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General information | |||||||||||
Location | Whitby, North Yorkshire England | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 54°29′05″N0°36′55″W / 54.4848396°N 0.6151910°W | ||||||||||
Grid reference | NZ898108 | ||||||||||
Owned by | Network Rail | ||||||||||
Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||||||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||
Station code | WTB | ||||||||||
Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Original company | Whitby and Pickering Railway | ||||||||||
Pre-grouping | North Eastern Railway | ||||||||||
Post-grouping | |||||||||||
Key dates | |||||||||||
8 June 1835 | Opened as Whitby | ||||||||||
4 June 1847 | Resited | ||||||||||
1886 | Renamed Whitby Town | ||||||||||
1924 | Renamed Whitby | ||||||||||
30 September 1951 | Renamed Whitby Town | ||||||||||
5 September 1966 | Renamed Whitby | ||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||
2018/19 | ![]() | ||||||||||
2019/20 | ![]() | ||||||||||
2020/21 | ![]() | ||||||||||
2021/22 | ![]() | ||||||||||
2022/23 | ![]() | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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Listed Building – Grade II | |||||||||||
Feature | Original York and North Midland Railway station building | ||||||||||
Designated | 4 December 1972 | ||||||||||
Reference no. | 1261393 [1] | ||||||||||
Location | |||||||||||
Location in North Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||
Notes | |||||||||||
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Whitby is a railway station serving the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough. The station is owned by Network Rail; its mainline services are operated by Northern Trains and its heritage services by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Whitby's original railway station stood near to the end of the current platform, in the form of the offices, workshop and carriage shed of the Whitby and Pickering Railway; a single track horse worked line opened throughout in 1836. Its engineer was George Stephenson.
In 1845, the W&P was taken over by the York and North Midland Railway and converted into a double tracked, steam worked line. The Y&NM built the present Whitby station to the design of its architect George Townsend Andrews, who also designed the locomotive shed and the goods shed. Andrews' station included a fine 'Euston Truss' overall roof which was removed by British Railways in 1953 and replaced by the present awnings.
In 1854, the Y&NM helped form the North Eastern Railway, who later added two more platforms to help deal with traffic from the other branch lines that served Whitby; the Esk Valley Line finally opened throughout to a junction at Grosmont in 1865 while the coast line from Loftus opened in 1883 and from Scarborough in 1885. Block signalling replaced the time interval system in 1876 and brought Whitby an unusual three storey signal box to make it high enough to see over the adjacent goods shed.
In 1900, the NER authorised the installation of Tile Maps at 25 of their stations. Whitby is one of nine stations left to have their map still in situ and intact. The other eight are at Beverley, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Morpeth, Saltburn, Scarborough, Tynemouth and York. [2]
The NER became part of the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping of the railways in 1923 and the LNER became part of British Railways with the nationalisation of the railways in 1948. The only changes brought to Whitby were in locomotives, rolling stock and signalling; the basic structure remained unchanged.
The station was scheduled to be closed in the 1963 Beeching Report, which recommended the removal of all three lines serving the station. The route to York via Pickering and Malton was closed as scheduled, while the coast lines had gone by 1965. However the Esk Valley Line to Middlesbrough was kept open because of poor road access for replacement buses. [3]
With the closure of all but the Esk Valley Line, Whitby lost almost all of its staff. Over the following years the pickup goods train was withdrawn, the remaining double track as far as Grosmont was singled and the signal box closed and demolished, as was the goods shed. A run-round loop for excursion trains was retained and was used by the regular NYMR services from 2007 until 2014.
Platforms 3 and 4 were entirely removed and the site sold off, to be occupied by a supermarket. Platform 2 was cut back to what remains of the trainshed and its track removed, leaving only platform 1 rail served. Apart from the roofless and truncated station, Whitby's only other surviving railway buildings are the two track engine shed, originally built by the York and North Midland Railway and extended by the NER and the neglected remains of one of the pair of Whitby and Pickering Railway 1835 weighbridge houses.
