Leeming Bar railway station is a railway station in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, England. It is the eastern rail passenger 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 ...

, though the line continues towards . Trains are timed to link in with Dales and District service buses to

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 increa ...

to connect with the

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

network.

History

The station was opened by the

York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business interest ...

(a constituent company of the North Eastern Railway) in 1848 as the terminus of their branch from Northallerton. The station building was probably designed by George Townsend Andrews who may also have designed the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

locomotive shed. The line was then extended westwards to

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 ...

by the ''Bedale and Leyburn Railway'' seven years later. A single-road locomotive shed was built at the west end of the station when the station opened up in 1848. The shed was still in use for the first and last trains of the day which terminated and started in . A shed had been proposed at Bedale as the intended terminus of the line, but with the extension to Leyburn, the shed at Leeming was retained. The station was located on the start of a two-track section to Bedale, with two platforms and a 36-lever signal box. The station was originally called ''Leeming Lane'' due to being sited on a level crossing on the Great North Road. However, in July 1902, it was renamed ''Leeming Bar''. It closed to passengers in April 1954 when the Northallerton to Hawes service fell victim to road competition, but reopened under Wensleydale Railway ownership in the summer of 2003.

Preservation

Leeming Bar disused station geograph-3748056-by-Ben-Brooksbank

As well as the scheduled passenger service, the station also sees periodic train loads of military hardware travelling between

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 ...

and various destinations in the south of England via Northallerton and the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running b ...

. Plans are for passenger trains to eventually continue through Leeming Bar and run into

Northallerton railway station Northallerton railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the town of Northallerton in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of between to the south and to the north. Its three-letter station code is NTR. The station is managed b ...

. The first phase of this involved re-opening station and commissioning a temporary structure at in 2014, but this section was closed again in August 2016 following a collision between a train and a car at a level crossing near

Yafforth Yafforth is a village and civil parish in Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England about west of Northallerton. The village lies on the B6271 road between Northallerton and the village of Scorton. The parish had a population of 174 in the 2011 ...

. It is hoped to recommence services to Northallerton West at a future date once work to upgrade level crossing equipment is complete. Leeming Bar is also the location of the Wensleydale Railway's main depot where its rolling stock is stored and is visible from the A1. The station building, on the south side of the railway station, is

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

with a classic portico entrance, which faces out onto the road over the level crossing which used to be the Great North Road. The station building was renovated in 2021. The former engine shed, which is now used by the heritage railway, is also grade II listed.

References

External links

{{Railway stations in Hambleton District Heritage railway stations in North Yorkshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1954 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2003 Former North Eastern Railway (UK) stations Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire