Yorkshire's Magnificent JourneyYORKSHIRE'S MAGNIFICENT JOURNEYWe've delivered our £10 million future vision Yorkshire's Magnificent Journey was 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 delivered 7 big initiative. - all focused on keeping us moving for the next 50 years The project concludes in July 2024 and you can find out more below about each of the unique projects and what we’ve achieved. First we'd like to say a huge thank you to the many organisations and individuals who helped bring the vision to reality, including all of you who gave donations and our key funder, the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Bridge Renewals 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 Fuss Free Access We’ve launched Fuss Free Access improvements to make our railway 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 Carriage Stable 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 Goathland Learning & Interpretation We 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 Volunteer Development 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 Apprentices We launched a new apprenticeship scheme to help young people gain the skills they need for a future in heritage railways. Apprentices work alongside our staff in engineering and lineside conservation. Find Out More Lineside Conservation 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 Sign Up for Fundraising News YMJ Home News Apprenticeship Schemes We launched new apprenticeship schemes funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey project, to help even more young people gain the skills required for a future in heritage railways. The two and three year apprenticeships have focused on mechanical engineering and countryside work and were designed to meet the requirements of the Government’s apprenticeships scheme. Our apprentices gain an introduction to the world of work, practical knowledge in preserving heritage and how to engage with the public. Several apprentices have secured employment with us since completing their training and all have made an important contribution to the future of the railway. Mechanical Engineering - Our 2 year mechanical engineering apprentices have learnt a wide range of engineering skills whilst working working on our engines and carriages. Countryside Work - Our 2 year Countryside Worker Apprentices work alongside us and staff from our partner, the North York Moors National Park Authority to obtain an NVQ level 2 Countryside Worker qualification. They have learnt a wide range of practical skills in conservation and habitat management. A total of 6 Mechanical Engineering Apprentices and 12 Countryside Worker Apprentices have been recruited and trained across the five years of the project. Mechanical Engineering Apprentice Jacob Swinburn explains "My apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity. I’ve always had an interest in engineering and steam railways, so it’s great to be able to combine the two. I’m really looking forward to extend my knowledge and skills further to keep this important part of history going and pass on those heritage skills. I’m also involved in another heritage railway, and it will be great to share this knowledge. Everyone at the NYMR has been very welcoming and I’m really starting to feel at home." A Partnership Approach Our Countryside Worker Apprenticeship is being delivered in partnership with the North Yorks Moors National Park Authority as part of their long standing and award winning countryside apprenticeship programme. We will advertise any new apprenticeship opportunities that become available on the news section of our website. Manage Cookie Preferences