Grosmont railway station
Encyclopedia
Grosmont railway station serves the village of Grosmont in North Yorkshire
, England
. It is located on the Esk Valley Line
which serves one platform and is operated by Northern Rail
who provide the station's passenger services. The main part of the station, closed in 1965, served trains to and from Pickering and Malton, originally consisted of two flanking platforms but this was increased to three by building a platform face onto the goods loop / run-round loop behind the Malton-bound platform. This part of the station is owned and operated by the preserved
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
who operate passenger services between Whitby and Pickering
. The station has appeared often in the television series Heartbeat.
and its engineer George Stephenson
. It was a horse worked line and opened from Whitby
as far as Grosmont (then known as 'Tunnel' from the tunnel required to pass from Grosmont towards Beckhole
) in 1835.
The advent of the W&P brought development to 'Tunnel'. The Tunnel Inn was built to cater for railway passengers. Sometimes attributed to the W&P Rly. company, the inn was in fact built by one of the W&P's backers. It is still serving railway customers today. Between the inn and today's railway stands a building that is attributed to the W&P. Today it houses NYMR volunteers on the upper floor and a small workshop at track level. The floor of the workshop shows signs of once having a rail connection, presumably via a wagon turntable on a line outside.
The W&P opened throughout in 1836 and brought new businesses to the Grosmont area.
for burning in a row of lime kilns adjacent to the railway at Grosmont; A stone company was founded to exploit the stone on Lease Rigg (south of the tunnel) which was brought down an incline to the W&P and dispatched to Whitby. The discovery of outcrops of iron ore during the building of the railway lead to a number of local iron mines, of varying success but ultimately the whole area under Grosmont station was mined, on the 'pillar and stall' method; the railway company (by then the NER
) simply bought the ironstone under the station house and the river bridge and made preparation to deal with subsidence elsewhere. This ironstone (in the Avicula and Pectin seams) today belongs to the NYMR
, having been bought as part of the railway property.
Other industries that followed at or near Grosmont included a large iron works with (eventually) three blast furnaces which stood on the north side of the railway. The area is now the National Park's car park, which is linked to the station by a footbridge across the Esk Valley Line
; in amongst the trees there are still remains of the areas industrial past.
On the south-east side of the line Grosmont Brickworks was developed, now long disused. Much of the brick kilns still survive but the tall chimney often featuring in BR period photos of Grosmont station is now long gone.
South of Grosmont, near Esk Valley, the railway cut through a whinstone
dyke, an igneous intrusion that crosses the whole country diagonally. Whinstone was prized for roadmaking and was both mined and quarried along this exposed section of the dyke, being dispatched by rail from Esk Valley and (after the deviation line was opened in 1865) from . Esk Valley was also the site of another ironstone mine. The Esk Valley Iron Company built the row of cottages to be seen at right-angles to the deviation line just before Esk Valley viaduct, together with a managers house a little further away. They were not as successful with their mining and the company failed.
's Y&NMR, it was quickly taken up. So quickly that Hudson does not seem to have fully consulted the Y&NM's directors (according to the report of the Y&NM committee of investigation, held in The National Archives at Kew). The Y&NM were at the time building their line from York
to with a branch to . Additional parliamentary powers were obtained (by the W&P) to make various improvements to its alignment and to permit the introduction of steam power. The Y&NM converted the single track W&P into a fully double track steam powered railway. The first steam engine entered Whitby in July 1847.
The big change at Grosmont was the building, to the design of Y&NM architect G.T.Andrews
of the station house, which together with what would have been short and low platforms, created Grosmont's first true station. Across the road from the station there was a new massive stone bridge over the Murk Esk and a new double track tunnel (alongside the original horse tunnel), both bridge and tunnel are attributed to John Cass Birkinshaw.
. The advent of the NER brought few changes to Grosmont station but 1865 was a year of major changes, when two new lines serving Grosmont opened. One was simply a deviation line on the route to Pickering, to avoid the cable worked incline at Beckhole
, by then an anachronism on a passenger railway and a source of delay and accidents. The new line started at Deviation Junction (just south of the tunnel) and climbed at a steady gradient of 1 in 49 all the way to a new station at Goathland
, on the edge of the village and initially called Goathland Mill. From Goathland station
the new line continued at an easier gradient until it rejoined the original route a little short of the summit of the line.
The second line was the completion by the NER of a line originally started by the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Railway, down the Esk Valley
from to Grosmont, thus finally making Grosmont into a junction. This line is now the surviving Network Rail
line into Grosmont, now known as the Esk Valley Line
.
