Heritage railway is rocked by abuse claims: Five volunteers suspended after ‘threatening to kneecap managers’ as police launch probe into accusations

• The workers operated North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s Lewisham station  

A heritage railway has been rocked by abuse allegations against five volunteers with it claimed they threatened to ‘kneecap’ managers. 

Police have launched a probe into the accusations and the workers who operated North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s (NYMR) Levisham station have been temporarily banned from the site.

The historic 1912-styled train depot – used as a filming location for Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – has been run by the same lead volunteer for 40 years.

Levisham Station’s 60 members have their own overnight accommodation and control their accounts – acting semi-independently of NYMR.

However, a confidential NYMR report has claimed volunteers have been charging for the use of a free cottage and offering it as short break accommodation.

It also suggests the volunteers were threatening and abusive towards managers and that they had built a turntable for trains without permission. 

Police have launched a probe into the accusations and the workers who operated North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s Levisham station have been temporarily banned

It is one of six stations that form part of the beautiful 18-mile stretch of charity-owned line where punters can take day trips on heritage locomotives. 

A North Yorkshire Moors Railway spokesperson confirmed that volunteers had been suspended and said a police investigation was now underway.

They said: ‘Currently a small group of volunteers have been asked not to return in a voluntary capacity.

‘As this is an internal matter and part of an ongoing police investigation, we are not able to make any further comment.

READ MORE: Heritage campaigners say £1billion plan for Liverpool Street station including high-rise building from the developers of The Shard are ‘insensitive and unnecessary’ 

‘We are working hard to ensure the remaining volunteers are supported and we appreciate that this has been a difficult time.’

It’s understood that NYMR management met with volunteers at Levisham Station in June this year where new ‘boundaries’ were agreed due to ongoing concerns.

By the end of the month, all volunteer activities at the station were suspended due to further concerns and a full review was commissioned.

The report, seen by The Yorkshire Post, detailed a raft of allegations made by managers.

The most serious claims suggested volunteers secretly rented out cottages, were abusive to staff and altered the line without permission.

It also alleged that ‘unknown’ persons were allowed to be part of the group without going through the official recruitment process.

Claims were also made that privately owned rail wagons had been connected to NYMR utilities and that parts of the station had been vandalised, with locks broken and superglued.

It further suggested that ‘values’ booklets had been ripped up and a framed photograph defaced and ‘misleading’ claims that the station was to close had been made.

The report accepted that ‘NYMR culture has exacerbated the situation and that there were missed opportunities to widely engage with volunteers’.

There was also no official framework in place for how station groups should operate.

Yet the managers leading the review found that the group had ‘disregarded the needs of the NYMR, safety and compliance’.

The historic 1912-styled train depot – used as a filming location for Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – has been run by the same lead volunteer for 40 years

The authors added that the group ‘operated as an entity themselves’ and had a ‘culture of silo working and disengagement with the NYMR’.

Work referred to in their station blog had been carried out contrary to management instructions, the report added.

The five suspended volunteers were disciplined because they did not ’embody values and actively went against them,’ the report said.

Two, who had been involved in an incident in which staff were allegedly threatened at the station, were told that they would not be allowed to return.

A further two were asked to go through the recruitment and training process again if they wished to rejoin the group.

The fifth, who had allegedly withheld account books and keys, would be banned permanently unless they were handed over, and police advice would be sought if they refused to do so.

The report concluded: ‘The group is valuable but cannot be permitted to operate in the same way. This is a very sad situation that has caused unnecessary stress to all concerned.

‘It was the culmination of multiple concerns. Trust has broken down and the management no longer has confidence in the group’s leadership.’

Responding to the document, the Levisham Station Group supplied examples of collaborative projects that members had taken part in with other stations.

They claimed that only turntable pit cleaning and repairs had been undertaken rather than a new one being built.

They said they had provided annual bank statements and had never been asked to submit their donations ledger for inspection.

On the subject of the cottage, they pointed out that it was rented by the volunteers from 1975 until the 1990s, when it was taken over by the railway and charging ended.

However, the volunteers staying overnight contributed to a ‘kitty’ fund for their own food and drink, as the station is not close to a shop.

They denied that anyone had ever paid to use the building or stayed there as a holiday.

The volunteers also denied knowledge of an anonymous phone call in which someone threatened to ‘kneecap’ managers and also said they did not know who had damaged the locks or booklets.

The poster was apparently defaced as a ‘joke’ several years ago during a Railway in Wartime event.

An independent group of shareholders submitted proof of ownership of the wagons stabled at Levisham, which were used for storage and workshop space.

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