Railway Conservation. Run by Volunteers. Not for Profit.
Yorkshire's Magnificent Journey is our £10 million project to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy our 180 year old railway for decades to come. Over the past 5 years we’ve been busy delivering 7 unique initiatives. The project concludes in 2024 and you can find out more below about what we’ve already achieved and what’s still to come.
We’ve replaced three crucial bridges along our railway to ensure that we can keep the trains running well into the future. The new bridges have replaced ones that were over 150 years old and starting to show their age. Find Out More
We’ve made improvements to help ensure that our site is as accessible as possible for all to enjoy and feel included. This includes new specially adapted accessible carriages, enhanced signage and accessible maps. Find Out More
We have built a new £4 million carriage stable at Pickering to provide better care for our historic carriages. The new facility provides covered storage for up to 40 carriages and is making our work to care for and maintain the collection much easier. Find Out More
We are busy developing our learning programmes and have launched a fresh new programme of activities to engage young people with the railway. We have transformed the former pigeon van at Goathland into a new learning coach and have launched a new app. Find Out More
We have invested in volunteering including creating new volunteer opportunities across our departments and providing training and support to help volunteer development. We have also created the Outstation at Stape - a residential centre providing high quality volunteer accommodation. Find Out More
Our new apprenticeship scheme is helping young people gain the skills they need for a future in heritage railways. Our apprentices are working alongside our staff in engineering and lineside conservation. Find Out More
Our lineside conservation project is helping to care for the land either side of our railway tracks. Our conservation work includes habitat surveys, practical conservation tasks and the creation of educational resources to help our visitors understand more about wildlife and conservation. Find Out More
Our £10 million Yorkshire's Magnificent Journey project is delivering seven major initiatives that are key to the long term survival of the railway. They will ensure that we can continue to operate and be enjoyed for many generations ahead and you can read more about each element below.
The project has been kindly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the European Union, the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs and our Local Enterprise Partnership.
But we also rely on the generous support of individuals to enable us to keep us steaming into the future. Please help us with the last push to raise the remaining £300,000 we need to finish the project. Visit our appeal page to find out how you can help us reach our goal.
Renew and repair the worn-out iron bridges around Goathland to ensure we can continue to operate heavy steam engines for generations to come. Read more
Provide a Fuss-free access carriage in every train with ramps, toilets and seating to easily accommodate the mobility needs of all our passengers. Read more
Construct a covered stable for up to 40 historic carriages at Pickering. The new facility will help protect our vehicles against the elements and will assist with maintaining our fleet for future generations. Read more
Enhance the experience for schools, families and other visitors by enabling them to delve deeper into the wealth of railway stories. Create a dedicated carriage at Goathland station and new interpretative trails. Read more
Create new volunteer accommodation providing quality facilities to encourage new and more diverse volunteers. Improve our resources for volunteers and recruit and retain a future generation of volunteers. Read more
Create a new railway apprenticeship scheme providing training in engineering, countryside work and business support. Read more
Create a new focus on the care and management of the lineside by improving the awareness of conservation issues. Read more