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00:01I'm Paul, but most people call me Piglet.
00:07Steam trains are my world, and I help run one of Britain's most popular heritage lines,
00:14the North Yorkshire Moes Railway.
00:19Stretching 24 glorious miles from the traditional market town of Pickering,
00:25heading over the North York Moes, and on to the coastal town of Whitby.
00:34North Yorkshire, what's not to like?
00:37It's breathtaking.
00:40I'm proud to be part of a thousand-strong team working hard to keep this 200-year-old tradition alive.
00:47That'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.
00:59Everything that we do I'm really proud of.
01:01Skill.
01:02When you're ready Tom, do your board.
01:05And as a charity, some serious funds to keep the wheels turning on this heritage line.
01:11Five pounds, six pounds.
01:17But when you look out over this.
01:19It's beautiful, it's absolutely stunning.
01:22And get to make people this happy.
01:24There's nothing better sight than that pulling out the station.
01:30There's nothing else I'd rather do.
01:32That's my kind of day in the office.
01:33Today, I take a risk on the Rockstar engine to attract the crowds.
01:40They're going to do a selfie with it, aren't they?
01:43Our lineside team get a sneak peek at some of Britain's protected wildlife.
01:50And the Yorkshire countryside works its magic once again.
01:55This landscape is just heaven to me.
01:57The North Yorkshire Moes Railway is lucky enough to pass through some stunning countryside.
02:13And traditional villages.
02:16And Goatland is one of them.
02:19Known to many as the village of Aidensfield from the long running TV series Heartbeat.
02:23And to many others as the setting for Hogsmeade Station.
02:27In the first Harry Potter film, it's a popular stop for tourists.
02:32Goatland Station first opened in 1865.
02:36And some of these buildings have stood unchanged since their construction.
02:40Though today, regular passengers know Goatland for its buff, or cream, and brown colour scheme.
02:47Colours which were used on the railway in the 1920s.
02:50The heyday of steam.
02:51I'm Piglet.
02:54Oh, how are we doing? Alright.
02:55Thanks.
02:56And as one of the team that runs the North Yorkshire Moes Railway,
02:59I'm usually scratching my head about how to keep things running smoothly.
03:05But today I'm jumping back on the footplate of number 5428, Eric Tracy.
03:10Together with volunteer train driver Sean, I'm going to be firing the engine from here in Goatland to the next stop, Leversham.
03:20Well again, here we go.
03:23Right, all is good.
03:25It's a hot day isn't it?
03:27I'm just going to put a drop in, stop it blowing.
03:29Alright.
03:31Yep.
03:33Marvellous.
03:36The handbrake's off.
03:39Dampers are set.
03:41So we're about to leave Goatland and head across the moors.
03:47There we go, so I'll keep a lookout.
03:48The section of line we're travelling on today is Goatland to Leversham.
03:55It's an eight mile stretch across beautiful moorland scenery.
03:59Starting here in Goatland, we'll reach the highest point of the whole railway soon after we depart.
04:04Then we'll reach Fen Bog, which is a floating section of track before winding our way on to the request stop, Newtondale Halt.
04:11We'll only stop there if a passenger asks us to.
04:14Heading downhill, we'll go past Skelton Tower, a victory of the request stop.
04:18The section of line we're travelling on today is Goatland to Leversham.
04:21It's an eight mile stretch across beautiful moorland scenery.
04:24Starting here in Goatland, we'll reach the highest point of the whole railway soon after we depart.
04:29Then we'll reach Fen Bog, which is a floating section of track before winding our way on to the request stop, Newtondale Halt.
04:33It's an hour, a Victorian ruin on the moorland, before concluding our journey at Leversham, right in the heart of the moors.
04:45Dig each phone, piece of the paper.
04:50It's a really beautiful track, you get fabulous views, it's just a glorious view of Yorkshire.
04:58Green on the next.
05:00So I've checked the train safe as we're leaving and make sure no one's trying to get off.
05:05We've got a five mile an hour here and it's a gentle climb all the way to the summit and then it's downhill.
05:11So once we've made it to the summit, the hard work's over.
05:13Right, let's go for it.
05:14Now every morning before leaving the depot, the engines have to pass a steam test to check their fit for service.
05:27And while I'm very happy to be firing Eric Tracy along the line here, it is a change of plan because the engine I was supposed to be on failed its test.
