Redmire railway station is the current western terminus of the

Wensleydale Railway The Wensleydale Railway is a heritage railway in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in stages by different railway companies and originally extended to railway station on the Settle-Carlisle line. Since ...

and serves the village of

Redmire Redmire is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about west of Leyburn in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales. Transport Redmire is the terminus of the Wensleydale Railway. The Ministry of ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the second busiest station on the Wensleydale Railway in terms of passenger numbers owing to its status as the western terminus of the line.

History

The station was opened by the North Eastern Railway in 1878 as part of the Hawes extension of their route from Northallerton via

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in the district of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'L ...

but it lost its passenger service in April 1954. The site was redeveloped in the early 1990s by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

to allow movement of military equipment by rail to and from

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10& ...

, an operation that continues periodically to this day. Previously, the site was used as a quarry loading terminal for daily limestone trains to the British Steel (now

Corus Group Corus may refer to: Places *Çörüş, Gazipaşa, a village in Antalya Province, Turkey Facilities and structures * Corus Quay, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; an office tower Fictional locations * Corus, a fictional world that is the setting for the ...

) plant at Redcar. This traffic kept the 22 mile (35.6 km) branch from

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...

open after the Beeching cuts of the 1960s claimed the remainder of the line towards

Hawes Hawes is a market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a touri ...

but its end in December 1992 left the line's future in doubt until the MoD stepped in. The Wensleydale Railway subsequently leased the line from

Railtrack Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from 1994 until 2002. It was created as part of the privatisation of ...

and began operating passenger trains to Redmire in 2004. Redmire Station House is now a scout-owned activity centre giving children and other charities a base for a week or weekend visit to the area. Redmire Station House is owned by 2nd Acomb Scout Group, York and run on their behalf under a Declaration of Trust with four trustees. Redmire is primarily available for Scouts, youth groups and other charities. Other connected parties can also use the facilities away from peak times. Over its 50 years as a Scout Activity Centre, it has been visited by tens of thousands of children of varying abilities and backgrounds and other charitable organisations. It is the long-term aim of the Wensleydale Railway to re-lay the line from Redmire to

Garsdale Garsdale is a dale or valley in the south east of Cumbria, England, historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is now within the South Lakeland local government district, but is still a "Yorkshire Dale" for planning purposes. In t ...

on the Settle-Carlisle Railway.

Notes

External links

http://redmirestation.house - Scout Activity Centre home pageYouTube video of Redmire Railway Station.
{{s-end Heritage railway stations in North Yorkshire Wensleydale Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1878 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1954 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2004 Former North Eastern Railway (UK) stations