IT wasn’t what the doctor ordered at all. In his report: The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard Beeching identified 5,000 miles of railway line for closure. One of those stretches ran between Grosmont and Rillington, but locals weren’t impressed and eight years later the line reopened as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).

Saturday will be its half-centenary and events to mark the occasion include tomorrow’s running of the last two British Rail locos to use the tracks.

The NYMR is a much loved fixture of this county’s tourist scene and always sure to put a smile on passengers’ faces. Which just goes to show that laughter is the best medicine and far better than the good doctor’s prescription.