TWO 50-foot steel bridge spans have been winched into place on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway near Goathland as a £1.26m bridge repair project nears completion.

After being delivered by road from Sheffield, the two huge structures, each weighing 40 tonnes, were lowered into place this week on Bridges 24 and 25, which carry the railway over Eller Beck near Goathland.

The original bridges were 150 years old, and in need of replacement.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s in-house ‘permanent way’ team will now be re-laying the ballast and tracks, ready for the heritage railway to reopen for the 2022 season on April 4.

The bridge repairs have been part of a larger £10 million project, dubbed ‘Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey’, which aims to secure the long-term future of the railway.

As well as infrastructure improvements and repairs, the project has included heritage conservation, and improving access for people with disabilities.

The bridge repairs have been carried out by engineering firm VolkerLaser, which stepped in last December following the collapse of engineering company Cleveland Bridge, which was originally scheduled to carry out the work.

VolkerLaser operations director Jim Mawson said: “This week represents the culmination of many hours of planning and preparation, and it is fantastic to see the new bridges being installed on time for NYMR following the removal of the life-expired bridges in January.

“The new bridges will allow NYMR to operate continuously for many decades.”