North Yorkshire Moors Railway prepares for the Annual Steam Gala

Ian Foot, volunteer locomotive inspector at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, gives an insight into the preparation for the Annual Steam Gala.

As we prepare for the Annual Steam Gala, the team of staff and volunteers are all hands on deck to make it as successful as possible. For me, the best gala moment is always taking the locomotive from the depot and working its first train and seeing the sea of happy and expectant faces on the platform.

Ian Foot, volunteer locomotive inspector, North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

placeholder image — Ian Foot, volunteer locomotive inspector, North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

This event brings guest locomotives from other railways across the nation, giving visitors the chance to see some incredible locomotives on our rails.

As well as being a great opportunity to see how the locomotives perform, it’s a great chance for us to meet other teams and catch up about all of our roles and what we do, which is always really interesting.

Locomotive No. 4079 Pendennis Castle will appear at the Annual Steam Gala in September. Image by Frank Dumbleton.

The preparations for the event are many and varied. Before the locomotives arrive, arrangements must be put in place for them to arrive by rail or road as well as the contracts agreed to govern the use of each locomotive. Due to the volume of people and different locomotives to prepare, detailed risk assessments have to be constructed which cover crowd control, weather issues, and ensuring roles are defined for staff.

A timetable is put together to maximise the use of all locomotives, and the team have to try to match each to suitable coaches to recreate accurate combinations seen in the heyday of steam on British railways to give visitors the best experience possible.

As the gala approaches, the volunteers in the footplate department find out which locomotive has been allocated to them which is always an exciting moment for us all!

The loco I am most looking forward to seeing is the Great Western Railway Castle Class loco, Pendennis Castle from Didcot Railway Centre. It is a loud and proud machine and with four cylinders, very powerful. It also has a fascinating history having spent some time working in Australia. I’m really hoping that I am rostered on it!

Overall, I enjoy the whole gala event, whether it’s driving or just attending in visitor mode. I’d say, for me, the most memorable experience from past galas was firing Flying Scotsman, arguably the most famous steam locomotive in the world.

Don’t miss out on the Annual Steam Gala (September 24-27) as we welcome No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, No. 4079 Pendennis Castle, and T3 class steam locomotive No. 563. To book tickets and for more information visit www.nymr.co.uk/steamgala.