From
The Office of Rail and RoadSteaming safely from the 1950s into the 21st Century
10 April 2019
By Steve Turner, HM Principal Inspector.
It may surprise you to know that there are well over 200 heritage railways operating up and down the United Kingdom.
They range from large outfits such as North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which boasts around 120 full-time employees and can call on the services of up to 700 volunteers to operate 18 miles of their own track as well as daily operations on Network Rail’s Esk Valley line to Whitby; to much smaller concerns such as Yorkshire Wolds Railway which operates with a couple of dozen enthusiastic volunteers, a short distance of track, a small diesel locomotive and a bit of rolling stock. All have unbounded enthusiasm and ambition.
Standard gauge heritage railways sometimes operate passenger trains heavier than those on the mainline ...
Article continues, including comment on the West Someset Railway