Bedale railway station

Bedale
Station on heritage railway
General information
Location	Bedale, Hambleton England
Coordinates	54°17′20″N1°35′17″W / 54.289°N 1.588°W / 54.289; -1.588
Grid reference	SE269882
Managed by	Wensleydale Railway
Platforms	1
History
Original company	York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 February 1855	Opened
26 April 1954	Closed
2004	Reopened

Bedale railway station is on the Wensleydale Railway and serves the town of Bedale in North Yorkshire, England. The station was opened in 1855, and closed under British Railways in 1954. It was re-opened as part of the heritage Wensleydale Railway in 2004.

History

First opened by the Bedale and Leyburn Railway in November 1855, the station very nearly did not get built at all as the initial plans for the Leeming to Leyburn route would have completely bypassed the town. ^[1] This problem was subsequently corrected (following a major outcry in the locality) and by May 1856, passenger services had started running between Northallerton and Leyburn. ^[2] These were subsequently extended to Hawes and Hawes Junction (later Garsdale) by the North Eastern Railway in October 1878. ^[3]

Bedale Station in April 1961

Although the section between Bedale and Leeming was doubled by the turn of the century, the station never received a second platform, and the line became single again before passing through the adjacent level crossing. ^[4] Services were always modest at best, with a basic timetable of between five and seven trains each way operating right up until the closure of the line to passengers in April 1954. ^[5]

The platform was given a moderate facelift in 1970 when the Royal Train was stabled overnight in the station. The Queen was on a ceremonial visit to the nearby Catterick military complex. ^[6]

The station remained open for goods traffic for many years after the cessation of passenger trains (until 1982) and even then the platform and signal box survived (the latter to supervise the crossing and the last remaining passing loop on the otherwise single track route). Limestone trains from Redmire to the steelworks at Redcar ended in December 1992, but the line was subsequently retained for use by the Ministry of Defence to move military hardware to and from Catterick Garrison via a new transshipment facility at Redmire. ^[7]

Preservation

Bedale signal box in service during July 2014

The Wensleydale Railway Company took over the station after leasing the branch from Railtrack in the spring of 2003, ^[8] with passenger services returning to Bedale in 2004. ^[9] The WRC use the surviving station building and the adjacent brick-built signal box. The station is 7 miles 37 chains (12 km) west of the boundary with the Network Rail lines at Northallerton. ^[10]

Trains currently operate between Scruton and Leyburn, as the sections from Scruton to Northallerton and Leyburn to Redmire are currently out of passenger use. ^{[11] [12]} Most eastbound trains terminate at Leeming Bar. The company hopes to eventually rebuild the currently derelict section of the line west of Redmire and run services all the way from Northallerton to Garsdale. ^[13]

The signal box

The signal box and the station are actually in Aiskew by parish boundary definitions (the traditional parish boundary was Bedale Beck). ^[14] However, the signal box was given Grade II Listed Status in February 1993 and as such, it is now in the Bedale Conservation area. ^[15] The box is believed to have been designed by G. T. Andrews. ^[16]

References

1. The Wensleydale Railway at Railways of Britain Archived 8 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 6 November 2008
2. Young, Alan (2015). Lost stations of Yorkshire; the North and East Ridings. Kettering: Silver Link. p. 83. ISBN   978-1-85794-453-2.
3. Hallas, Christine (1984). The Wensleydale Railway. Clapham: Dalesman Books. p. 25. ISBN   0-85206-780-1.
4. Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 131. ISBN   0-7153-8527-5.
5. Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN   1-85260-072-1; p. 144
6. Goode, C. T. (1980). "The Route". The Wensleydale Branch. Trowbridge: Oakwood Press. p. 13. ISBN   9780853612650. OCLC   10811584.
7. Johnston, Howard (20 April 2022). "Hopes of a revived trans-Pennine rail link diminish". Rail Magazine. No. 955. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 22. ISSN   0953-4563.
8. Coward, Andy (October 2024). "All's fine on the Wensleydale line". Railways Illustrated. No. 260. Horncastle: Mortons Media. p. 60. ISSN   1479-2230.
9. "Celebrations on railway once doomed to close". The Northern Echo. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
10. Kelman, Leanne (2020). Railway track diagrams, books 2 - eastern (5 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. 20D. ISBN   978-1-9996271-3-3.
11. Mitchinson, James, ed. (11 October 2024). "Repair works starts in bid to reopen railway line". The Yorkshire Post. p. 9. ISSN   0963-1496.
12. Coward, Andy, ed. (September 2024). "Wensleydale Railway seeks to return trains to Redmire". Railways Illustrated. No. 259. Horncastle: Mortons Media. p. 27. ISSN   1479-2230.
13. Newton, Grace (1 July 2020). "How re-opening an old railway line could transform Wensleydale". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
14. "Bedale Parish Boundaries". GENUKI. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
15. "Bedale Conservation Area Appraisal Supplementary Planning Document" (PDF). Hambleton.gov. 2:3:5. 21 December 2010. p. 5. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
16. Historic England. "Signal Box opposite Park House (1252652)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 22 February 2016.

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Finghall		Wensleydale Railway		Leeming Bar
	Historical railways
Crakehall Line open, station closed		North Eastern Railway York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway		Leeming Bar Line and station open