The Class 52 Western Champion is the only mainline diesel of its kind in existence and used to run between London and Cornwall, West Wales and the Midlands. It was withdrawn from mainline service in 1976, having covered well over a million miles.

The gala on Friday, Saturday and Sunday is aimed at people interested in historic diesel engines and will feature a mix of those owned by the railway and visiting locomotives.

Among them will be the Class 55 Deltic called Royal Highland Fusilier. They were built by English Electric between 1961 and 1962 and at the time were the most powerful diesels ever built. The Class 55 Deltic was designed for high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland.

There will be a special timetable for the gala with trains running between Pickering and Grosmont on all three days. They will also run on the Esk Valley line between Whitby and Grosmont on the Saturday and Sunday only. A shuttle bus will operate between Malton Railway Station and Pickering Railway Station for the duration of the event.