This September, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is hosting an auction to raise funds to help restore No. 75029 ‘The Green Knight’.

The auction will offer unique experiences and will be hosted on the 5th of September. Auction attendees can buy experiences, including a breakfast or lunch with Paul ‘Piglet’ Middleton, TV star and Director of Mechanical Engineering.

The railway held an auction like this in 2020, which was successful in keeping the railway open.

This auction is even more crucial to the railway remaining open, as if they can’t raise the funds to restore the locomotive, they may no longer be able to run services to Whitby beyond 2028.

No. 75029 is one of the few locomotives able to run on the mainline to Whitby, and two other locomotives with this ability are also due for their 10-year overhauls at the end of the decade.

These locomotives are unable to run legally until the overhauls are completed, and without The Green Knight, they have very limited options.

The Green Knight’s restoration is set to cost around £400,000 due to the inability to join old and new materials in its boiler.

A new copper firebox is also required, which will allow the locomotive to run for many years without boiler issues.

The boiler overhaul will be outsourced to a specialist, while engineers, apprentices and volunteers at NYMR work to restore the frames and tender.

For the year, they have set a target of £200,000, having already raised £21,105 towards that target. The completion of the £200,000 target would allow for the boiler to be sent away for work to begin.

Further information about the auction and the items up for bid can be found here.

“All bids in the auction will make a huge difference to the future of steam and will mean that future generations will be able to enjoy the magic of a journey to Whitby on the NYMR. Thank you to everyone who has supported The Green Knight fundraiser so far, and those who will support the auction – your support keeps us steaming into the future.”

Kerry Carruthers, Head of Engagement at the NYMR