05:38It just goes to show you can never quite expect what you're going to get and it's surprising how many engines you need just to be able to keep a service running.
05:46I always say if I need three engines in service, I really want six available.
05:52It's a costly business keeping a steam railway running.
05:56Our income is from ticket sales and donations, but it's hard to keep up with rising prices.
06:01In fact, it gets harder every year. It means we're always thinking of ways to generate money.
06:08So a few days ago, we took delivery of something that I'm hoping is really going to pull in the crowds and boost those ticket sales.
06:16As we can see, the platform's starting to build up with people now, which is good.
06:19I can see a lot of cameras coming out and hopefully it'll get busier and busier.
06:22And that's just its arrival. It's not even pulling a train.
06:25So it's it's quite an exciting period for us and an exciting time.
06:29And, you know, lots of happy faces in there.
06:31It's what it's about smiling faces.
06:34So we're all here for one thing, the arrival of Tornado, a celebrity engine that I've loaned in from another charity in the hope that we're going to sell lots of tickets to bring in some much needed funds to keep our beloved North Yorkshire line up and running.
06:49Tornado is making its way here from an event in the Midlands.
06:53It's not unusual to loan an engine out or borrow one from another part of the country, but it comes with a higher charge.
06:59And to cover that, we will have to sell more tickets.
07:02It's a gamble, but one I hope will pay off.
07:06These engines are crucial to driving passengers and people coming and visiting the railway.
07:11It's like meeting your famous celebrities.
07:14I am the shed shop supervisor. I should be gone home at five o'clock, but no, no, there's a train coming and I'm going to stay.
07:20Oh, it's really exciting. One of the best engines, apart from the flying Scotsman, you could ever wish to see. What more could you ask for?
07:28Yeah, I can see a bit of steam there behind the carriages. Happy days. Another 20 feet and it'll be on the railway.
07:35Looks fabulous. It's just what we need, you know, just to just to push that final bit of the summer and generate a bit of excitement.
07:47I've got to do a selfie with it, haven't I?
07:49As steam engines go, Tornado is quite new. It only entered service in 2008, which makes it almost futuristic in the world of steam.
08:00And what a project. The first new mainline steam locomotive built in Britain since the 1960s, completed entirely from scratch.
08:10They're magic. They're not like the D's, the way you just put a key in and start them all.
08:16You know, I'm a bit older now. I remember all the steam engines when I was a youngster.
08:20It's a pleasure to see them back out again.
08:22It's fantastic. Lots of people on the route taking photographs of it and as excited as I was to see it.
08:31Righto, get it up to shed. I'll see you later. Thanks a lot.
08:35Thanks a lot.
08:39Magic.
08:42Just the job.
08:46And now I just need to hope we can sell some tickets and get the crowds in.
08:50Happy little piglet.
08:52For me, it's all about the smiles. You only have to see the people here. It's brought a real buzz.
08:56So yeah, happy days.
08:58But it's not just the passengers who love an engine like Tornado.
09:05For the team in the sheds the following morning, the chance to get her ready to go out on the tracks is something special too.
09:13Engine Fitter Bungle has fond family memories of the first time he laid eyes on her.
09:19I remember going to see this, probably in the early 2000s, it might be in the late 90s, with my grandad at Darlington.
09:26And we're looking at it. It was just a set of frames.
09:29I don't even know if there was any wheels. It was very, very embryonic.
09:34To see it here, at a place where you work and you're working on it, it's quite incredible to see.
09:39And he's right. Tornado was built by a team of volunteers at the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust in Darlington.
09:48It was a project that took almost 20 years, finally completed in 2008.
09:54She then broke records by reaching an incredible 100 miles an hour in 2017.
10:00It's just, it's incredible. Every single thing's been made from scratch.
10:06And I think the name's quite empowering as well, Tornado.
10:11The name was chosen in tribute to the RAF Tornado fast jets that flew during the Gulf War,
10:18honouring the crews who flew them.
10:20Everyone is rightly excited to see the engine in action.
10:24But before the whistle blows and passengers can step on board,
10:27Tornado's driver and fireman need to do their important final checks.
10:31Ready to leave the shed shortly. I think we're pretty good.
10:35Even got some space. A little bit of space on the boil, yeah.
