Esk Valley Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 route. The route is operated by Northern Rail using Class 142 and Class 156 DMUs. Previously Class 144 DMUs used to be worked on this line on a frequent basis. It is one of the most rural railway lines in the United Kingdom and except for a connection with the preserved North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Grosmont it's one main line link is via Middlesbrough.

The line was once part of a large network covering the area, much of which was destroyed by Dr Beeching's cuts. At Whitby Town, the line had its terminus, and from here a single track branched up a steep incline to Prospect Hill Junction from which trains could reach Whitby West Cliff Station and journey north along the coast to Saltburn and on to Middlesborough along the WRMU (Whitby Redcar and Middlesborough Union Railway), or south across the towering red brick Larpool Viaduct towards Scarborough. The WRMU was closed in the sixties, however the northern section of the line was retained and is still in operation with passenger services between Middlesborough and Saltburn. From Saltburn to Boulby, the line is also still operational as a goods route for potash and rocksalt from Boulby mine.

Between Glaisdale and Lealholm, work was begun by the railway engineer John Wardell on a branch across the moors to make the most of the iron ore in these parts. Originally intended to meet the Guisbrough line, which branched off the WRMU near Boulby, a collapse in the price of the ore meant the line was never finished. At various points along the route you can see the remains of vast earthworks forming unfinished embankments and cuttings. The line was to have one station at Stonegate and nearby a tunnel dug using the "cut and cover" method. The only bridge completed on the line is at Rake Farm, near Glaisdale at the route's junction with the Esk Valley line. The line is still known today as "Paddy Wardell's Railway" due to the number of Irish navvies used in it's construction.

At Battersby Junction, lines ran west towards Stokeley and on to join what is now the East Coast Mainline. From here goods trains also ran south to Ingleby where a cable pulley system raised wagons up a steep incline and across the moors to iron ore workings at Rosedale and Farndale. Today Battersby is a "Y" shaped junction, with trains pulling into a station which is now effectivly a terminus. The driver has to then change ends to drive towards either Whitby or Middlesborough. The Esk Valley line is rare in that is still uses a system known as "token working". Cabinets at Whitby, Glaisdale & Battersby along with a signal man at Nunthorpe pass on keys which allow the unlocking of line sections, ensuring only one train can run on a section at a time. Up until the mid eighties, the line had two tracks, but these were removed between Whitby and Nunthorpe. Trains can still pass at Glaisdale and Battersby, although Glaisdale is now the only station along the single track section that still regularly uses both platforms for "up" and "down" line trains, allowing trains to pass.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has been running steam trains between Whitby and Glaisdale in the past few years and is planning to try and extend its own route into Whitby Station. This would involve building a new track between Grosmont and Whitby as well as realigning the existing track, repositionned when the second line was taken up in the eighties.

Near Nunthorpe a branch forked off passing Guisbrough (with a short branch off this dropping into the town itself) to join the WRMU near it's current end at Boulby Mine.

[edit] Route

[edit] Image gallery

Esk Valley Line, Passing near Berwick Hills near Middlesbrough

edit Railway lines in Northern England:
Main lines:	Cross-Country Route East Coast Main Line Midland Main Line West Coast Main Line Hope Valley Line Liverpool-Manchester Line Manchester-Preston Line Settle-Carlisle Railway
Commuter lines:	Airedale Line Blackburn-Bolton Line Caldervale Line Mid-Cheshire Line Dearne Valley Line East Lancashire Line Glossop Line Hallam Line Harrogate Line Huddersfield Line Kirkby Branch Line Lancaster-Heysham Line Leeds-Bradford Lines Liverpool-Wigan Line Manchester Airport Line Manchester-Southport Line Northern Line Oldham Loop Line Northallerton-Eaglescliffe Line Ormskirk Branch Line Pontefract Line Sheffield-Hull Line Sheffield-Lincoln Line Stockport-Stalybridge Line Wakefield Line Warrington Link Line Wharfedale Line Wirral Line York & Selby Lines York-Scarborough Line
Rural lines:	Barton Line Borderlands Line Buxton Line Cumbrian Coast Line Doncaster-Lincoln Line Durham Coast Line Esk Valley Line Tees Valley Line Furness Line Hull-York Line Oxenholme-Windermere Line Penistone Line Ribble Valley Line Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Yorkshire Coast Line