Yorkshire Wolds Railway

Yorkshire Wolds Railway
Sir Tatton Skyes on the running line at Fimber Halt
Locale	East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Terminus	Fimber Halt ( SE91146077 )
Coordinates	54°02′06″N0°36′36″W / 54.0350°N 0.6100°W / 54.0350; -0.6100
Commercial operations
Name	Yorkshire Wolds Railway
Built by	Malton and Driffield Junction Company
Original gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Operated by	Malton Dodger Ltd
Stations	One, at Fimber Halt
Length	nearly 1,000 feet (300 m)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened	1853
Closed	1958
Preservation history
2008	Project established
2012	Start on site
24 May 2015	Opens to the public
Headquarters	Fimber Halt
Website
www.yorkshirewoldsrailway.org.uk

The Yorkshire Wolds Railway is a preserved railway in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located on a section of the Malton and Driffield Junction Railway near the village of Fimber. The railway has a short demonstration line and an operational industrial diesel locomotive that provides cab rides to visitors. The railway has plans for expansion, work on which has been underway since April 2019.

History

Main article: Malton and Driffield Junction Railway

The line was built as part of a scheme supported by George Hudson to create a line of communication from Hull to Newcastle. ^[1] The line opened in 1853; its traffic was almost exclusively local passenger trains and freight traffic from the quarries at Burdale and Wharram, with the occasional summer Sunday services to the coast. The quarries, however, suffered a boom and bust existence and their business dried up by the 1950s ^{[2] [3]} leading to the line's final closure on 20 October 1958. ^[4]

Heritage operation

v t e Malton and Driffield Junction Railway
Legend
York–Scarborough line to York Malton Thirsk & Malton Rly to Gilling York–Scarborough line to Scarborough Settrington North Grimston Wharram Burdale Tunnel 1747 yd 1597 m Burdale Sledmere and Fimber Fimber Halt (opened 2015) Wetwang Garton Selby–Driffield line to Market Weighton Hull–Scarborough line to Hull Driffield Hull–Scarborough line to Scarborough

In October 2008 the Yorkshire Wolds Railway Restoration Project was formed with the aim to restore at least part of the Malton and Driffield railway line as a heritage attraction.

In 2012 the group gained planning permission to build a visitors centre near to the site of the former Fimber and Sledmere station. ^{[5] [6]} The land required for all of the current project is owned by the Sledmere Estate who are supportive of the railway. As a tourist attraction, the railway is intended to be an interesting stop-off on the route to the Yorkshire coast, becoming part of a range of tourist attractions in the Yorkshire Wolds including Sledmere House and Wharram Percy deserted medieval village. ^[7]

In September 2012 the project acquired its first vehicle, an ex-BR Mark 1 full brake coach (or 'BG'). ^[8] In 2013 the charity obtained its first locomotive, a GEC diesel shunter GECT5576 ^{[9] [10]} built in 1979 at the English Electric Vulcan foundry works. It was originally operated by British Steel Corporation at Shotton, and later by Trackwork Ltd of Doncaster as a training vehicle in the rail engineering unit at HM Prison Lindholme. The locomotive was repainted in BR green, a two-tone livery similar to that seen on BR Class 14 shunters, and was named Sir Tatton Sykes.

In 2018 the railway acquired another piece of rolling stock: BR 20T Brake Van B955043. The brake van arrived on site via low loader in September in the same year. ^[11] As of 20 October 2020, the brake van is being restored and has been painted BR freight grey; it is partway through being re-roofed.

The Yorkshire Wolds Railway first opened to the public on 24 May 2015, with the official opening by Sir Tatton Sykes, on 25 May 2015. Currently it has a visitors centre and nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) of demonstration track with a turnout connecting the running line with the track upon which the Mk 1 BG stands. ^[12]

The Yorkshire Wolds Railway is the only heritage railway in the East Riding of Yorkshire. ^[13]

Extension

The railway has plans to extend its operational length to 2 miles; this would involve running between the Fimber Halt site, opened when the project commenced, and the original Wetwang railway station. The railway has also had success bidding for funding from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's LEADER programme and has received donations of track from local industrial railways including Drax Power Station. ^{[14] [15]}

Planning consent was granted on 17 May 2012 for the laying of 0.9 miles (72 chains) of track from Fimber Halt to the edge of a field. Further tracklaying would immediately involve crossing a green lane. ^[16] A platform at Fimber Halt has been built which allows for easier boarding of trains, particularly when the brake van is ready for use. ^[17]

Rolling stock

• GEC 0-4-0 DH No. 5576 Sir Tatton Sykes (operational)
• Fowler 0-6-0 DH No. 4240017 Patricia (under restoration)
• BR Mk 1 BG No. 92990 (static use)
• BR 20T Standard Brake Van B955043 (operational)
• BR Mk 2 TSO No. 6027 (under restoration)

See also

• Lincolnshire Wolds Railway
• Malton and Driffield Junction Railway
• Sledmere and Fimber railway station
• Wetwang railway station

References

1. Tomlinson 1915, pp. 467, 480.
2. Hoole 1984, p. 76.
3. Burton 1997, pp. 60–66.
4. Cooke 1958, p. 801.
5. "Full steam ahead for railway plans". Hull Daily Mail. 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
6. "(12/00434/STPLF) Creation of a short heritage railway line and visitor facilities on part of the former Malton and Driffield Junction Railway, Fimber". East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
7. "Planning Design and Access Statement 12/00434/STPLF". East Riding of Yorkshire Public Access. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
8. "Railway buys first attraction". Malton Mercury. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
9. Yorkshire Wolds Railway's First Loco Arrives!. www.youtube.com (video). 24 April 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
10. "Yorkshire Wolds Railway gains its first locomotive". Railways Illustrated. Vol. 11. August 2013. p. 62. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
11. "BR 20t brake van livery". RMweb. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
12. "Site Plans". Yorkshire Wolds Railway. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
13. "Yorkshire Wolds Railway". Yorkshire Wolds Railway Restoration Project. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
14. "Getting rail line back on track". The Yorkshire Post. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
15. "Yorkshire Wolds Railway in track gift". Unseen Steam. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
16. "Planning Design and Access Statement 12/00434/STPLF". East Riding of Yorkshire Public Access. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
17. "Yorkshire railway team win EU cash to help extend the line". The Yorkshire Evening Post. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

Sources

• Burton, Warwick (1997). Malton & Driffield Junction Railway. Halifax: Martin Bairstow. ISBN   978-1-871944-16-7.
• Cooke, B. W. C., ed. (November 1958). "The Malton-Driffield Line". Notes and News. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 104, no. 691. London: Tothill Press Limited. pp. 801–2.
• Hoole, Ken (1984). Forgotten Railways: North-East England (2nd ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-946537-10-5.
• Tomlinson, William Weaver (1915). The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development. Andrew Reid and Company, Newcastle; Longmans, Green and Company, London.

External links

• Yorkshire Wolds Railway