10:39For Beth and Nick, part of the team entrusted with Tornado during her stay,
10:44preparing the engine is both demanding and rewarding.
10:48I'm looking forward to today to be able to drive an engine that is a new build.
10:54We're not used to, like, all these electrical gadgets that we have on here.
10:58It's interesting to see how all these systems interact to make the engine work slightly differently.
11:03And also, it is very exciting because it's like one of those things that you will remember for the rest of your life.
11:11And because we don't get on these engines often, you sort of, like, mark it in your memory as one of those special days.
11:17It's a physical job. It's quite demanding. And obviously, this isn't something that you can just do out of course.
11:26You've got to train hard and you've got to know what you're doing to operate this sort of machinery.
11:31You've got to be on top of the job and you've got to work as a team.
11:43Fireman, 60163, we have left Newbridge yard and positioned on the main line, ground frame set to normal.
11:49Down to the carriage table, thank you.
11:52Now it's time for Tornado to collect her carriages and move out onto the platform where the passengers are waiting.
11:58Today, she's starting her journey at Pickering, at the southern end of our line.
12:04Good afternoon. Welcome to the North Yorkshire Railway.
12:12It's beautiful. It's really beautiful.
12:14I love the steam. Isn't it gorgeous?
12:17And it's so shiny. Somebody's really worked hard to keep this train.
12:22A lot of good volunteers. Oh my goodness, yes.
12:25There's a quirk on our line, which means when the engine is travelling north from Pickering to Whitby, the engines look like they're going backwards.
12:32But at our speeds, these engines pull just as smoothly in both directions.
12:37So after a bit of shunting and getting reconnected to the carriages, she's ready to go.
12:42And by the looks of the crowds that have turned up, my gamble might be paying off.
12:47Everybody loves a bit of nostalgia. Everybody loves to go back in time, to leave the fast world behind.
12:56Experience speed in a different way.
12:58Well, she's not quite going to reach a record breaking 100 mile an hour on our railway.
13:06We've got a speed limit of 25 miles an hour.
13:09But even at that leisurely pace, having tornado steam through the moors is a privilege.
13:15And I'm keeping everything crossed she'll keep pulling in the fans.
13:26I'm firing an engine across the North York moors.
13:29We're travelling between the villages of Goatland and Leversham.
13:32It's a particularly dramatic part of the route, characterised by steep slopes and sweeping moorland.
13:38As we power up the hill from Goatland, we'll soon reach the highest point of the railway,
13:43then pass through the nature reserve around Fen Bog.
13:47The scenery is lovely. You see the different shadows through the trees, you know, as you're going along.
13:52And the sheep on the lines. The sheep outside of the lines.
13:55It's gorgeous, isn't it?
13:56And while the passengers and visitors to the area rightly love the scenery,
14:01from our perspective, it does offer some unique challenges.
14:05So we're just passing the summit sign and there's a crossing here I need to keep an eye out for.
14:10The lightweight walk.
14:12We don't want to catch any walkers in the west, and that's why he's whistled.
14:17Crossing clear!
14:19And then as we go across Fen Bog, and it literally is a bog, and the railway floats on it.
14:25So we've got a five mile an hour speed restriction here, which is here all the time.
14:29Because the railway is constantly moving around.
14:32So the next section of the line will be going really, really steady.
14:35Just to make sure everything's okay, and I'll be keeping a good look out.
14:41It does sound pretty dramatic that the railway is floating.
14:44But the story goes that railway pioneer George Stevenson, almost 200 years ago,
14:50found that the only way he could overcome the marshy bog land we're travelling on right now,
14:55was by creating a floating track suspended on a bed of timber and sheep skins.
15:00And it's areas like this that present real challenges when you're operating a railway.
15:06The very nature of the railway that we run through, the fact that it goes through a bog,
15:11it goes up very steep hills, makes it really challenging to maintain.
15:16Approaching the halfway mark along the route, I have a communication to relay to the driver,
15:25that the optional stopping point will be required.
15:28We have a request stop at Newtondale Holt driver.
15:32Newtondale stopping at Newtondale.
15:34We have a request stop.
15:37The passengers have to let the guard know that they want to get off.
15:39We wouldn't normally stop unless we're told to.
15:43Sometimes you can go straight through and we'll get a green flag from the guard.
15:50Just see the platform coming up now,
15:51so I'm just making sure that there's no one sat with their legs hanging off the platform.