The NER built a short terrace of cottages just south of the tunnel; these were demolished by the NYMR to allow extensions to its running shed and workshops.
In 1876, block working was introduced on the Whitby branch, bringing many new signal cabins
. There had already been an early cabin erected at Deviation Junction when the deviation opened in 1865 and it is possible that a cabin was erected at the junction with the new line up the Esk Valley
at the same time. This cabin was either replaced or extended to handle full block working in 1876. Because of the limited space at the junction the cabin was built on a narrow base with a double overhang - a design that survived until its closure.
North Yorks Moors:- services to Pickering (and Whitby) operate on various timetables depending on the time of year.
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North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located on the Esk Valley Line
Esk Valley Line
The Esk Valley Line is the railway line from Middlesbrough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The route follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half....
which serves one platform and is operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
who provide the station's passenger services. The main part of the station, closed in 1965, served trains to and from Pickering and Malton, originally consisted of two flanking platforms but this was increased to three by building a platform face onto the goods loop / run-round loop behind the Malton-bound platform. This part of the station is owned and operated by the preserved
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line...
who operate passenger services between Whitby and Pickering
Pickering, North Yorkshire
Pickering is an ancient market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of the county of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North York Moors National Park. It sits at the foot of the Moors, overlooking the Vale of Pickering to the south...
. The station has appeared often in the television series Heartbeat.
W&P (1835 to 1845)
A railway was brought to Grosmont by the Whitby and Pickering RailwayWhitby and Pickering Railway
The Whitby and Pickering Railway was built as the culmination of attempts to halt the gradual decline of the port of Whitby on the east coast of the United Kingdom...
and its engineer George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
. It was a horse worked line and opened from Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
as far as Grosmont (then known as 'Tunnel' from the tunnel required to pass from Grosmont towards Beckhole
Beck Hole
Beck Hole is a small village a mile and a quarter from Goathland, North Yorkshire, England, served only by a winding road that has 1-in-4 inclines at either end. This gives some protection from the general tourist routes, as coaches are unable to reach the village...
) in 1835.
The advent of the W&P brought development to 'Tunnel'. The Tunnel Inn was built to cater for railway passengers. Sometimes attributed to the W&P Rly. company, the inn was in fact built by one of the W&P's backers. It is still serving railway customers today. Between the inn and today's railway stands a building that is attributed to the W&P. Today it houses NYMR volunteers on the upper floor and a small workshop at track level. The floor of the workshop shows signs of once having a rail connection, presumably via a wagon turntable on a line outside.
The W&P opened throughout in 1836 and brought new businesses to the Grosmont area.
Industrial history
Lime was brought from PickeringPickering, North Yorkshire
Pickering is an ancient market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of the county of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North York Moors National Park. It sits at the foot of the Moors, overlooking the Vale of Pickering to the south...
for burning in a row of lime kilns adjacent to the railway at Grosmont; A stone company was founded to exploit the stone on Lease Rigg (south of the tunnel) which was brought down an incline to the W&P and dispatched to Whitby. The discovery of outcrops of iron ore during the building of the railway lead to a number of local iron mines, of varying success but ultimately the whole area under Grosmont station was mined, on the 'pillar and stall' method; the railway company (by then the NER
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
) simply bought the ironstone under the station house and the river bridge and made preparation to deal with subsidence elsewhere. This ironstone (in the Avicula and Pectin seams) today belongs to the NYMR
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line...
, having been bought as part of the railway property.
Other industries that followed at or near Grosmont included a large iron works with (eventually) three blast furnaces which stood on the north side of the railway. The area is now the National Park's car park, which is linked to the station by a footbridge across the Esk Valley Line
Esk Valley Line
The Esk Valley Line is the railway line from Middlesbrough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The route follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half....
; in amongst the trees there are still remains of the areas industrial past.
On the south-east side of the line Grosmont Brickworks was developed, now long disused. Much of the brick kilns still survive but the tall chimney often featuring in BR period photos of Grosmont station is now long gone.
South of Grosmont, near Esk Valley, the railway cut through a whinstone
Whinstone
Whinstone is a term used in the quarrying industry to describe any hard dark-coloured rock. Examples include the igneous rocks basalt and dolerite as well as the sedimentary rock chert....
dyke, an igneous intrusion that crosses the whole country diagonally. Whinstone was prized for roadmaking and was both mined and quarried along this exposed section of the dyke, being dispatched by rail from Esk Valley and (after the deviation line was opened in 1865) from . Esk Valley was also the site of another ironstone mine. The Esk Valley Iron Company built the row of cottages to be seen at right-angles to the deviation line just before Esk Valley viaduct, together with a managers house a little further away. They were not as successful with their mining and the company failed.
