At the very end of September the North Yorkshire Moors Railway held their usual Autumn Steam Gala and, also as usual, having advertised various visiting locos, none of them actually turned up and they ended up with just one visitor, obtained at short notice from Llangollen in the shape of GWR Manor 4-6-0 7822 'Foxcote Manor'. I decided not to attend on the Friday so missed seeing the Manor disgrace itself by stalling and requiring rescue on the climb to Goathland then delaying matters considerably at the end of the day by having lubrication problems, not an uncommon thing with GW locos in my experience!
My first visit along with a friend from Australia was on Saturday 1st October 2011 and arriving at the railway mid-morning we headed first to Beck Hole and got there just in time to record the demonstration freight which was hauled by the ex LNWR Super D 0-8-0 49395 which with about a dozen wagons behind the tender sounds to be going very well on the climb.

Next came the visitor!
With the usual 7 coaches in tow 7822 isn't going quite as fast as the Super D was in the last recording but, at least it was on time and didn't sound to be having any difficulties on the climb this time. So far, so good.

After that we headed off to Levisham which, in the fine, sunny and hot weather was very busy but we still managed to obtain bacon sandwiches from the Weighbridge!
Aside from the catering, we were also there to make some recordings but as there was a jazz band playing we headed off into Newton dale and chose a spot at Gallock Hill about a mile and a half from Levisham station for our next recording which was of 7822 returning from Pickering.
Once again the Manor wasn't being worked too hard but sounds to be coping well with the 7 coach train on the gradient.

And the photograph on the left? Well, I thought it made a good illustration of the kind of 'view' we often have of passing trains from most of our recording spots and go some way to explain why there aren't always photos to illustrate these recordings. You may also like to note that the 'view' illustrated is actually one of the better ones. From some spots we can't actually see the train at all!

Hoping that the band would have ceased activities we returned to Levisham station having time for tea and cake before recording the next train from Pickering.
Due to the temporary withdrawal of the S15 there ad been a few changes to the roster which, I have to say, proved to be far more accurate than usual; at previous galas, the roster has usually proved to be something of a work of fiction.
According to the roster, the next train which after reaching Grosmont would run through to Whitby was down to be hauled by the ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 44767 with rear end assistance provided by the Super D but as that loco had been retained at Grosmont to work the freight that the Q6 should have been working, 45428 which had brought the train from Whitby earlier was on the back providing assistance.
With a Black 5 at each end of the 7 coach set perhaps we had the LMS answer to a HST to record and the pair, both making plenty of noise, sound fine heading away into Newton Dale while 7822 heads off to Pickering.

For our last recording we returned to the north end of the line and went to Darnholme to record the last train of the day from Grosmont which was hauled by the SR S15 4-6-0 825.
I have to say that, while 825 isn't my favourite engine, it did sound to be going particularly well as we heard it climbing up from Beck Hole. An excellent performance with 7 coaches on the 1 in 49 gradient.

On the following day, Sunday 2nd October 2011, we had expected to be mixing our visit to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway with some main line steam further north as 48151 had been booked to work a train to Boulby but, thanks to the hot and dry weather in the previous week, Network Rail wouldn't permit a steam hauled train and it ran with diesels instead. You can guess what sort of weather we had can't you? Spot on, it rained! Still, never mind, there was plenty of entertainment to be had on the NYMR including trains to Battersby so we would still get some main line steam to record.
To start the day we went to a spot above Esk Valley for our first recordings which began with the first train off Grosmont hauled by 49395 along with 63395 at the rear.
In the damp conditions we weren't surprised to hear the Super D begin to slip as it started on the gradient but the Q6 is soon hard at work at the rear so there's no danger of the slipping being a problem with this train.

Having been very pleased with our recording of 44767 on an earlier Esk Valley train at Glaisdale we decided to stay where we were for the next Battersby train, this one being the diner hauled by 45428.
We didn't hear quite so much of the approach to Glaisdale where 44767, having returned from Battersby was waiting to cross but 45428 sounds good departing and passing us on the 1 in 102 gradient.

Before 44767's second run to Battersby we had time to return to Esk Valley where we recorded 63395 climbing towards Goathland making a fine sound and showing how it should be done!

Back at Glaisdale for the last Battersby train, 45428 is already waiting as the train from Whitby approaches on the climb from Grosmont then, with tokens exchanged, 44767 sounds very good departing and we must have still been able to hear it passing Danby almost 4 miles away.
Also audible is 45428 departing from Glaisdale with the diner returning to Grosmont.

Returning to Esk Valley we were in time to record 7828 departing from Grosmont.
Now, while I am usually happy to get long lineside recordings, sometimes they go on for a bit too long and this was one of those occasions.
The performance of the Manor with its 7 coach train on the 1 in 49 gradient is probably best described as steady although plodding would also be appropriate.
Try not to nod off while listening to this one!

For our last two recordings we went to Darnholme where we found it was a little breezy but despite this 825 sounds good passing on its way to Goathland

On the last train from Grosmont was a loco that had eluded us so far; the BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 92214 which is probably the loco on the railway at the moment that can almost be guaranteed to have least difficulty with the climb to Goathland. As you can hear in this recording, it's no problem.