16:01Platform clear.
16:02boom and there we are the area here is so remote that it can only be accessed on foot
16:15or via this railway nip that on while we're still there and then i have to keep an eye
16:20out for the guard but that does make it a favorite spot for walkers me included
16:25some of the most breathtaking landscapes are around newtendale and the levesham moor in the
16:34shadow of nearby skelton tower is a great meltwater valley carved out by masses of water charging
16:40through it in the last ice age over 10 000 years ago and because this particular part of the railway
16:47is so inaccessible it's a haven for wildlife that finds shelter in the deep woodland that lines the
16:54tracks here and it's a location where our lineside conservation teams spend plenty of their time
17:01not least helping the protected species which live here so today we're going out to check on the
17:11reptile mats we've done our spring surveys and we're leading up to our autumn surveys but the summer
17:17vegetation gets really thick so we need to know the mats are still there they're still visible they're
17:22still identifiable reptile mats provide a warm and sheltered refuge for cold-blooded animals to
17:28bask and hide under made of a dark colored felt they're used by wildlife groups like kerry's to
17:36monitor and survey populations so there we go there's the first one so we could probably so i need a bit of
17:47clearing around to make it more accessible but obviously leaving some foliage around it too so
17:53anything under there can escape quite easily here in newtondale there's a healthy population of reptiles
18:00from lizards and slow worms to britain's only venomous snake the adder it's a sign of a healthy ecosystem and
18:07the team monitor their numbers year after year okay shall we have a look and see what's underneath
18:13absolutely i should go beside and pull over
18:19all right so we've got a really active ants nest plenty eggs there but no slow worms we often have
18:27slow worms don't we we've got nine miles of a site of special scientific interest we go through a special
18:35area of conservation we go through really old woodland beautiful meadows fields farmland we've
18:41got really strong biodiversity network here on the railway so a lot of our work is conservation as much
18:48as it is keeping the railway safe and keeping it functioning for livestock for people for the train
18:53drivers here's the next one so that's a beautiful female slow worm they're that gorgeous kind of coppery
19:02colour and she's just happy sitting under the mat chilling out they look like snakes but technically
19:08they're a lizard they just happen to be legless um but they're they're absolutely beautiful it's always
19:14a treat to see a slow one i'm glad we've got one reptile yes those blue flags along the line side mark
19:24out the reptile survey mats as the summer vegetation grows they help the team find their way back and they
19:31also signal to passengers that conservation work is underway i have had someone say they've even seen
19:37a lizard sat on top of the mat while they were stopped at newtendale halt here on the station
19:42they feel really excited they've just seen something that's quite rare to see
19:45oh that's beautiful it's two females together that's amazing for kerrie spotting these reptiles is proof
20:04that careful management of the habitat is working i think that this is a railway it's worked by people
20:12and it's here for the enjoyment of people to learn about their cultural heritage but we're also in
20:16the home of some really unique species and whether that's plants or animals and we respect that and
20:23it's a privilege to share the space with them and it's a privilege to manage the habitat for them
20:28kerrie's lineside conservation team are part of our thousand strong army of volunteers
20:33they look after the 18 mile stretch of heritage line on the mymr's network but in reality that means
20:42there's 36 miles of boundary for them to worry about because they work on both sides of the track
20:48about a mile further down the track the volunteer fencing team are lugging their planks and tools
20:54to carry out some repairs to a part that is only accessible by foot don't let me turn and whack you on
21:00the head i did that once didn't go down well this is why we're here to keep the sheep off the line
21:11oh yes yes you see clear as a bell where the sheep are coming through
21:18for keeping these fences good condition we have to keep the blind side safe the animals safe the
21:26train's safe it's an ongoing job it's like doing the fourth road bridge one of the perks of volunteering
21:34your time to protect the track is getting up close and personal with the line's newest tourist attractions
21:40Arnie trains come in
21:44that's tornado is it tornado coming to have a show yes hopefully there should be a tornado coming
21:51i'll be disappointed if it isn't there's not a better sight than that pulling out the station
22:06it's coming backwards
22:17i've got a good video of that post
22:23i've got the camera pointing the wrong way video that book
22:31oh daring me no no no no no
22:36whatever jobs they're tackling the line side volunteers rightly take great pride in the work they do
22:42we're going to have to take some little trees down the shrubs it's going through the fence so that's
22:51going to push the rails off the sheep will get us again i just love it i just love being outside