Y&NM (1845 to 1854)
The W&P was never a runaway success. The solution to its financial problems lay in a connection to the evolving national railway network, so when an opportunity arose to sell the company to George HudsonGeorge Hudson
George Hudson , English railway financier, known as "The Railway King", was born, the fifth son of a farmer, in Howsham, in the parish of Scrayingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, north of Stamford Bridge, east of York. He is buried in Scrayingham...
's Y&NMR, it was quickly taken up. So quickly that Hudson does not seem to have fully consulted the Y&NM's directors (according to the report of the Y&NM committee of investigation, held in The National Archives at Kew). The Y&NM were at the time building their line from York
York railway station
York railway station is a main-line railway station in the city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...
to with a branch to . Additional parliamentary powers were obtained (by the W&P) to make various improvements to its alignment and to permit the introduction of steam power. The Y&NM converted the single track W&P into a fully double track steam powered railway. The first steam engine entered Whitby in July 1847.
The big change at Grosmont was the building, to the design of Y&NM architect G.T.Andrews
George Townsend Andrews
George Townsend Andrews was an English architect born in Exeter. He is noted for his buildings designed for George Hudson's railways, especially the York and North Midland Railway...
of the station house, which together with what would have been short and low platforms, created Grosmont's first true station. Across the road from the station there was a new massive stone bridge over the Murk Esk and a new double track tunnel (alongside the original horse tunnel), both bridge and tunnel are attributed to John Cass Birkinshaw.
NER (1854 to 1923)
In 1854 the Y&NM was one of the three railway companies that came together to form the North Eastern RailwayNorth Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
. The advent of the NER brought few changes to Grosmont station but 1865 was a year of major changes, when two new lines serving Grosmont opened. One was simply a deviation line on the route to Pickering, to avoid the cable worked incline at Beckhole
Beck Hole
Beck Hole is a small village a mile and a quarter from Goathland, North Yorkshire, England, served only by a winding road that has 1-in-4 inclines at either end. This gives some protection from the general tourist routes, as coaches are unable to reach the village...
, by then an anachronism on a passenger railway and a source of delay and accidents. The new line started at Deviation Junction (just south of the tunnel) and climbed at a steady gradient of 1 in 49 all the way to a new station at Goathland
Goathland
Goathland is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the North York Moors national park situated due north of Pickering, off the A169 to Whitby...
, on the edge of the village and initially called Goathland Mill. From Goathland station
Goathland railway station
Goathland railway station is a station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and serves the village of Goathland in North Yorkshire, England. It is famous for appearing in the television series Heartbeat and as Hogsmeade station the Hogwarts Express stop at in the Harry Potter films...
the new line continued at an easier gradient until it rejoined the original route a little short of the summit of the line.
The second line was the completion by the NER of a line originally started by the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Railway, down the Esk Valley
Esk Valley Line
The Esk Valley Line is the railway line from Middlesbrough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The route follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half....
from to Grosmont, thus finally making Grosmont into a junction. This line is now the surviving Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
line into Grosmont, now known as the Esk Valley Line
Esk Valley Line
The Esk Valley Line is the railway line from Middlesbrough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The route follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half....
.
The NER built a short terrace of cottages just south of the tunnel; these were demolished by the NYMR to allow extensions to its running shed and workshops.
In 1876, block working was introduced on the Whitby branch, bringing many new signal cabins
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
. There had already been an early cabin erected at Deviation Junction when the deviation opened in 1865 and it is possible that a cabin was erected at the junction with the new line up the Esk Valley
Esk Valley Line
The Esk Valley Line is the railway line from Middlesbrough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The route follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half....
at the same time. This cabin was either replaced or extended to handle full block working in 1876. Because of the limited space at the junction the cabin was built on a narrow base with a double overhang - a design that survived until its closure.
Services
Northern Rail:- Mondays to Saturdays, there are four trains per day in each direction to Whitby and Middlesbrough. A Sunday service of five trains each way (including through trains to and Newcastle) operates between May and late September only.North Yorks Moors:- services to Pickering (and Whitby) operate on various timetables depending on the time of year.
External links
- Train times and information from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Grosmont Station Group's website
- Grosmont Station (listed building)
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- Listed railway structures in or near Grosmont
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