Heslerton railway station was a minor railway station serving the villages of

East Heslerton East Heslerton is a village, near Malton in North Yorkshire, England. It lies between the villages of West Heslerton and Sherburn, at the interface between the Vale of Pickering to the north and the Yorkshire Wolds to the south. With West He ...

and West Heslerton in

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. Located on the

York to Scarborough Line York is a cathedral city Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom. Cathedral city may also refer to: * Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States * Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Cheddar ch ...

it was opened on 5 July 1845 by the

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 ...

. It closed on 22 September 1930.

Early history (1845–1922)

The

was built by the

whose chairman was the "Railway King"

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 ...

. Hudson envisaged Scarborough (the "Brighton of the North") as a major resort and for many years railway excursion traffic used the line which opened on 5 July 1845. A minor road linking West Heslerton and

Yedingham Yedingham is a village and former civil parish halfway between West Knapton and Allerston, nine miles north-east of Malton. It is now in the parish of Ebberston and Yedingham, in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, but was historically ...

crosses the line just west of the station platforms with the goods yard further west of the crossing. Architect

George Townsend Andrews George Townsend Andrews (19 December 1804 – 29 December 1855) was an English architect born in Exeter. He is noted for his buildings designed for George Hudson's railways, especially the York and North Midland Railway. Andrews' architect's p ...

designed the station building which included accommodation for the station master. The building was located on the up (towards York) side of the line and this was extended in 1872 with a second storey. A timber waiting room as provided on the down platform and there was a small coal yard adjacent to the down platform. The station was east of , and south-east of Scarborough. Bradshaw's railway guide of 1 March 1850 shows, in table 79, three passenger services per weekday (Monday to Saturday) and one service each way on Sunday. These trains operated between York and Scarborough. By 1854 the

had become part of the North Eastern Railway who operated services serving the station until the end of 1922. The signal box, located west of the crossing on the down side of the line, was bought into service in 1873, and unusually the gable end of the signal box was at a 90-degree angle to the running lines. The July 1922 Bradshaw's shows four trains each way on a weekday with a single train each way on the Sunday which was timetabled to allow for a day at Scarborough.

London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947)

On 1 January 1923 the North Eastern Railway became part of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

(LNER). With the introduction of bus services that served the centre of the local villages, passenger numbers declined and the local all stations train service was withdrawn from Knapton and other stations along the York to Scarborough line on 22 September 1930. The withdrawal of these slow stopping services released capacity on the line allowing more holiday and excursion trains to run to Scarborough and other Yorkshire Coast resorts. Heslerton, like many other minor stations along the route, retained its goods facilities.

British Railways (1948–1964)

Following nationalisation of the railways on 1 January 1948 the goods yard and signal box fell under the auspices of the

North Eastern Region of British Railways The North Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948, whose operating area could be identified by the orange signs and colour schemes that adorned its stations and other railway buildings. It was merged with the Eastern Region ...

. The goods yard closed to general goods traffic on 10 August 1964. The signal box was closed on 11 December 1993 as part of a programme of signalling and level crossing upgrades.

References

External links

{{commons category, Heslerton railway station
Heslerton station on navigable 1947 O. S. map
Disused railway stations in North Yorkshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1845 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1930 Former York and North Midland Railway stations George Townsend Andrews railway stations