23:00when i first started 14 years ago i was in a stressful job and i just needed something to
23:08sort of take that stress away really just saw an advert and it said fences indeed
23:15i started here when i retired in 2016 i've been underground a miner for 40 years i enjoy photography
23:29i wanted a job in the outdoors enjoy steep trains so this just linked all three together it was emerging
23:37for your physical mental health it's i don't think you can beat it
23:45the stress that you've got during the day while we're down here just goes
23:49the railway first opened in 1836 and remarkably the fences we build today follow the methods used back
23:57then the only difference is a shift from imperial to metric measurements which can still cause a few
24:04headaches oh i don't believe that i'm gonna eat them in shouts no give it a whack my measurement isn't as
24:17good as it used to be they always say measure twice cut once i'm afraid i do it the other way around
24:28here goes here's the test voila smash in okay guys good work today a little bit of fencing oh that's my
24:39towers
24:48it's been a productive day at newtendale hall for our volunteer army well i've got mine guys what you're in
24:54this part is just real nice just sitting down together when uh enjoying each other's company
25:03yeah it's great there now see through the service as requested thank you
25:09i'm firing this heritage steam engine through spectacular scenery in the north york moors
25:24i'm just over halfway through my journey between the villages of goethland and leversham
25:29it's a particularly pretty part of the line and because of all the curves we're not going too fast
25:35it's a perfect opportunity to take in the scenery it's nice out of the countryside outside uh through
25:42the windows it's nice going fairly slow so you get a good panoramic view um and it's just nostalgia
25:52on a section of line like this where the speed limit changes a lot my job is to be one step ahead of
25:58the driver so if he wants to increase his speed by adding more steam into the cylinders i need to stop
26:04cold air from coming into the firehole door we're coming up to the end of the 10 mile an hour here
26:10so i'm getting prepared ready for the driver he'll put a little bit of breath of steam on he won't put
26:15a lot on but he'll pull it round because we've got a curve as well so i just need to make sure that i'm
26:20ready before he does it you can feel the train slowing now so i'll shut that and he'll open the goal stick
26:37right so we shut off now practice level of the bit
26:43and we roll all the way down to levisham
26:45and i love trains you just can't beat the feel the sounds the smells
26:52modern things don't do it for me no more so being on a steam train sport yes
27:01particularly on a hot day like this that there's a lot of moving parts on this engine
27:05we need to make sure they're lubricated
27:10we actually do our own in-house lubrication system for our engines
27:14and we manufacture them in-house and it's a real traditional skill
27:19it's nice that we can still do that and make our own parts
27:25it's true we can't order our spare parts online or get them from a local hardware store
27:31and when it comes to one particular part we rely on two people who we think are the last in the world
27:37still operating in a commercial environment they're brian and tammy and they handcraft a part called
27:43an oiler pad something that our steam trains simply can't function without
27:50we all right with this town not too bad but i think we're gonna have some run out
27:54yeah it looks like it while most of us at the railway are working day in day out with massive engines
28:01heavy metals and huge piles of coal brian and tammy work with wool and cotton and a decades-old loom
28:09and their handiwork is vital to the smooth running of every single engine and carriage not just in the
28:16uk but as far flung as australia it's amazing to think that you know this small workshop in yorkshire
28:23makes a product that is used all over the world in heritage railways so it's a phenomenal thing that
28:29we do an oiler might look like a small piece of carpet but it very cleverly delivers the right
28:35amount of lubrication to the engine's axle we can't run a railway without armstrong oiler pads this won't
28:43move without the oil delivered into the bearing the oiler pad delivers um so there wouldn't be an nymr
28:49without them each pad is designed to fit snugly so it can deliver oil directly to the axle and keep
28:55the wheels running smoothly and they get checked regularly to ensure they're in good working order
29:01and there she is and the pad is in there
29:10the the oil's picked up from the oil reservoir and as it goes around this is the journal that
29:15spins around and that delivers oil to your crown which is this bit it's the simplest bit of engineering
29:20kit you'll ever come across it's steel and string it'll be delivering oil through the night it never
29:24stops it's one of the hardest working bits of equipment we have on the railway so to make sure
29:29every oiler does its job perfectly brian and tammy use a secret blend of yarns that's been developed
29:35over many decades we have base cotton material which is holding the whole thing together and then we have
29:43feeder material which wicks oil from underneath up onto the pad and then the pad material which is
