Walk the Line – Folsom Prison Blues No

Today I walked the line; it was beautiful, inspiring and useful to my hobby. No I was not emulating Johnny Cash, rather I was walking the railway line between Levisham and Goathland through the beautiful Newtondale. Why was I walking this, well as part of my training to be a signalman on the NYMR it is great to know the features of the track through which the trains that you are controlling pass, where are the bridges, crossings etc…. The line between the Levisham and Goathland Signal Boxes is approximately eight miles long passing through stunning countryside.

It was a privilege to walk this line as today the scenery was absolutely stunning, the heather on the moors was in full bloom, and apart from seeing two track workers I was absolutely alone apart of course from the passing steam trains. The blackberries were just showing red, another two weeks and I would have been able to pick an absolute feast. There was a plethora of mushrooms, traditional looking and some that looked decidedly dodgy. I gave those a wide berth. During much of the walk I was accompanied by the sound of running water as there is a small river following the course of the railway.

Today was warm and dry, but was I walked through the loneliness of the valley I speculated on the rail workers of a bygone era who would have had to inspect the line in the depths of winter, often in several feet of snow. I also thought about how I was treading the path of history. This railway line had opened in the 1830s and developed by Robert Stephenson one of the towering figures of pioneer railway development. It was used to transport goods to and from the port of Whitby, and prior to the development of the road network was a lifeline for the small communities of this part of North Yorkshire. And often in the countryside there would have been no changes from that era.

Interestingly the line has never carried more passengers than it does now. People flock to use it, to view the great scenery; to travel back in time hauled by vintage steam locomotives travelling between lovingly preserved stations. It represents a bygone age that people love to explore. It also provides a great deal of pleasure amongst those who are operating it, amongst whom I count myself one. I would have not had the privilege of this great walk other wise. So today I walked the line, from Levisham to Goathland.