Pendennis Castle: A True Icon of the Steam Age — North Yorkshire Moors Railway

GWR Castle class No. 4079 Pendennis Castle visits the North Yorkshire Moors Railway courtesy of the Didcot Railway Centre, hauling services between Pickering and Grosmont through the North York Moors National Park.

The operator tells the locomotive's story. Built at Swindon Works in February 1924, Pendennis Castle was lent by the Great Western to its rival the LNER in 1925 for trials against the then brand-new Flying Scotsman, and outpaced the bigger engine while burning far less coal and water. After more than 1.75 million miles on Britain's main lines she was saved for preservation and later shipped to Western Australia to haul iron ore trains, becoming, after Flying Scotsman, only the second steam locomotive to travel right around the world.

The operator classes the Pendennis Castle services as Standard Services, so standard Day Rover and Short Journey tickets can be used on them, and the operator publishes a timetable showing the services Pendennis Castle works.

Services behind a Great Western Castle class locomotive between Pickering and Grosmont. Because they are classed as standard services, you can hop on and off at stations along the route with a standard Day Rover.

Services run between Pickering and Grosmont and start from Pickering Station, 12 Park Street, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7AJ. The operator classes the Pendennis Castle workings as Standard Services, valid with standard Day Rover and Short Journey tickets; seat-allocated bookings made earlier keep their reserved return seat. The operator publishes a timetable showing the Pendennis Castle workings. The locomotive may also haul other services during its stay.