Goathland, Wartime weekend on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Heartbeat slideshow

Wartime week-end

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Every October, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway recaptures the spirit of the second world war, with its Wartime Weekend. It is an anual tribute to the men and women who kept Britain's railways running throughout the war. To remember them, they recreate the sights and sounds of those dark days. Every hour, steam trains leave with servicemen and women, factory workers, land army girls, nurses ..... and you! The weekend begins with the ceremonial flag raising on Friday, and continues until it is lowered again on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of skilled re-enactors help create the authentic atmosphere that has earned it an international reputation for authenticity. Goathland, and all the other stations from Grosmont to Pickering are dressed with wartime signs, notices, sandbags and taped up windows, and re-enactors are everywhere, showing how life was during the war years. On saturday, there is a parade through Pickering, and the whole town becomes a huge set from the Second World War.

The dates for the wartime weekend in 2020 are October.

Wartime weekend in Goathland

Wartime weekend, Goathland, North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Wartime weekend in Pickering

Wartime weekend in Pickering

Wartime weekend in Pickering

Wartime weekend in Pickering

Lola Lamour, Wartime Weekend, Pickering

Goathland

Sunday is the best day of the Wartime Weekend to visit Goathland. All the shops participate, with windows taped up and Union Jack bunting over the shop fronts. The tea rooms even has added a Wartime menu. At the station, there are re-enactments, an exploding butterfly bomb, and a continuous cookery demonstration by the "Ministry of Food", showing how to make salt fish, how to make your margarine go further, and lots of things to do with "spuds". There are US and British Army weapons demonstrations, and Dickie Lines sings wartime songs all day on the platform. Several tents and stalls sell wartime memorabillia and millitary uniforms etc.

Le Visham
Levisham takes on the guise of a French village, "Le Visham", and spends the whole week-end under German occupation. Nazi soldiers greet every train, and stop motorists arriving at the station to question them about their reasons for being there. A German Fallschirmjaeger (paratrooper) unit re-enacts a training drop from a mock up World War Two glider, in a field behind the German camp site. In the last few years, there has been a V1 doodle bug rocket demonstration, and a German field hospital beside the track, both of which were extremely educational. This year there was a demonstration of the first Telefunken Satellite Radar System linked to an anti aircraft gun. On Le Visham station, a French beer tent " Café Allée de Bois" serves traditional French fare, and accordian music. Sadly, in 2018, the NYMR decided for some unknown reason, that the NAZIs were no longer politically correct, and banned them from Wartime Weekend, thus "airbrushing out" a part of history, and an invaluable source of education.

Pickering

Saturday starts with a millitary parade, and the whole of the high street area is sealed off from traffic for the rest of the day. An excellent "park and ride" scheme operates from the Show Ground, with busses running continuously in both directions all day. The whole of Pickering becomes a scene out of World War 2, with bunting, Union Jacks and sandbags outside the shops and pubs, 40s vehicles, parked the length of the high street.

Wartime Weekend Dates for 2020 are: October

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