The North Yorkshire Moors Railway

The short answer

Start at Pickering if you want the whole line, and allow around two hours each way to Whitby. Buy a Day Rover so you can hop off at Goathland or Grosmont on the way. Steam runs seasonally, roughly spring through autumn, and the pattern changes through the year. Fares and timetables change by season, so check the railway's own site for current prices and running dates before you travel.

Steam train from Pickering to Whitby

Not every service runs through to Whitby or is steam hauled. Use the NYMR timetable to check the destination and scheduled locomotive for your date. Operational changes can affect both. Confirm the return train before leaving the station.

For ticket options and running dates, see our tickets and timetable guides.

The route and the stations

The line runs about 18 miles from Pickering to Grosmont, calling at Levisham, Newtondale Halt (by request) and Goathland, with many services continuing along the Esk Valley to Whitby, around 24 miles of moor, dale and coast in all. The first stretch climbs out of Pickering into Newton Dale, a steep-sided glacial channel with no road through it, which is the part of the journey you genuinely cannot see any other way.

Each station has its own character. Pickering is dressed as a 1930s country station. Levisham is restored to about 1912 and has the railway's artist-in-residence, though the station sits down in the dale well below the village, a stiff walk up and back. Goathland is the famous one, standing in for Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film and for Aidensfield in Heartbeat. Grosmont is the working heart of the line, where you can glimpse the locomotive sheds and watch engines being turned. Whitby, at the far end, needs no introduction: harbour, abbey and fish and chips.

The steam train to Whitby

On most operating days in the main season, at least some NYMR services run the whole way from Pickering through to Whitby over the national network, while others turn at Grosmont, where you change for a connecting train. The pattern varies by timetable and date, so treat the railway's published timetable as the only reliable source for your day, and see our NYMR timetable page for the season's shape. Whitby station is shared with Northern's Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough, which is how to reach the railway by ordinary train.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway webcams

NYMR runs live cameras at several stations, streamed through its YouTube channel. Most streams need a YouTube channel membership; the Goathland Bank camera is free to view, and the railway may switch cameras off at any time. Our NYMR webcam guide explains each camera and the membership, and our webcam guide lists the other moors and coast cameras.

Which end to start from

Pickering is the natural choice, because it is the southern terminus, so you board an empty train and get the full run. If you are already on the coast, Grosmont is about six miles from Whitby by road and makes a shorter day. Goathland works if the station itself is the point of the trip.

Tickets and timetable

NYMR timetable and fares.

Fares, Day Rover tickets and how the timetable works are covered in full on our North Yorkshire Moors Railway tickets and timetable pages.

The standard ticket is a Day Rover, valid for hop-on, hop-off travel along the whole line for the day. In 2026 one child aged 4 to 15 travelled free with each fare-paying adult on standard services. Shorter trips are sold as One Stop Singles and One Stop, Two Stop and Three Stop Returns. Online bookings carry a small booking fee, and booking a Day Rover online more than four days ahead takes 10% off. Fares change each year, so check the current prices on the railway's own website. Current fares, including the 2026 prices, are on our NYMR tickets page. The railway is a charity, number 501388, run largely by volunteers, and the fares are what keep the engines in steam.

When it runs

Steam typically operates from spring through autumn, with a busier daily pattern in the school holidays and a thinner one at the shoulders of the season. Galas, wartime weekends and Santa specials fall outside the ordinary timetable and sell out early. Operating dates are set fresh each year, so treat the railway's published timetable as the only reliable source, and see our what's on calendar for the wider events picture. For this year's Santa Express dates and prices, see our guide to the moors at Christmas.

Bridge 42 and the 2026 season

The 2026 season began on a reduced timetable because Bridge 42, the stone arch of about 1846 that carries the line over the Murk Esk at Grosmont, needed propping after inspections in 2025. Trains were crossing the propped bridge by 23 May 2026 and the full Pickering to Whitby service resumed on 1 June. The permanent repair is planned for the winter of 2026 to 2027 if the £800,000 appeal is met; it passed £400,000 in September 2026, including £50,000 from the National Park Authority. Whitby winter excursions were cancelled for the Bridge 42 work last winter, and the railway has not announced 2027 dates, so check before you book the Whitby end for early 2027.

Sir Nigel Gresley at the railway in 2026

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Sir Nigel Gresley, whose dates are given by the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust as 1876 to 2026. Herbert Nigel Gresley was a British railway designer and engineer who worked for the Great Northern Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway, rising to Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER. He designed the A1 and A4 Pacific classes.

According to the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust's own display at the railway, No. 60007 was built at Doncaster in 1937. It was the hundredth locomotive Gresley designed, which is why it carries his name. It holds the post-war steam record of 112 mph, set in 1959, and is currently the only A4 Pacific operating on the mainline and heritage railways. The same display records that Mallard, No. 4468, still holds the world record for a steam locomotive at 126 mph, while Flying Scotsman, No. 4472, was the first locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph.

