Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway

Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway
Remains of Brafferton station in 1961
Overview
Type	Heavy Rail
Status	Closed
Locale	North Yorkshire
Termini	Knaresborough, North Yorkshire Pilmoor Junction (East Coast Main Line), North Yorkshire
Operation
Opened	1847
Closed	1964
Operator(s)	North Eastern Railway London North Eastern Railway British Rail
Technical
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway
Legend East Coast Main Line Pilmoor Brafferton Boroughbridge Copgrove Harrogate Line Knaresborough Harrogate Line

The Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway was a railway line in North Yorkshire, England, that connected Pilmoor on the East Coast Main Line with the towns of Boroughbridge and Knaresborough.^[1]

Opening

The line originally ran only between Pilmoor and Boroughbridge from its opening in 1847 until 1875 when the section from Boroughbridge to Knaresborough opened.^[2] When the line to Knaresborough was being surveyed, it was determined that there would not be enough clearance over the roads to Dishforth and Catterick Bridge, so a spur was built just north of Boroughbridge station which allowed the line the space to gain enough height to clear these roads. This necessitated moving Boroughbridge station onto the new formation.^[3]

Shortly after the Second World War, a rail connected depot for the Air Ministry was opened between Brafferton and Pilmoor. The section from Pilmoor to the Air Ministry siding was removed in 1953.^[4]

Stations

The line had three intermediate stations, at Brafferton, Boroughbridge and Staveley. The station at Staveley was called Copgrove and Staveley on its opening in 1875.^[5] It was renamed Copgrove in 1881 after the nearby Copgrove village to avoid confusion with Staveley in Derbyshire.^[6]

Closure

An attempt was made to cut costs in 1936, for the 3 to 6 trains a day, by replacing traditional signalling with staff and ticket at all stations.^[7] The line closed for passengers in 1950 and for goods in 1964. Pilmoor station closed on 5 May 1958.^[8]

References

1. Burgess, Neil (2011). The lost railways of Yorkshire's North Riding. Catrine: Stenlake. p. 20. ISBN 978-1840335-55-2.
2. "Boroughbridge_121108.pdf" (PDF). Harrogate Borough Council. 12 November 2008. p. 6. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
3. Hoole, Ken (1977). Railways in Yorkshire 3; the North Riding. Skipton: Dalesman. p. 56. ISBN 0 85206 418 7.
4. Rogers, James (2000). The railways of Harrogate and district. Willerby: North Eastern Railway Association. p. 93. ISBN 1-873513-33-X.
5. Cobb, M H (2003). The railways of Great Britain - a historical atlas. Ian Allan. p. 411. ISBN 0-7110-3003-0. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
6. Howat, Patrick (1991). The Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway. Martin Bairstow. p. 42. ISBN 978-1871944-05-1.
7. Railway Magazine June 1936 p. 402
8. Railway Magazine June 1958 p. 433

• Howat, Patrick. The Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway. ISBN 1-871944-05-8

External links

• Geograph photo of the pre 1875 Boroughbridge station.