In 2013, plans were approved for major development work around the station. This included the rebuilding and restoration of platform 2, to a somewhat longer length than the original. [4] [5] When the rebuilding of platform 2 was complete in 2014, the NYMR increased their service to four trains per day (five in peak periods) to and from Whitby. [4] [6] [7] In December 2019, Northern increased their services from four trains per day to six. [8]
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As of the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by six trains per day (four on Sunday) towards Middlesbrough via Nunthorpe. Most trains continue to Newcastle via Hartlepool. All services are operated by Northern Trains. [9]
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway operates heritage services between Pickering and Whitby via Grosmont. Services run daily from Easter until the end of October each year, with some additional services at other times of year.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. 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 between Grosmont and Rillington was closed in 1965 and the section between Grosmont and Pickering was reopened in 1973 by the North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. The preserved line is now a tourist attraction and has been awarded several industry accolades.
The Esk Valley Line is a railway line located in the north of England, covering a total distance of approximately 35 miles (56 km), running from Middlesbrough to Whitby. The line follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half.
Grosmont is a village and civil parish situated in Eskdale in the North York Moors National Park, within the boundaries of the Scarborough district of the county of North Yorkshire, England.
Battersby is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 11 miles 4 chains (17.8 km) south-east of Middlesbrough, serves the village of Battersby, Hambleton in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Castleton Moor is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 16 miles 45 chains (26.7 km) west of Whitby, serves the village of Castleton, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Lealholm is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 11 miles 40 chains (18.5 km) west of Whitby, serves the village of Lealholm, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Egton is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 7 miles 66 chains (12.6 km) west of Whitby, serves the villages of Egton and Egton Bridge, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Grosmont is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 6 miles 24 chains (10.1 km) west of Whitby, serves the village of Grosmont, in the Borough of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. The station is also served by heritage services operated by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Sleights is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 2 miles 78 chains (4.8 km) south-west of Whitby, serves the villages of Briggswath and Sleights, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Ruswarp is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 1 mile 30 chains (2.2 km) south-west of Whitby, serves the village of Ruswarp, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Pickering railway station is the southern terminus of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and serves the town of Pickering in North Yorkshire, England. The first railway arrived in Pickering from the north in 1836, however, it wasn't until the railway was connected from the south in 1845, that the current station was built. The station was closed by British Railways in March 1965, but since 1975, the station has served as the southern terminus of the North York Moors Railway.
Levisham railway station is a station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and serves the village of Levisham in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England.
Goathland railway station is a station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and serves the village of Goathland in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. It has also been used in numerous television and film productions. Holiday accommodation is available in the form of a camping coach.
The Scarborough & Whitby Railway was a railway line from Scarborough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The line followed a difficult but scenic route along the North Yorkshire coast.
The Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway (WRMU), a.k.a. the Whitby–Loftus Line, was a railway line in North Yorkshire, England, built between 1871 and 1886, running from Loftus on the Yorkshire coast to the Esk at Whitby, and connecting Middlesbrough to Whitby along the coast.
Hinderwell railway station was a railway station on the Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway. It was opened on 3 December 1883, and served the villages of Hinderwell and Runswick Bay. Like most stations on the line between Loftus and Whitby West Cliff, it was built with a passing loop. However, the northbound side was not furnished with a platform until 1908. The station closed to all traffic on 5 May 1958.
The Whitby and Pickering Railway (W&P) was built to halt the gradual decline of the port of Whitby on the east coast of England. Its basic industries—whaling and shipbuilding—had been in decline and it was believed that opening transport links inland would help regenerate the town and port.
The Grosmont Tunnels are two separate railway tunnels adjoining each other in the village of Grosmont, North Yorkshire, England. The first tunnel was built in 1835 and has now become a pedestrian route through to the North York Moors Railway (NYMR) engine sheds on the south side of the hill.
Whitby engine shed was a steam locomotive depot located at the south end of Whitby railway station in North Yorkshire, England. The shed was opened in 1847, extended in the 1860s, and closed in 1959, when the closure of lines and dieselisation of the routes from Whitby took hold. The shed building, which was grade II listed in 1991, still stands, being utilised for various enterprises, and is now used as holiday accommodation.
Preceding station | ![]() | Following station | ||
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Ruswarp | Northern Trains Esk Valley Line | Terminus | ||
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Grosmont | North Yorkshire Moors Railway | Terminus | ||
Disused railways | ||||
Whitby West Cliff | North Eastern Railway Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway | Terminus |
This station offers access to the Cleveland Way | |
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Distance to path | |
Next station anticlockwise | Saltburn 19 miles |
Next station clockwise | Scarborough 21 miles |