The Esk Valley Line is a railway line located in the north of England, covering a total distance of approximately , running from Middlesbrough to Whitby. The line follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half.
The Esk Valley Line was designated as a community rail line in July 2005, being one of seven intended pilots for the Department for Transport's Community Rail Development Strategy.
Northern Trains' services call at all stations along the line, with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway operating heritage services along part of the line between Grosmont and Whitby.
History
The Esk Valley Line was once part of a significantly larger network, most of which was closed during the era of the Beeching cuts. Today's route is formed from four separate former railway lines:
Whitby Town to Grosmont The first section of line between Whitby Town and opened in 1835, with an extension to opening on 26 May 1836. It was originally worked by horses, before being converted in 1845, in order to be able to accommodate steam locomotives, following a takeover by the York & North Midland Railway. In 1854, the line became a part of the North Eastern Railway.
The section between Grosmont and Pickering was closed under the Beeching cuts in 1965, but was one of the first to be taken into private hands as a heritage line, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
From Whitby Town, a single track branched up a steep incline to Prospect Hill Junction, from which trains could reach . From there, trains would journey north along the coastal Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway towards Staithes and Loftus, and south across the Larpool Viaduct towards Scarborough.
The Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway was closed in the 1950s. However, the northern section of the line was retained, with services still operating between Middlesbrough and Between Saltburn and Boulby, the line is also still operational, but as a goods route for potash and rock salt from Boulby Mine.
Following the closure of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway, additional services began to operate along the Esk Valley Line. In the summer of 1957, the line served just six trains per day. By the summer of 1958, there were 15, with six continuing to Scarborough.
Grosmont to Battersby The second line ran east from Picton, where it met the Northallerton to Eaglescliffe Line. It was constructed by the North Yorkshire & Cleveland Railway, which was subsequently absorbed into the North Eastern Railway in 1858. The line was built in stages, opening to mineral traffic as far as Battersby on 6 April 1858 and to passenger traffic from Stokesley to Castleton Moor on 1 April 1861. The section between Grosmont and Castleton Moor was the last section of the line to be opened, with service commencing on 2 October 1865.
The section between Battersby and Picton closed to passengers in 1954.Body, p.120
From Battersby, goods trains also ran south to Ingleby where a cable pulley system raised wagons up a steep incline, and across the North York Moors to iron ore workings at Rosedale and Farndale.
Between Glaisdale and Lealholm, work was begun by the railway engineer John Waddell on a branch across the North York Moors, to make the most of the iron ore in the area. Originally intended to meet the line from Guisborough, which branched off the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway near Boulby, a collapse in the price of iron ore meant the line was never finished. At various points along the route, the remains of vast earthworks forming unfinished embankments and cuttings can be seen. The line was to have one station at Stonegate and nearby a tunnel dug using the cut and cover method. The only bridge completed on the line is at Rake Farm, between Lealholm and Glaisdale, at the route's junction with the Esk Valley Line.
The line is still known today as "Paddy Waddell's Railway", due to the number of Irish navvies used in its construction.
Today, Battersby is served by only one railway line, but it still takes the shape of a Y junction with trains pulling into a station that is now effectively a terminus. The old line towards Picton continues on through the station and disappears around a bend before ending. The driver has to change ends to drive towards either Middlesbrough or Whitby.
Battersby to Nunthorpe The section of the Esk Valley Line between Battersby and Nunthorpe is the youngest section of the route. The line was constructed in 1864, with the aim of connecting the Picton to Grosmont line with the Middlesbrough to Guisborough line.
The line leaves Battersby heading east with the route towards Grosmont, before making a sharp turn north, to reach the now former line towards Guisborough at Nunthorpe Junction.
Nunthorpe to Middlesbrough
This section of line was constructed by the Middlesbrough and Guisborough Railway in 1854, to serve the town of Guisborough, and the area around the Eston Hills.
A line was constructed heading south from Middlesbrough and through Nunthorpe, from where it curved east to Guisborough and then on towards the coast to join the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway. It also served a number of quarries in the area.
Despite its close proximity to the Picton to Battersby line, it was another ten years before a link was built between the two. The line from Nunthorpe Junction to Guisborough closed in 1964, with only the section from Middlesbrough to Battersby remaining.
A new station, James Cook, opened on this section of the line in May 2014. It was built to serve the nearby James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
Signalling and infrastructure The Esk Valley Line still uses a physical token system, modified so that train drivers operate the token instruments themselves. This system of working is known as No Signalman Token Remote and is used on other routes such as the Heart of Wales line and the Tarka Line.
Cabinets at Whitby, Glaisdale and Battersby, and a signalman at Nunthorpe, pass on key tokens to train drivers as authority to occupy specific line sections, ensuring that only one train can run on a section at a time.
Until the mid-1980s, the line from Whitby to Sleights had two tracks, but these were removed along with the passing loop at Castleton Moor. Trains can still pass at Glaisdale and Battersby, however Glaisdale is now the only station along the single tracked section that still regularly uses both platforms for up and down line trains.
Between Nunthorpe and Guisborough Junction, the railway has been single-tracked since 26 January 1986; however, the station at Nunthorpe still retains its passing loop with separate up and down platforms. This section is worked from the Rail Operating Centre at York (since 2021) and uses track circuit block working.Network Rail LNE Route Sectional Appendix, Module LN8
Steam operations The North Yorkshire Moors Railway operates heritage steam trains between Whitby and Grosmont.