29:49really critical um is a mixture of of different types of yarn and that has a tendency to hold the oil
29:57brian and tammy couldn't do their job without the dob cross loom designed in the 1860s it was the
30:03workhorse of textile manufacturing in industrial britain more than a million of them were made
30:09but now we think this could be the only one left in a commercial setting and as the only person who
30:15knows how to operate and maintain it brian is reminded daily of the rich history behind this heritage craft
30:22all the marks on the machine uh and little bits of uh graffiti and so on and you just look at them and
30:29wonder how many different people have used this before and time's gone by and um and then i sometimes
30:38go on to think and i wonder how many more people will be after me
30:44hopefully it will be a lot in the world of steam engines nothing is ever simple and that includes
30:50the wheels there was no standardization back in victorian times so when it comes to the oilers
30:55and their frames there are more than 760 different shapes and sizes today we're making nine inch wide
31:04by five and a half inch across pads in sets of three and brian can set up the loom to make every
31:11single one of them these are what's known as shafts and each one of these little wires on here
31:18has an eyelet through which a piece of yarn is threaded and the movement of these shafts up and down
31:24then changes which material is where in the warp and that drives how the material is woven this is the
31:31shuttle and the machine fires this backwards and forwards and it delivers the cotton through the
31:38warp it's a complex and fiddly process that brian has perfected having taken over the running of
31:44the workshop three years ago when i stepped through the dole i had no inkling that i would ever be a
31:52weaver the enormity of learning to to use the loom and sort of hit me and it took six weeks training
32:00with another person who could use the loom for me to actually be able to operate it on my own and after
32:08that time it was probably another six months before i really understood how it worked and that's one of
32:13the problems we face working these looms is a dying skill and it's a huge challenge to find the next
32:20generation to take over now i have to create a series of loops using the wires and this is what
32:30determines the width of the pad the number of wires that go in so as i'm doing this i tend to count the
32:41wires in and count them back out that's how i know where i am in the sequence
32:55at this point i have to start pulling the wires out and each wire as it goes through the material cuts
33:11the loops and creates the pile and there we go last wire out that's a finished set of three pads which
33:19will then be removed from the loom and fitted to a sprung frame to make the oiler brian's skilled
33:27weaving on the loom is just the first part of the process he moves on to make the sprung metal frame
33:33while over on the other side of the workshop tammy has to assemble and stitch it all together
33:39she's been doing her job for an incredible 18 years there's not many people that go home at the end of
33:45the day and knowing that they've made something from start to finish it's very much job satisfaction
33:51yeah so after cutting the squares to size she gets to work to remove any loose ends this is what i
33:57spend a lot of my time doing really it's just looking plucking it down as we call it a bit like
34:04pulling the feathers out of a chicken it's nice to work with the traditional materials you know we're
34:12working with cotton and wool um it's nice for your hands it smells a bit sheepy even when you walk
34:18in the workshop here you can smell a little bit of oil and a little bit of sheep but it's just nice
34:23to use the natural materials after some heavy duty sewing to hold everything firm she fits it onto the
34:31sprung metal frame we also have a bit of a thing that you know if we ever have a quiet time we should
34:37maybe he's going to make in judges wigs because it's perfect for judges wigs it would look great
34:44there's just one stage left for tammy to complete and that's to secure the whole thing with buttons
34:50and then it's ready for use so this is a finished armstrong oiler um it's just a nice simple design
34:57it's got a lovely spring to the frame so it's very easy to fit it into the axle box in the first place
35:03one of the the things that it's highlighted to me is the fact that we used to make things really well
35:10in this country and we need to get back into that situation by preserving and probably evolving those
35:17skills in the future
35:23the next few years
35:31steaming across the north the utmost national park on the footplate of engine
35:355 428 my journey from gaufland to levisham is almost at an end
35:39As they approach Levisham it's safe to say that the landscape along this section of the track
35:46is pretty stunning especially when the famous purple heather is in bloom but it's the deep
35:52valleys banks and ridges that are a particular highlight. The landscape around here is absolutely
35:59wonderful. It's stunning hills, valleys, the forestry especially is incredible. Do you see
36:10bits different than you would do going across on the car or sort of even walking you couldn't see
36:17we just went through and passed a whole load of phasms in the field so it's just a bit different.
