It is not often that a Society fixture is available within close driving distance of my Yorkshire Dales home in Bedale, so when the visit opened on our Fixtures Page, I was 'in like Flynn*'. As it transpired, I was first to book and earned the attention of our BLN Editor who asked me to volunteer to write this report. [*'In like Flynn' is an idiom meaning to quickly and easily achieve something, linked to the actor Errol Flynn, who was known for his swashbuckling romantic roles in films and his adventurous, womanising private life.]

So, feeling like an imposter because everyone I meet on a BLS Fixture seems to know a lot more than I do, I set off full of anticipation in plenty of time for the midday kick-off near Killinghall, just outside Harrogate, normally a 30-35 minute drive. Of course I was late, last to arrive, earning a phone call from the Editor and displaying a sheepish grin. How was I to know that the Harrogate Food & Drink Festival was on, there were plenty roadworks on Ripon Road too and it was also a Bank Holiday weekend?

I am not an expert on anything to do with railways but always find other members patient and helpful on every fixture. So, it was here, at a wonderful, secluded setting behind a set of light industrial units and an auctioneer. Those who arrived early were entertained and amused by observing people collecting the very strange things they had bought in the heat of an auction that wouldn't always fit in their cars. There was plenty of parking, a short walk and up some steps past a traverser, to view the layout.

I did take the time to study the map beforehand, so I had some sense of the route and track options but nothing quite prepares you for the site (and sight) on the ground. Well laid out in a large mown field is a set of tracks for 5" and 7¼" gauge trains - some dual running - around the perimeter of the field and across the middle. Clearly some thought had gone into the layout because there was a tunnel, a relatively steep gradient over said tunnel and one section of double track enabling trains to fly past each other.

I am not a collector of track (I wouldn't know where to start) but I do have a passion for engineering and other people's passion for engineering. The chance to spend twenty minutes in the clubhouse (teas, coffees and biscuits generously on offer) also gave me a chance to chat to HMES members - the few that there are nowadays. The first comment I heard was along the lines of how grateful they were for our visit, because it was the first time for a while that so many locomotives had been out on the tracks at the same time and some clearly enthusiastic people (18 of us had booked) had shown an interest. This had in turn sparked a good turn out from owners and operators of various steam and battery locos.

The initial sessions featured steam loco 'Lynn Mhari' gamely trying to haul six generously proportioned BLS Members up the hill over the tunnel in the first hour. [We didn't say that they were over the hill].












By the third hour we had three steam locos ('Lynn Mhari', 'Hilda' and one apparently unnamed) running round, with 2-3 passengers each, rather easier. Not only that but a battery Planet loco gave the opportunity to self-drive from the traverser, over the turntable and do the mainline connection. Our Editor (and others) put in a 'shift' pushing members over all the many turntable roads on a coach.
























There was an opportunity to cover every last inch of track for those that wanted to - and most did! This included full turntable rotation (spinnage - it's good for you) the traverser stubs and workshop! For me, it felt important to support and show appreciation to club members and organiser for the chance to share such a wonderful place. They told me that once there had been around 60 members, declining to nine and now hovering around twenty. They also said there were many meets where nothing ran. This reminded me how important it is to show our support and to encourage them to find their purpose.



Harrogate MES was initially formed with the emphasis on Model Engineering of all sorts and now has a focus on railways. With membership unlikey to grow significantly and ageing, it is chastening to think that numbers will decline to the point that upkeep of the facility - or usage thereof - will drop. So, while I enjoyed the opportunity to explore and hear the stories, I was also grateful and glad that we at BLS could do something, however small, to restore some of their 'mojo'.

Of course, I did manage to do most of the track, thanks to the generosity of the drivers, who had worked out a route for us that involved covering all the main track in one trip by going through the tunnel three times. I'll leave you to work that out from the map! We started and finished at Levens Hall, their station with two through lines, a centre bay and two bypass lines. The bay was covered by a battery loco running us back and forth across the turntable long headshunt. Trains mostly ran clockwise from the station, however, there was a section of anticlockwise running (the section marked 7¼" only on the map) which enabled trains to pass each other. For the record, the tunnel feels very low and very dark (!) - it is curved and you cannot see either end from the middle. The layout is fully signalled which works automatically (the HMES member who devised and installed it is now 96!). If a specific route is required, it is selected by pushing a button on signal posts in the station area for shunting; out on the running lines, points can be changed by drivers as the levers are sufficient ahead of them and easily within reach without having to stop. This controls the signalling and there are also train detection treadles in the track. There is even a repeater signal in the middle of the tunnel (it genuinely goes underground and is not a 'fake' tunnel).

Chatting to other members of both our Society and the HMES, it is clear that there are diverse interests in these visits. For me, just to see live steam at any scale and see, hear and smell steam locos running, working hard, was more than enough to keep me interested for the three hours, before I had to leave slightly early for a 'domestic commitment'. Others, naturally, are there for the track coverage, including one who had been before but came for the significant 2016 extension. Some participants seemed happy to just take in the venue and chat with other members (our BLS Social Club), take photos or make videos.

There are far better people than me to provide all the technical details! HMES indicate that the running lines amount to 1,279 yds, measured by GPS / Yardstick, estimating 50yds for the tunnel. The first trip I took lasted about 23 minutes, covered 1.18 miles and averaged 3.1mph. I will say though that we stopped a few times to allow spacing between trains - and to avoid them on the flat crossing! The railway was relocated from a Dr Barnardo's Home in Harrogate years ago when the home closed and amazingly even the track was made by HMES members. I went round twice, each with 'Hilda' and had a big grin on my face for the whole thing. I have photos and videos galore and a head full of happy memories.

My thanks to the HMES for a really nice visit and, of course, there was no traffic on the way home!

Thanks to Tim Wallis for organising this visit for our Society, it is important to emphasise that there is no public running at this private site due to the terms of the lease. Two members went on to do the new Platform Zero at Bradford Forster Square where, by chance, they met another BLS member doing the same thing on the same train, who hadn't been to Harrogate. They also found out at Leeds station, from a fourth member who works there, that the normal route into Leeds P2 from the Harrogate and Shipley Lines is via the scissors crossover at the end of P0 & 1 - more new track. It's a small world as they say…