North Yorkshire Moors Railway confirms contractor for Goathland bridge work

VolkerLaser has been named as the contractor to undertake the reconstruction work for Bridges 24 and 25 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).

Located at Goathland, the bridges will undergo a £1.26 million reconstruction with work planned between January and March 2022.

Funding for the work comes as part of the NYMR’s ‘Yorkshires Magnificent Journey’ project, which is a £10 million project that will future-proof the 180-year-old railway for generations to come. This work is possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the European Union, NYMR’s Local Enterprise Partnership and kind donations from many supporters.

‘Yorkshire’s Magnificent Railway’ has seen seven projects undertaken such as the recently opened £4 million Carriage Stable at Pickering and The Outstation, which is a Volunteer Development Hub and outreach centre at Stape.

VolkerLaser will undertake the replacement of the wrought iron and steel bridges which cross Eller Beck at Goathland. The appointment of VolkerLaser is because of the collapse of the engineering firm Cleveland Bridge earlier this year who were originally appointed to carry out the work.

Tim Bruce, Director of Civil Engineering at NYMR, commented: “Our bridges are absolutely crucial for an operating railway and ensuring that future generations will be able to enjoy this historic route. Some of our bridges are over 150 years old and, despite regular maintenance work to care for them and prolong their lives, the metalwork is starting to show its age. The renewal of bridges 24 and 25 is essential to ensure that we can run passenger trains hauled by heavy steam engines over them for many years to come. Despite some delays due to COVID and Cleveland Bridge going into liquidation this Summer, we are delighted that VolkerLaser is stepping in to deliver the project in line with our original timescales.”

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Jim Mawson, Operations Director for Steel at VolkerLaser, said: “It is great to have been awarded this contract, and to work for NYMR in delivering the final piece of its “Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey” project. As the new contractor responsible for delivering the project, following the collapse of the previous principal contractor, and after a 12 month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our goal is to help our client secure the scheduled delivery of these two bridges. VolkerLaser will be working tirelessly with the client’s team to deliver a successful outcome.”

To complete the work on the bridges a further £300,000 of funding is needed. If you would like to donate to this please visit: nymr.co.uk/ymj