Grosmont is a railway station on the
Esk Valley Line, which runs between
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
via
Nunthorpe
Nunthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England.
It is part of the historic county of Yorkshire, North Riding. It is near to the village of Great Ayton and formerly part of the Ayton ancient ...
. The station, situated west of Whitby, serves the village of
Grosmont, in the
Borough of Scarborough
The Borough of Scarborough () is a non-metropolitan district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. In addition to the town of Scarborough, it covers a large stretch of the coast of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Filey. It borders Redc ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England. It is owned by
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
and managed by
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
. The station is also served by
heritage services operated by the
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Georg ...
.
History
The
Whitby and Pickering Railway
The Whitby and Pickering Railway (W&P) was built to halt the gradual decline of the port of Whitby on the east coast of England. Its basic industries—whaling and shipbuilding—had been in decline and it was believed that opening transport l ...
was a horse-worked line engineered by
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
, which opened between
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
and Grosmont in 1835. At the time, the station was known as ''Tunnel'', named after the tunnel required to pass from Grosmont towards
Beckhole.
In 1845, the railway was sold to
George Hudson
George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...
's
York and North Midland Railway
The York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) was an English railway company that opened in 1839 connecting York with the Leeds and Selby Railway, and in 1840 extended this line to meet the North Midland Railway at Normanton near Leeds. Its first c ...
. Additional parliamentary powers were subsequently obtained by the Whitby and Pickering Railway to make various improvements to its alignment, as well as to permit the introduction of steam power. The line was also converted from single into a fully double track steam-powered railway. The first steam engine entered service at Whitby in July 1847.
At Grosmont a new wider
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
and bridge were constructed, most likely to designs of
John Cass Birkinshaw. A
G.T. Andrews designed railway station was also built, creating Grosmont's first true railway station.
In 1854, the York and North Midland Railway was one of the three railway companies that came together to form the
North Eastern Railway. In 1865, the station became a junction, following a deviation line on the route to Pickering, which was constructed in order to avoid the cable-worked incline at
Beckhole. A new connection was also made from (now Castleton Moor) to Grosmont, which now operates as part of the
Esk Valley Line.
Between 1900 and 1924, iron ore extraction resulted in the whole area under the station being mined, using the
pillar and stall method. The North Eastern Railway purchases the ironstone under the station house and the river bridge, and made preparations to deal with subsidence elsewhere.
The North Eastern Railway built a short terrace of cottages just south of the tunnel. In later years, these were used by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to house volunteers, but were subsequently demolished in 1989, to allow extensions to the running shed and workshops.
Two North Eastern Railway
camping coach
Camping coaches were holiday accommodation offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland from the 1930s. The coaches were old passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which were converted to ...
es were positioned here between 1959 and 1964.
The branch line between Grosmont and
Malton via
Pickering was closed on 8 March 1965, under the
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
. It was later reopened by the
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Georg ...
as a heritage railway on 22 April 1973, and currently operates between Grosmont and Pickering, with services also extending to Whitby.
The station has appeared several times in the television series ''
Heartbeat''.
Services
Northern Trains
As of the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by five trains per day (four on Sunday) towards
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
. Heading towards
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
via
Nunthorpe
Nunthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England.
It is part of the historic county of Yorkshire, North Riding. It is near to the village of Great Ayton and formerly part of the Ayton ancient ...
, there are six trains per day (four on Sunday). Most trains continue to
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
via
Hartlepool
Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
. All services are operated by
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
.
Rolling stock used:
Class 156 ''Super Sprinter'' and
Class 158 ''Express Sprinter''
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Georg ...
operates heritage services between
Pickering and
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
via Grosmont. Services run daily from Easter until the end of October each year, with some additional services at other times of year.
Gallery
Historic structures
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
Sources
*
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{Railway stations served by Northern Trains
Railway stations in the Borough of Scarborough
DfT Category F2 stations
Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1835
Northern franchise railway stations
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Former York and North Midland Railway stations
George Townsend Andrews railway stations
Grade II listed railway stations