36:23Do you see parts of it you would normally see? As we near the end of this leg of our journey
36:29having travelled through boggy land and gathered plenty of dust in the baking heat there's chance
36:35for me to do a bit of a tidy. I have a little slack down so I've got a hose here full of hot water
36:49and I'm gonna just dampen the cab down a little bit that helps keep the dust down
36:58As soon as we approach in Levisham I need to keep an eye out for signals and crossings and platforms
37:08Is that white light flashing? I can't see it yet I've got an old torch in the way. Flashing white light
37:18The other train is in the platform crossing clear
37:29The quirk of this remote and tranquil village is the station is more than a mile and a half down a very steep bank from the village itself
37:36Built there in 1836 so the trains could pass through the valley bottom
37:41And I know from experience it's quite a hike if you're walking up the hill rather than down it
37:47The station buildings and platform look pretty much as they would have done in the early 1900s
37:53Over the decades plenty of folk have called this serene stop on our line their place of work
37:59But there are a fortunate few who have even called it home
38:04This is the perfect place to live but there are costs to pay and because we're so close out here
38:09We've got the platform and people are on holiday and they just sort of gawp in the window to see what's going on
38:15If they're not careful what's going on is me in my pyjamas writing my emails
38:19Chris has lived in the station master's house on Levisham platform for the last 21 years
38:25But he's no station master Levisham no longer has that role
38:30In fact Chris is a tutor to young artists who come to take inspiration from these beautiful surroundings and their history
38:37And he's something of a custodian here
38:41So we've got the railway right there and then if you come round to look out here we've got the lovely view down the line
38:48So we can see all the way down this mile long straight
38:51But this used to be the door so the public would come down here and in here to buy their tickets
38:56In the 1920s a separate ticket office was built on the platform
39:00But there's still some evidence in the house's layout of how it would have been used
39:05So we had the ticket counter here and Walter Artley the old station master would have taken in parcels
39:11And handed out the tickets or sold them through the hatch
39:14And he would have been keeping warm with a nice old coal fire
39:17Originally a farmhouse it was converted for the station master in the 1840s
39:23But with the demise of steam in the 1960s it sat derelict for years
39:28Until Chris's parents bought it and started a long process of renovating it into the home it is today
39:34We've still got further works planned for it to continue to improve it
39:39I would just want to make sure that it's here and available to people who will understand why it matters
39:45And if it ever stops being a joy, let someone else enjoy it
39:50Not only does Chris live here, he was our artist in residence for more than a decade
39:55And he's painted some pretty special pieces including some with a family connection
40:00So my father who was a railway designer started off in the steam age and designed part of this locomotive
40:09This is an engine called the Royal Scott
40:11And my father designed these unusual smoke deflectors for it
40:16So when it came here I painted him as a young man with his drawing board doing the design
40:21And then I painted him and my mum when they were in their 80s actually watching it in real time
40:27So you can kind of tell a story within a picture
40:31Although he is now retired, he keeps his hand in as a teacher for aspiring watercolour artists
40:37Hi Ben
40:38You're early
40:39Well
40:40Right, have you got your kit?
40:41Yes
40:42Big day today, we're going to go back up to Skelton Tower
40:46Right
40:47Do you remember how much help I gave you?
40:48Not a huge amount
40:49It was a general idea, find out what you'd make of it
40:52And today we're going to go back, having done the course
40:54Right
40:55And paint it rather than just draw it
40:58Yes
40:59Good, right, nothing could go wrong, let's go
41:01All set
41:07Right then, let's go and find the tower
41:17So what are you thinking about colour selection for this?
41:20Obviously there's the sky, that's going to be pale blue today, I think
41:25So can you remember what that blue was called?
41:27No
41:28The cerulean blue, wasn't it?
41:30Sounds about right
41:31Skelton Tower is a popular local landmark
41:34About a 20 minute walk from Levisham station
41:37It's actually one of the best vantage points to view steam engines
41:41Powering through the dramatic landscape
41:43The tower itself was built around 200 years ago
41:46By the rector of Levisham
41:48As a secluded base from which he could write his sermons
41:52And enjoy his country pursuits such as shooting
41:55So this really is one of my favourite views
42:02Particularly this time of year
42:04Because if you look all the way up there
42:06As the light changes
42:08It's like the landscape's moving
42:10OK, so you're going to set up here?
