Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway

Coordinates: 53°58′30″N 1°59′28″W / 53.975°N 1.991°W / 53.975; -1.991

Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
Locale Embsay, North Yorkshire, England
Terminus Embsay
Commercial operations
Name Skipton to Ilkley Line
Built by Midland Railway
Original gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Operated by Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
Stations 3
Length 4 miles (6 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened 1888
Closed 1965
Preservation history
1968 Railway Preservation Society formed
1979 Embsay railway station re-opened
1981 Railway line re-opens officially
1982 DMU special operated skipton to embsay (prior to embsay JCT removal)
1986 Embsay railway station (then footbridgeless) appeared in Yorkshire Television sitcom In Loving Memory.
1987 Holywell Halt opens
1988 Embsay railway station celebrated 100 years of the station itself.
1991 Heritage line re-opens to and Stoneacre opens.
1995 Price & Ownership for Bolton Abbey extension project agreed.
1997 Trains return to Bolton Abbey
1998 Bolton Abbey railway station re-opens officially.
1999 Heritage Railway awarded in National Railway Heritage Awards.
2011 E&BASR Granted by Heritage Lottery Fund to and for electric autocar restoration
Headquarters Embsay

Embsay & Bolton Abbey
Steam Railway

Legend
 Leeds to Morecambe Line
Skipton
Airedale Line
Yorkshire Dales Railway
 Bow Bridge sidings
Embsay
 Holywell Halt
Stoneacre Loop
 Bolton Abbey
 Addingham
 Ilkley
 Wharfedale Line
A fireman working aboard a locomotive on the Embsay line, photographed at Bolton Abbey Station in 2009.

The Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway (E&BASR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, (formed in 1968 and re-opened in 1981).

The preserved railway was part of the former Midland Railway route from Skipton to Ilkley (which was closed down by British Railways in 1965 over 15 years before).

The E&BASR currently runs for a total distance of 4 miles (6 km) from Embsay via Draughton Sidings, Holywell and Stoneacre Loop to Bolton Abbey station and carries around 100,000 passengers a year.[1]

The railway has a long-term objective to extend the line in both directions eastwards to the West Yorkshire village of Addingham and southwest towards the North Yorkshire market town of Skipton.[2][3]

Overview

The rolling stock on the line consists of 20 ex-industrial locomotives, the oldest of which was built in 1908; three diesel-multiple units; and ten other diesel locomotives. The railway holds annual galas including the popular Diesel Gala and the Harvest of Steam.

Embsay railway station was built in 1888. Bolton Abbey village is named after a nearby ruined 12th century priory, belonging to the Dukes of Devonshire.

The route was formerly part of the Midland Railway line that connected Skipton and Ilkley via Addingham. The line was shut down by British Railways in 1965 and was left to rest in disrepair. Around 14 years later in 1979 a group of volunteers put forward a plan to reopen the line as a preservation route. This plan went ahead and Embsay railway station was refurbished throughout the second half of the 70's and reopened in 1981.

To the west of Embsay station, a run-round loop was built for locomotives to run round. This is near the site of the former Embsay Junction, which was disconnected when the line closed.

By 1987 further extensions brought the line to a newly constructed halt at Holywell and later to Stoneacre Loop. Bolton Abbey railway station finally reopened in 1998, Bringing the current total of over 4 miles in length.

Expansion plans

The abandoned Lobb Ghyll viaduct; an incredible five arch construction which is sited on the former line from Embsay to Addingham. It is hidden away in a bluebell wood by the River Wharfe to the south of Bolton Bridge.

Extension to Addingham and Ilkley

As the original line stretched from the North Yorkshire market town of Skipton to the West Yorkshire spa town of Ilkley there was a talk of extending the re-opened track to cover the original extent (in the past) prior to its closure by British Railways in 1965.

Taking the line to Addingham and re-opening Addingham is often mentioned as a potential project but the line's owners have said that they intend to settle down and consolidate the current route, respectively.[4]

Any extension to Addingham would be a huge project, and would involve a near-doubling of the line's current length. Previous extensions have been built in small sections over a long period of time, so re-opening of the line to Addingham would be many years off.

