Infrastructure Upgrade 2020 – Exercise Turnout 20

With Covid-19 having essentially prevented the Railway from running any services over the summer we have been working on a number of tasks including completing the refurbishment of Leeming Bar Station House, renovating rolling stock and generally taking stock of where we are and where we need to be.

The Station House is now complete, several items of rolling stock have been refurbished and our attention has now moved to our infrastructure. With over 20 miles of track between Northallerton and Redmire we are one of the longest heritage railways in the country, and we need to keep all of that track in a safe working condition, even if we arent running trains. Recently a complete survey of the entire line was carried out, and it identified some areas that needed attention before they became a threat to the overall operation. These included a long section of track near Harmby, Wensley Station crossing, Swale bridge and a number of lesser sites where rectification would soon be needed. With the Railway closed for Covid it was decided to tackle all of these issues in one major project while we have the opportunity.

The plan is to relay over 500 yards of track at Harmby with flat bottom rail on concrete sleepers. The recovered good rail will the be cascaded to other sites for re-use. The road crossing at Wensley Station will be upgraded to have a compliant deck and the track slewed to permit possible future installation of a passing loop. Smiths User Worked crossing will also be upgraded. The timber baulks on Swale bridge will be replaced with new timbers and the walkways replaced. There are also a number of smaller tasks to remove old sleepers or replace the track bed along the entire route which will also recieve attention.

We are pleased to announce that we are getting assistance in the project by The Army, in the shape of 507 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (STRE). They are an Army Reserve unit that specialises in the repair and construction of railway infrastructure, and are using our infrastructure upgrade as a large training exercice ‘Turnout 20’.

Commencement of tasks on the line have started and we hope to complete all the work in time for Polar Express in November.

Please be aware that the line west of Finghall Lane and east of Leeming Bar are now worksites, with large amounts of heavy plant in use, and are not acessable to anybody who is not involved in the exercise. This includes volunteers, Trust members and even PLC Board directors. The only people permitted already know who they are, so if your havent been told, you should not just turn up…. PRS or no PRS ! There may be opportunities to get involved later, so keep an eye on the website or social media.

As the project progresses we will keep you informed via Social Media and with details on the website, so come back often and see how we are getting on. To help cover the costs of this project we have set up a small appeal, if you can make a donation please do, big or small every donation will help us.