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Yorkshire Dales Railway

Yorkshire Dales Railway
Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway
Skipton
Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway
Skipton to Ilkley Line
Rylstone
Swinden Quarry
Grassington & Threshfield

The Yorkshire Dales Railway was a branch line linking the town of Skipton with the villages of Rylstone, Threshfield and Grassington in North Yorkshire, England. There were two stations on the line - Grassington & Threshfield and Rylstone - and a connection via the Skipton to Ilkley Line to Skipton. It is also known as the Grassington Branch.

The railway company was authorised by Act of Parliament dated 6 August 1897 and opened its single-track line on 29 July 1902. It was operated by the Midland Railway from the start.

Regular passenger services ceased on 22 September 1930, but freight and occasional excursion trains continued until 11 August 1969. The line was then cut back to Swinden Quarry and today it remains a freight-only line used for carrying bulk trainloads of limestone aggregate from the quarry to terminals in Leeds, Redcar, Hull, Birmingham & Wellingborough.

The station at Grassington was built as a through station despite being the line's terminus, because there were plans to extend the line northwards to Hawes, where it would meet the Wensleydale Railway. Those plans were never realised. The "Yorkshire Dales Railway" name survives as that of the trust that operates the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.



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