However Sustrans are interested in converting the route into a cycle path, but would provide formation space for a single track allowing any extension to be built.[5]

The Addingham extension could start off as an extension to a possible halt (Wharfe Riverside) (located near Bolton Bridge close by), before Addingham could be considered officially.

The embankment supporting Addingham railway station, goods yard and depot was removed and replaced in the 1980s with a housing development, with the bridge and abutments over the main road demolished at around the same time.

There are plans to rebuild one of the bridge abutments at the end of the surviving embankment to the north as part of the Addingham Project which also involves constructing a replica LMS style station, goods yard and depot on the extra land next to and at the edge of the embankment.

These would be over the main road from the now defunct former station and goods depot, Funding would have to be made for next couple of 10 to 15 years before any project like this would happen.

Much of the route between Addingham and Ilkley has been re-developed since abandonment. Cuttings have been filled in and Ilkley viaduct was demolished in 1973 (six years before the E&BSR re-opened).

The Skipton platforms at Ilkley station now form the station's car park and there has been significant building development in Ilkley town centre on the former trackbed. Therefore, it is unlikely that this section will be reinstated as preserving the whole line between Ilkley and Skipton was considered too expensive.

Connection to Skipton station

There is currently no link between the Heritage line and the Network Rail branch line to Swinden Quarry (the former Yorkshire Dales Railway), the points at this site having been dismantled. Re-instating this link would allow trains to serve Skipton station, and would potentially offer greater access to the railway.[6]

The platforms at Skipton (5 & 6) that served the Ilkley route were made redundant in 1965. If this link were reinstated these platforms would require a rebuild as they have been disused for a very long time.

In 1982 there were plans to extend the line to Skipton, as a special DMU service was running at the time. Unfortunately British Rail was still using the section between the two stations for its operations to Swinden Quarry (as the old Grassington branch was (and is) still part of the rail network), so plans were dropped, stating that operating as far as Skipton whilst sharing the line with the goods operation was too problematic.

Network Rail has carried out a survey for the reinstatement of the connecting points between the Heritage line at Embsay and the freight line to Rylstone, and the reinstatement of the two platforms 5 and 6 at Skipton, costing between £1.1  million and £2.6 million.[6] If funding is made available, then the line could be extended.[7] JMP Consulting has been commissioned to develop a business case for the project[6]

There are also plans for a proposed Wharfe Riverside halt close to the old Lobb Ghyll Viaduct halfway between Bolton Abbey and Addingham stations.

Media appearances

In 1986, whilst footbridgeless at the time, Embsay railway station itself appeared in an episode of the final series of the Yorkshire Television sitcom In Loving Memory as the fictional Oldshaw railway station, in which Ernie Hadfield (Colin Farrell) accidentally led the group on a short cut over the track, resulting in a coffin becoming stuck on the trackbed, which is then crushed by an oncoming train, carrying the deceased from the coffin in front.

The railway was also the filming location of an episode of Emmerdale (also a Yorkshire Television programme). In the episode, Embsay station was made to look like the fictional Hotten station. Many of the shows's famous characters were at the filming. The episode was filmed in December 2004.[8]

The railway has even appeared on the BBC Television documentary programme (Great British Railway Journeys) presented by Michael Portillo.

The route

The route runs through the countryside of the Yorkshire Dales on the border between the county council areas of North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

The railway has helped and supported the surrounding area (and local economy) to regenerate and provide brand new attractions, boosting both all trade and tourism.

Stations

Embsay Junction. Located close to Embsay station and connects to the Rylstone line (former Grassington Branch).
Stoneacre. Run-round loop along the route.

Locomotives

Steam

Diesel

Vintage carriages

References

  1. ↑ "Steam railway with a future". Craven Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway chiefs put case for Skipton rail link to ministers.". Craven Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Embsay Railway's bid to re-establish link to Skipton is still on track". Ilkley Gazette. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway History
  5. ↑ Bolton Abbey to Addingham
  6. 1 2 3 "Formal study planned for Bolton Abbey-Skipton link". Rail (647). 30 June 2010. p. 15.
  7. ↑ Today's Railways (86). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Emmerdale filming pictures
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