(Image: George Stephens)
A Yorkshire Dales heritage railway has unveiled a striking new look for a passenger train returning to service.
Wensleydale Railway has revealed Class 142 unit 142060 in the distinctive turquoise and lime-green Northern Spirit livery.
The eye-catching scheme was introduced in 1998 for the Regional Railways North East franchise, which became Arriva Trains Northern in 2001.
Wensleydale Railway has unveiled its Class 142 142060 in nostalgic Northern Spirit livery (Image: George Stephens)
George Stephens, operations assistant at Wensleydale Railway, said: "I qualified to drive this unit in 2025 and thoroughly enjoyed being part of this project.
"It’s great to be able to give the unit a new lease of life and as far as I know, this is the only preserved train in Northern Spirit livery on a heritage railway."
Volunteers and staff moved the unit into Leeming Bar’s engineering shed in May, repaired its bodywork and repainted it in the nostalgic livery.
It will operate its first passenger service in its new colours on Saturday, October 17.
Wensleydale Railway has unveiled its Class 142 142060 in nostalgic Northern Spirit livery (Image: George Stephens)
Nick Keegan, Wensleydale Railway’s marketing and fundraising manager, said: "We’d like to thank everyone who supported this project.
"It’s another example of the excellent work that our small team of volunteers and staff do and we’re very grateful to them.
"In the last couple of years, our engineering team has refurbished and repainted passenger coaches, repaired the bodywork and repainted three diesel locomotives.
"As a result, they have built a strong reputation among railway enthusiasts for their high-quality work."
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He said: "There’s plenty of ongoing maintenance needed to keep our locomotives and rolling stock in top condition.
"If you fancy working on interesting projects like this, please come and volunteer with us!"
The Class 142 unit arrived at Wensleydale Railway in 2020 and has regularly run services between Leeming Bar and Leyburn ever since.