The Esk Valley Line
The Esk Valley line, running from Middlesbrough to Whitby, is a route of tremendous contrasts. Running from an area once synonymous with shipbuilding, iron and steel production and the chemical industry, the line terminates in a small, attractive fishing port which is still connected to the industry.
The port also profits from its connection with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, holding special events throughout the year.
Additionally the line also connections directly into one of Britain’s premier heritage railways – the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR). Parts of the route have a history dating back more than 175 years.
In between the port and the industrial sprawl of Teesside, the line serves many remote communities connected by narrow roads, with villages set in the picturesque rolling hillsides of the national park. The cumulative number of station entries and exits for the route are almost 350,000 annually, so it’s a busy operation and a lifeline for many.
In 1835 George Stephenson opened a line from Whitby to Grosmont and on to Pickering a year later. Originally worked by horses, it was converted to take steam locomotives in 1845, having been taken over by the York and North Midland Railway Company that became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1854.
Construction of a line by the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Railway was started in an easterly direction from Picton on the Northallerton to Eaglescliffe line, initially opening to Battersby for mineral traffic in 1858 and to passenger traffic, from Stokesley to Castleton, in April 1861.
The section connecting Castleton with Grosmont didn’t open until October 1865, however the line from Battersby to Nunthorpe and connecting to the Middlesbrough to Guisborough line was completed in 1864.
From Glaisdale and Lealholm, John Waddell engineered a branch across the moorland to gain access to iron ore deposits. Waddell’s original intention was to build a line towards Guisborough and connect to the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway (WRMU), but a massive collapse in iron ore prices resulted in his plans being abandoned. Some of the earthworks can be seen along the
