The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is regarded as one of the country`s premier heritage railways, and Goathland is its most recognisable station, thanks to the filming of Heartbeat (Aidensfield), Harry Potter (Hogsmeade) and Simply Red's music video (Holding back the years).This iconic station has been faithfully reproduced. Even the current station master is impressed. Check out the well-known cha
racters from the TV series - you'll see Claude Greengrass in trouble yet again with the police. The trains are operated prototypically, with those approaching from Whitby and Grosmont working hard up the 1:49 gradient and appearing under the three-arch bridge at Darnholme. Once in the station, the train then awaits the arrival of the north bound train before leaving in the Pickering direction, passing under the single lane road bridge and around the corner to Fen Bog and beyond. Hornby inform us that this new layout is one of the first on the 2015 exhibition scene powered by their 'eLink' operating system. Goathland's computerised DCC system is used in conjunction with iPads (used as remote controllers). Technology is really taking our hobby forward in the 21st Century: computerisation, sound, working semaphore signals and scenic animation. As an exhibition layout, it needed to be realistic yet manageable and sectionalised. It was immediately evident that a great deal of space was needed, but as the only room available for construction was 12ft by 8ft, this set the maximum size possible. Frequently heard words during design and construction were 'compromise' and 'make it smaller'. But even with these constraints, we hope that we have provided you with an acceptable representation of the station.
