The James Herriot 100th anniversary loco was unveiled at Kings Cross London on Wednesday 22nd June with Rosie Page and Jim Wight daughter and son of the famous author.
An exhibition of Thirsk and Herriot Country followed on the concourse of Kings Cross where the James Herriot team, volunteers from Thirsk Tourist Information Service and senior managers of Grand Central Rail joined forces to promote the area and the easy access by Grand Central to Thirsk and Northallerton in the heart of Herriot Country.
In addition to the Herriot team and Thirsk Tourist Information volunteers, the entourage included James Herriot’s son Jim Wight, daughter, Rosie Page, Cllr Mark Robson, Leader of Hambleton District Council, Peter Wright and Julian Norton, stars of the Channel 5 TV Series ‘The Yorkshire Vet’, David Shields area director of Welcome to Yorkshire and Andrea Morley chair of Thirsk ‘Yarn Bombers’, a group of 300 people who knitted and crocheted and under the cover of darkness cloaked the town with creations for the Tour de Yorkshire. “This is a real team effort and in Alf Wight’s centenary year, we are delighted to be working with Thirsk Tourist Information and Grand Central to share the good news about Thirsk, James Herriot’s home town. We will be encouraging people to attend the 100th Anniversary fundraising black-tie dinner on what would be his 100th birthday on Saturday 3rd October,” comments the World of James Herriot managing director and chairman of the Herriot Country Tourism Group, Ian Ashton.