Forge Valley Line

Forge Valley Line

Legend Scarborough & Whitby Railway Falsgrave Tunnel Scarborough Central Scarborough Londesborough Road Falsgrave Junction Washbeck Viaduct Seamer Yorkshire Coast Line Seamer Junction York to Scarborough Line A64 Irton Waterworks River Derwent Forge Valley A170 Wykeham A170 Sawdon Brompton Beck Snainton Crossover Ebberston Thornton Dale York and North Midland Railway Mill Lane Junction Gilling and Pickering Line Pickering North Yorkshire Moors Railway

The Forge Valley Line was a 16 mile long branch of the North Eastern Railway between Seamer (near Scarborough, North Yorkshire) and Pickering. The line was intended to link Scarborough with Pickering. It opened in 1882 and closed in 1950, with the exception of a stretch from Pickering to Thornton Dale which remained open for quarry traffic until 1963.

The line did not pass through Forge Valley, but the station in the village of West Ayton was named after it to avoid confusion with another station—Great Ayton—already owned by the North Eastern Railway.

The route

The line had no gradients of note, with only a few sections steeper than 1 in 100, and was single track throughout, with a passing loop at Snainton. Six stations were constructed on the line, Forge Valley, Wykeham, Sawdon, Snainton, Ebberston and Thornton Dale. Both terminus stations, Pickering and Seamer were constructed before the opening of the line.

Preservation

Thornton Dale, Ebberston, Snainton, Sawdon and Wykeham have now been restored and there are three Camping Coaches at Ebberston.

Wykeham also survives and there are plans to restore the station itself. Whilst the other stations on the line are completely restored, Forge Valley is now currently in use by North Yorkshire County Council as a road and highways depot.

References

• Bairstow, Martin (1998). Railways Around Whitby Volume One. Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-17-1. 
• Lidster, J. Robin (1986). The Forge Valley Line—A Railway Between Pickering And Scarborough. Hendon Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-86067-103-8. 

External links

• Further Information about the Forge Valley Line

Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber
Primary	To London East Coast Main Line Midland Main Line To Exeter Cross Country Route
Others	Inter-regional Hallam Line Hope Valley Line Leeds to Morecambe Line Doncaster to Lincoln Line Sheffield to Lincoln Line Settle–Carlisle Line Intra-regional Airedale Line Askern Branch Line Barton Line Calder Valley Line Dearne Valley Line Esk Valley Line Harrogate Line Huddersfield Line Leeds-Bradford Lines Leeds-Northallerton Railway Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line Penistone Line Pontefract Line Selby Diversion Selby Line South Humberside Main Line Swinton to Doncaster Wakefield Line Wharfedale Line Hull to Scarborough York to Scarborough
Defunct	Barnsley-Doncaster Brockholes-Holmfirth Dearne Valley Railway Gilling and Pickering Harrogate-Church Fenton Hull-Barnsley (Cudworth) Hull and Holderness Hull and Hornsea Knaresborough-York Leeds-Harrogate Malton-Driffield Market Weighton-Driffield Middlesbrough-Guisborough Middlesbrough-Guisborough-Normanby Huddersfield-Bradford Lockwood-Meltham Nunthorpe–Battersby Otley-Ilkley Pilmoor-Knaresborough Queensbury lines Rosedale Railway Scarborough-Whitby Seamer-Pickering Selby-Driffield Selby-Goole Shipley Windhill Line Sowerby Bridge-Rishworth Skipton-Grassington Skipton-Ilkley Thirsk and Malton Line Wetherby-Cross Gates(Leeds) Whiby-Loftus Woodhead Line York-Market Weighton-Beverley York-York (Foss Island)
Heritage	Derwent Valley Light Railway Elsecar Heritage Railway Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Middleton Railway North Bay Railway North Yorkshire Moors Railway Wensleydale Railway
Light Railways	Nidd Valley Light Railway North Holderness Light Railway Sand Hutton Light Railway