Eryholme-Richmond branch line
| Eryholme–Richmond branch line | |
|---|---|
Nature taking over the trackbed between Moulton End and Scorton, May 2007
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| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| Status | Closed |
| Locale | North Yorkshire |
| Termini | Eryholme railway station Richmond railway station |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 10 September 1846 |
| Closed | 3 March 1969 (to passengers) 1970 for goods |
| Operator(s) |
York and Newcastle Railway to 1854, North Eastern Railway 1854–1923, London and North Eastern Railway 1923–1948, British Railways (N.E region) 1948 to closure |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 9 miles 62 chains |
| Number of tracks | Double |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
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York and Newcastle Railway to 1854, North Eastern Railway 1854–1923, London and North Eastern Railway 1923–1948,
The Eryholme–Richmond branch line was opened in 1846 by the York and Newcastle Railway Company. The original section of the line ran from between a point in between Darlington and Northallerton on what is now the East Coast Main Line and the terminus at Richmond railway station.
A proposal for the branch was first mooted in 1825 and in 1836, the idea of serving Swaledale was again raised when notifications were placed in the local newspapers for the Richmond and Cleveland Railway. The branch was formally opened on the 10 September 1846 and ran from what was known originally as Dalton Junction, with the NER renaming the junction Eryholme in 1901, despite Eryholme being further away from there than Dalton was.
The railway was intended to progress further up the valley to Reeth with a view to moving quarried products out of the dale. The proposal even gained parliamentary approval in 1869, but due to local support not being forthcoming, the NER never even started the venture. This venture was revisited in 1912 with a Light Railway Order being granted for the Swaledale Light Railway Company, but again this faltered and was never constructed.
When trains arrived at the Richmond terminus, the procedure was to allow the passengers to alight from the train and the loco would propel the carriages out of the station and run-round the train as there was no loco release facility. When troop trains were operating, a loco would be outbased at Richmond to attach to the rear of a terminating service. This would facilitate a quick turnaround time for departure and the incoming loco could then wait in the sidings to repeat the changeover with the next terminating service. Despite the existence of the Catterick branch, most troop trains would run into Richmond and servicemen and women would be bussed into the camp.
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Wikipedia