code so each train has its different bell signal kind of a secret
41:31language that only people on the railway know it's all about while ghostland has plenty of challenges of
41:38its own at grosmont richard is managing what is thought to be one of the busiest traditional
41:44manned level crossings on a heritage line with the gates having to be opened and closed dozens of times
41:50every single day so the wheel here turns around to do the gates and they then
41:59lock into position outside and then i put the lock in so they can't then move
42:03and now i'm doing another set of gates which are the pedestrian gates as it were from the platforms
42:09crossfoot pressing there's 52 levers in the signal box at gromont so knowing which one to pull or push
42:18at any time is pretty crucial
42:23once you get into it it becomes a very logical set of rules you're following it actually makes
42:28it straightforward if you've got that sort of mind
42:30another traditional process which is key to how trains safely run in both directions of a single
42:40track railway like this can be seen on the platforms themselves morning thank you
42:47it's known as the token system
42:53so what's happened there is the trains just arrived so i'm now putting
42:57the tablet back into the machine and now i will let goethland know that the train has arrived
43:04complete one two one keep it pressed in richard and david are using a system invented in 1878
43:12by edward tire after a deadly accident four years earlier to keep single line tracks safe drivers
43:19exchange a token at each station so only one train can ever be on the line at a time i'll offer
43:26him the other train so now they're offering me another train
43:34holding the plunger in to allow them to get the token out the other end
43:38he's now allowed me to withdraw the token which i've done i make sure that the release has gone
43:43onto the signal
43:46gromont gothen token i'll now go and give that to the driver of the train so he's got authority to proceed
43:50one goes and token for you thank you much it's a bit like a relay really with the driver in
44:00possession of the token hands it over to me i'm then responsible for putting into the machine and
44:06before another driver can take over the next part of the relay it has to come back out of the machine
44:10and i have to hand it over to him
44:11this well-kept secret has been a fail-safe operation here at the my mr since its inception
44:19so this has to be lined up perfectly to make sure that the token doesn't get dropped
44:25it's always a bit nerve-wracking especially when you're first training
44:27yeah you don't want to drop it you don't want to have people make fun of you about it
44:43cheers all successfully done
44:49i think that this kind of technology is quite frankly amazing given the age of it which kind
44:54of is a testament to the engineering and the design behind it and it's just wonderful to be able
44:58to come in and work with it whenever i'm here to volunteer it's it's a real privilege but it's
45:04especially fun when you can go home with your dad and say oh well we had a good shift together and
45:09you know you share that passion
45:10and that's one of the things that i'm most proud of here it just seems to be a magnet for brilliant
45:25people who all come together with the same aim keeping the traditions of steam alive
45:32and of course that's true for me too
45:34so as i end my journey today at the beautiful gulfland station famed for its uh harry potter
45:43and heartbeat it's really important that i remain focused on ensuring that the railway keeps running
45:48and there's lots of challenges that i've got to think about from the price of coal and the fuel
45:52to making it a really viable business and we need to make sure we run it effectively cost effectively
45:58to ensure the engines keep running into the future
46:05next time i take a big risk with a celebrity engine in the hope that it will bring in the crowds
46:11i've got to do a selfie with it haven't i our lineside team gets a sneak peek at some of britain's
46:17protected wildlife and the yorkshire countryside works its magic once again so this really is one of my
46:26favorite views just kind of liquid healing
46:56you
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