Pickering station

Pickering is the southern terminus, postcode YO18 7AJ. There is a level, step-free entrance from Park Street to both platforms. Facilities include the Station Tea Room, a gift shop on Platform 1 and toilets, including an accessible toilet.

See NYMR's Pickering station page and accessibility guidance for station access and boarding arrangements.

See our full guide to Pickering station.

Parking at the stations

NYMR's car parks are operated by CPS UK Ltd. Use the NYMR parking page for current charges and parking rules, rather than assuming station or Blue Badge arrangements.

The stations, one by one

• Pickering (YO18 7AJ): the 1930s station with the 1847 roof reinstated, tea room and gift shop on platform 1, toilets including an accessible one, customer services and wheelchairs on the platform. Station parking: see NYMR’s parking page; Platform 3 long stay, the Ropery (two hours), Vivis Lane and Eastgate are the alternatives.
• Levisham (YO18 7NN): restored to 1912, the weighbridge tea hut open at weekends and on bank holidays, toilets, a picnic paddock, and walks to Skelton Tower and the Hole of Horcum. The village and the Horseshoe Inn are a stiff mile uphill. See NYMR’s parking page.
• Newtondale Halt: a request stop in the forest with picnic benches and no toilets; reached only by train, on foot or by mountain bike. Adders live here. A six-mile circular walk starts from the platform.
• Goathland (YO22 5NF): the tea room in the old goods shed; the gift shop sells Harry Potter and Heartbeat things; toilets including an accessible one. Level access from the entrance to the accessible carriage, ticket office, toilets, tea room and shop; the waiting room has a step. The path up to the village is steep and potholed and not recommended for manual wheelchairs. See NYMR’s parking page. Our Goathland guide covers the village.
• Grosmont (YO22 5QE): tea room, 1950s gift shop, the shed shop inside the engine sheds reached through Stephenson's 1835 tunnel, toilets including an accessible one, and the junction with the Esk Valley line. You may glimpse work on the engines but it is not guaranteed; organised shed tours run during Heritage Open Days in September. See NYMR’s parking page for station parking and the National Park’s page for its separate car park.
• Whitby (YO21 1YN): Network Rail's station, run by Northern, with the railway's gift shop in the old booking office; no toilets on the station; wheelchairs on the platform. Council car parks beside it.

Dogs, bikes and what to bring

Well-behaved dogs are welcome on standard services for a small charge per dog per day, free for members, on a short lead and off the seats, which makes the railway one of the easier days out for anyone travelling with a dog. Our dog-friendly guide covers the rest of the trip. Bikes are carried in the guard's van for a charge per bike per day, though space is limited to two or three per service, so ring ahead if there are several of you. Carriages are vintage, so take a layer even in summer, because the moor at Goathland is several degrees cooler than Pickering.

Getting there without a car

Pickering station is the natural starting point and easy to reach from the surrounding villages. Without a car, bus 840 runs from Malton, which has trains from York and Scarborough, to Pickering. At the other end, Whitby is on the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough. For somewhere to base yourself, see where to stay.

Making a day of it

The classic day is Pickering out, a couple of hours in Whitby for the harbour, the abbey and fish and chips, then the late train back. If you would rather break the journey, get off at Goathland for the Mallyan Spout waterfall walk, or at Grosmont to watch the locomotives being turned. The station access, route length and dog guidance were checked against NYMR’s official information on 18 October 2026. Fares, timetables and parking charges do change, so confirm before you travel.

A short history

• 1831 to 1833: George Stephenson is asked to report on a line from Whitby; Parliament approves it in 1833.
• 1836: the Whitby and Pickering Railway opens, worked by horses, with a rope-worked incline at Beck Hole.
• 1845 to 1847: George Hudson's York and North Midland Railway takes over, rebuilds the line and introduces steam.
• 1865: the Deviation line opens, avoiding the incline; the old route is now the Rail Trail.
• 1965: the line closes to passengers after the Beeching report, with the last train on 6 March; freight ends in 1966.
• 1967: the preservation society forms.
• 1973: the line reopens, with the official opening on 1 May; the full reopening is complete by 1975.
• 2007: regular services to Whitby begin; Whitby's second platform opens in 2014.
• 12 June 2023: King Charles III rides the Royal Train behind Flying Scotsman from Grosmont to Pickering for the fiftieth anniversary.
• The railway carried around 350,000 passengers a year in the 2010s and is run largely by volunteers. Channel 5 filmed The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard here, with three series between 2018 and 2020.

The railway on screen

Goathland station was Aidensfield in Heartbeat and Hogsmeade in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Pickering station opened the Downton Abbey film. Grosmont shed stood in for a German base in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Tom Cruise rode the roof of a train on the line for Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning. Dad's Army (2016) and Testament of Youth also filmed here, according to the National Park's film trail.

Station, route and dog details checked 18 October 2026: Pickering station; accessibility; find us; route map; NYMR FAQs.

Fares, Bridge 42 and station details from the railway's own pages, checked 10 October 2026; history from the railway's own history and story pages, with the exact days of the 1965 closure and 1973 reopening from published railway histories, and passenger figures from the railway's reported totals for 2010 and 2014.