To allow through running of trains directly from the North Yorkshire Moors Line, an intermediate token instrument was provided at Grosmont in March 2007. This allows a token for the Glaisdale to Whitby section to be obtained, or returned, at Grosmont.
Previously, for steam services to Whitby to operate along the Esk Valley Line from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, a signalman had to drive to Glaisdale in order to pick up, or return, a token key.
Passenger numbers Between 2005 (when the Community Rail Partnership was formed) and May 2018, passenger numbers have increased steadily, especially on the Middlesbrough to Nunthorpe section of the track aided by an increase in the frequency of trains. Northern Trains and the Community Rail Partnership have predicted further increases in passenger numbers, following the addition of new services in December 2019.
Station usage Station usage(April–March) Middlesbrough James Cook Marton Gypsy Lane Nunthorpe Great Ayton Battersby Kildale Commondale Castleton Moor Danby Lealholm Glaisdale Egton Grosmont Sleights Ruswarp Whitby 2005–06 1,200,737 – 3,076 11,412 12,406 4,405 1,653 1,664 2,976 7,174 21,899 16,688 26,887 13,546 18,675 3,733 2,585 132,956 2006–07 1,242,054 – 3,833 12,020 13,747 4,738 1,711 2,160 2,959 6,062 18,760 15,706 26,355 11,292 18,264 3,480 2,301 127,428 2007–08 1,300,713 – 4,825 12,820 16,775 5,666 2,028 2,486 2,974 5,613 12,560 13,044 22,276 10,798 24,273 3,976 2,696 127,739 2008–09 1,349,420 – 6,894 18,430 23,208 5,650 1,806 2,308 3,142 5,172 9,710 15,554 20,284 12,414 19,718 3,884 3,054 120,594 2009–10 1,354,030 – 8,750 20,234 23,828 6,134 2,012 2,006 2,858 5,544 11,370 16,242 18,686 11,110 22,048 4,334 2,606 126,240 2010–11 1,426,350 – 9,804 23,566 24,914 6,798 1,476 1,992 3,972 5,164 10,878 17,972 21,222 9,430 22,964 4,292 2,722 133,940 2011–12 1,423,134 – 9,130 22,692 22,302 6,904 1,504 2,018 5,000 5,030 11,622 20,010 18,564 10,562 23,662 4,592 2,974 140,158 2012–13 1,364,250 – 9,862 21,900 22,600 5,738 1,574 1,822 4,852 4,850 9,902 11,422 11,194 7,388 16,376 4,378 2,946 107,940 2013–14 1,370,172 – 10,576 23,716 24,203 6,826 1,592 1,960 5,026 4,892 10,836 17,662 15,216 11,568 17,912 4,426 3,032 133,680 2014–15 1,351,494 23,176 10,568 26,398 32,510 7,776 1,488 1,824 4,602 4,858 8,440 15,888 15,046 10,812 16,144 5,040 3,228 130,210 2015–16 1,331,452 31,578 13,512 30,338 35,766 7,100 1,458 1,610 5,232 4,930 7,084 18,102 18,754 13,724 15,172 4,122 2,966 137,196 2016–17 1,356,282 31,402 13,696 32,996 35,814 6,890 1,660 1,416 3,754 5,444 6,334 17,358 18,298 12,088 13,514 4,188 2,568 131,810 2017–18 1,312,916 33,774 13,356 33,298 34,596 7,322 1,564 1,630 1,888 6,182 6,810 16,298 20,140 12,878 13,912 4,245 2,686 138,492 2018–19 1,289,866 37,080 14,774 31,204 36,346 7,726 1,520 1,468 2,344 4,928 6,184 15,250 23,316 11,698 12,390 4,182 2,404 130,900 2019–20 1,312,402 40,226 25,808 37,046 44,576 8,614 1,760 1,498 2,444 5,014 6,796 15,168 20,920 13,206 13,912 4,732 3,064 135,238 2020–21 342,770 9,280 5,294 6,982 7,618 2,064 396 386 434 1,258 1,132 8,726 16,396 6,166 4,420 1,038 684 49,828 2021–22 1,210,906 26,744 19,638 30,056 35,758 8,662 2,736 1,276 2,446 4,732 4,400 8,834 18,194 10,240 11,454 4,696 3,054 119,638 2022–23 1,376,410 37,120 22,178 31,626 42,306 10,118 2,164 1,372 2,294 4,794 5,596 8,010 18,858 8,642 11,284 5,048 2,952 126,366 2023–24 1,466,884 52,370 30,386 38,398 54,080 12,360 2,268 1,450 2,224 5,756 7,414 8,598 19,178 10,554 12,374 6,844 4,002 143,408 2024–25 1,543,226 60,804 32,222 44,024 59,464 13,508 2,524 1,672 2,120
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage.
The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the 2020–21 period was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rolling stock Predominantly, rolling stock on the Esk Valley Line consists of Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter diesel multiple units, both of which were introduced into service in the late 1980s. These units were refurbished in 2020, with upgrades including free WiFi, power sockets, on-board passenger information displays and an interior refresh.
Previously, Class 142 Pacer trains mostly served the line until they were withdrawn from passenger service in 2020.
Services As of the December 2019 timetable change, Northern Trains operates an hourly service between Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe, with five trains per day (four on Sundays) continuing to Whitby. Additional trains weekdays and Saturdays run on the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough to Great Ayton.
Connections with heritage services on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway are available at both Grosmont and Whitby.
Future