42:12Er, yeah, this looks good
42:14Well you sit on the nice wet grass
42:16And I'll sit on the nice dry heather
42:18Perks of the job
42:22I quite like how
42:25I kind of want that to be central
42:27The view of the ridge through the window
42:30Yeah
42:31OK, we'll draw that first
42:32And just draw the window
42:33And then build the tower around it
42:35I think it's really interesting
42:37How different people
42:39See the objects they're painting
42:42And the task they're going to go about
42:45In making the painting
42:46And Ben actually, although he hides it well
42:48He's pretty fastidious
42:50Until we get to the washing up stage
42:52Where he goes strangely vague
42:54You don't want me to close with the oak board
42:56So if you don't start with a white palette
42:58You can't be making the contrast with the white
43:02I think you look at things in a different way to me
43:04Don't you, Richard?
43:05Yes
43:06So I think I approach things very geometrically
43:10I have a degree in maths
43:12A lot of what I do is
43:15I kind of
43:16A lot of the time I'm approaching it as
43:18Seeing a 3D space
43:19And then trying to project that onto a 2D space
43:22Which is a very mathematical way of describing
43:25Drawing a picture
43:29It's something I've always wanted to do
43:30Was be able to draw
43:32And I struggled with it
43:34In large part due to my dyspraxia
43:36But something as simple as writing
43:37Or drawing a straight line
43:38I have to think through the process a lot more
43:40Than most people I do, I think
43:42But also I just find it difficult to stick with
43:44And so finally sticking with that
43:46Through the struggles of dealing with dyspraxia
43:49Has been really useful for me, I think
43:54OK, don't put any more on
43:56Now just move it around in that space
44:02Up to the edge of the window
44:03So that you've got the whole space covered
44:05Well done
44:06Sitting here in these landscapes
44:08Surrounded by nature
44:10Doing something you love
44:11I think we could all do with a bit of that
44:14This is just heaven to me
44:16This landscape gives you space to sort out yourself
44:20How you see things, how you compare to things
44:23It's just kind of liquid healing
44:26And I'm really grateful to have had the chance to live here
44:28And to be amongst it all the time
44:30I'm really pleased
44:32I hope you are
44:33Yeah, it's definitely
44:35I think it works as a sketch, yeah
44:37Yeah, yeah, yeah
44:38Well that's a good way on from where we started
44:40Yeah?
44:41Six months ago
44:42Yeah
44:43Well done, that's really good
44:44Really encouraging
44:45Thank you
44:46We are very lucky to live and work in this part of the world
44:51But there's definitely something extra special about the moorland around Leversham
45:03As I pull into the station, the all-important token handover has to be made
45:08This completes our journey on this section of line
45:11And the signaller can now release other trains onto it
45:15Thank you
45:16Thank you
45:17Right, number 18, Leversham New Bridge
45:21Hang out back on the hook
45:23So with today's journey at an end
45:26Picturesist Leversham station
45:28And tornado pulling in the crowds
45:30I'm feeling pretty positive
45:32That's it, we made it
45:34Spawn that
45:36But if we're going to keep Heritage Steam running into its third century
45:40I need to turn my focus to yet another challenge
45:44The engines are fabulous
45:46Like they're the rock stars of the railway
45:48But it's the people
45:49The people are what make this railway work
45:51And without those people, we're nothing
45:53So focus for me is making sure that we're getting the young people involved and enthused
45:59And getting that excitement of working on a heritage railway
46:03And if we can sort that, we've got a future
46:08Next time, a huge moorland blaze threatens the success of the summer season
46:13The fire services are under massive stress
46:16Young volunteers get involved in the engine shed
46:20Amazing
46:21Absolutely amazing
46:22And a chance to pay tribute to the people who got us to where we are today
46:28She loved and tended these gardens which are her everlasting memorial
46:34Sure
46:37So
46:37We can focus on the design of the solar port
46:39Which creates fish insects and their kidneys
46:40And if we need to stop, we're going see etc
46:41Which will save them to their servers
46:42That lets us know
46:43They need us
46:44To the future
46:45The power Parsons
46:46In the night
46:54To all of us
46:55Into the summer
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