If you live in East Yorkshire, you’ll know the pain of trying to get anywhere in a hurry. But, it looks like things might be looking up, as after seven years of hard work and fundraising volunteers of Yorkshire Wolds Railways have successfully completed a train movement for the first time in 60 years.
The Driffield to Malton line used to be a popular line that saw large numbers of passengers using the route up until the quarry closure, after which the service was withdrawn.
5576Sir Tatton Sykes, or Eddie as they nickname it, a diesel locomotive named after the local baronet of Sledmere House, shunted an Mk3 coach across the short stretch of line that remained on the old route.
The route closed eight years after passenger services ended and then was completely put out of service from 1958.
Posting to Twitter, The Yorkshire Wolds Railway wrote: “5576 Sir Tatton Sykes makes history by the first ever shunting on our line. A MK1 BG is taken down the siding and onto the running line and propelling it all the way up to the main to platform, the last time a move was seen like this was over 60 yrs ago.”
Back in 2015, the Yorkshire Wolds Railway opened a 300-metre demonstration track close to the Sledmere Estate in East Yorkshire with plans to expand two miles to the popular village of Wetwang. They own two shunter engines, a carriage and a brake van.
Membership director Matthew Brown said: “It was a very important day for us as it was the first time in over 60 years that actual shunting took place on part of the former Malton and Driffield Junction Railway.
“As we prepare for re-opening at Easter, work is continuing on the painting of the coach roof. We managed to complete one side working from the platform, but struggled to reach the other due to the height.
“The obvious solution was to move the coach from its former location on one side of the platform to the other. We have had to move the coach slightly before, but never had the siding connected to the mainline at that point so had to use a tractor.
“Thanks to the fantastic work done by our volunteers, the track is now all connected meaning that we could use our locomotive Sir Tatton Sykes to handle the movement.
Read More: This 1,000-Year-Old Yorkshire Pub Was The First Ever Pub In The UK
