Hawes railway station
Hawes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Richmondshire |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| Original company | Midland Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 October 1878[1] | Opened |
| 16 March 1959[1] | Closed to passengers |
| April 1964 | closed for goods traffic |
Hawes railway station is a disused railway station that served the town of Hawes in North Yorkshire, England. It was closed in 1959 and now forms part of the Dales Countryside Museum.
History
The station was opened in October 1878 by the Midland Railway (MR) as the terminus of their 6-mile (9.7 km) branch line from Hawes Junction. The MR branch made an end-on junction here with the North Eastern Railway (NER) line from Northallerton via Bedale which had been opened as far as Leyburn by 1856 and then extended onwards to Hawes in the summer of 1878. Although the station belonged to the Midland, the NER (and later the LNER) operated most of the passenger services from there — the MR section being worked as an extension of the service to/from Northallerton. The only exception to this was a single daily return service between Hawes and Hellifield that for much of its life was known by the somewhat unusual nickname of Bonnyface.[2]
The NER section of the line lost its passenger service in April 1954, but the station retained a nominal service of one train each way from Hawes Junction (by now renamed Garsdale) until final closure to passengers on 16 March 1959. Goods traffic from the Leyburn direction continued until complete closure in April 1964,[3] after which the track was lifted and the buildings left to fall into disrepair. However, after many years of disuse, the site was purchased by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and converted into a museum and tourist information centre in the early 1990s, a role it continues to fulfil to this day.[4] As part of this scheme, the station buildings and platforms were refurbished, a short length of track relaid and a preserved industrial tank locomotive, cosmetically painted in British Railways colours, together with a pair of ex-BR Mark 1 coaches were installed as a static exhibit (as can be seen from the accompanying photo).
Although isolated from the national rail network for over fifty-five years, the Wensleydale Railway hopes to one day eventually rebuild, re-instate and re-open the currently abandoned and derelict section of line between Redmire and Garsdale (thus would involve restoring the station to its former glory and active use).[5]
However the train with three carriages which currently reside in the platform would have to be removed and be placed in a new-built siding out of harms way as the project would involve re-instating the entire station to its former use.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | North Eastern Railway | Askrigg Line and station closed | ||
| Garsdale Line closed, station open |
Midland Railway Hawes Branch |
Terminus | ||
 Proposed Heritage railways
|
||||
| Garsdale Line closed, station open |
Wensleydale Railway | Askrigg Line and station closed | ||
Notes
- ^ a b Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- ^ Houghton & Foster; p. 51
- ^ Body; p. 144
- ^ "Dales Countryside Museum Website". Retrieved 5 November 2008.
- ^ "Wensleydale Railway Association - History & Heritage". Retrieved 5 November 2008.
References
- Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1
- Houghton, F.W & Foster W.H (1965 Second Ed) The Story Of The Settle - Carlisle Line, Advertiser Press Ltd, Huddersfield.