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Leeming Bar railway station

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Coordinates: 54°18′19″N 1°33′39″W / 54.305326°N 1.560705°W / 54.305326; -1.560705
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Leeming Bar
Station on heritage railway
General information
LocationLeeming Bar, North Yorkshire
England
Coordinates54°18′19″N 1°33′39″W / 54.305326°N 1.560705°W / 54.305326; -1.560705
Grid referenceSE285900
Managed byWensleydale Railway
Platforms1
History
Original companyYork, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
6 March 1848Opened as Leeming Lane
1 July 1902Renamed Leeming Bar
26 April 1954Closed
Spring 2003Reopened
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureLeeming Bar Station
Designated29 January 1988
Reference no.1150916[1]

Leeming Bar railway station is a railway station in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, England. It is the penultimate eastern rail passenger station of the Wensleydale Railway, though the line continues towards Northallerton. Trains are timed to link in with Dales and District service buses to Northallerton to connect with the National Rail network.

History

[edit]
The locomotive shed of ca. 1848

The station was opened by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (a constituent company of the North Eastern Railway) in 1848 as the terminus of their branch from Northallerton.[2] The station building was probably designed by George Townsend Andrews[1] who may also have designed the Grade II listed locomotive shed.[3]

The line was then extended westwards to Leyburn by the Bedale and Leyburn Railway seven years later.[4] 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 Bedale. 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

Preservation

[edit]
The station in June 2000

As well as the scheduled passenger service, the station also sees periodic train loads of military hardware travelling between Catterick Garrison and various destinations in the south of England via Northallerton and the East Coast Main Line.[8] Most trains on the line terminate at Leeming Bar.

Plans are for passenger trains to eventually continue through Leeming Bar and run into Northallerton railway station. The first phase of this involved re-opening Scruton station and commissioning a temporary structure at Northallerton West 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.[9] It is hoped to recommence services to Northallerton West at a future date once work to upgrade level crossing equipment is complete, although there are no current plans to do so.[10] Scruton station later reopened and is currently the eastern terminus of the line, served by shuttles from Leeming Bar.

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 with a classic portico entrance, which faces out onto the road over the level crossing which used to be the Great North Road.[11] The station building was renovated in 2021.[12] The former engine shed, which is now used by the heritage railway, is also grade II listed.[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Leeming Bar Station (1150916)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  2. ^ Burgess, Neil (2011). The lost railways of Yorkshire's North Riding. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 9781840335552. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. ^ Historic England. "Locomotive Shed Approximately 30 Metres to South-West of Leeming Bar Station (1174258)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. ^ Hallas, Christine (1984). The Wensleydale Railway. Clapham: Dalesman Books. p. 10. ISBN 0-85206-780-1.
  5. ^ Addyman, John, ed. (2020). North Eastern Railway engine sheds. North Eastern Railway Association. pp. 36, 116. ISBN 978-1-911360-26-1.
  6. ^ Goode, C. T. (1980). The Wensleydale branch. Trowbridge: Oakwood Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 0-85361-265-X.
  7. ^ "Passengers make a grand comeback". Darlington and Stockton Times. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  8. ^ Shannon, Paul (December 2013). "On Government Business". Railways Illustrated. No. 130. p. 83.
  9. ^ Minting, Stuart. "Investigation launched after woman seriously hurt after car hit by train near Northallerton". The Northern Echo. Newsquest (North East) Ltd. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Current Projects". Wensleydale Railway. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Leeming Bar Station (Grade II) (1150916)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Wensleydale Railway invites visitors to step back in time to the 1920s at Leeming Bar station near Bedale". The Yorkshire Post. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
[edit]
Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Bedale   Wensleydale Railway   Scruton
  Historical railways  
Bedale
Line and station open 		  North Eastern Railway
York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway 		  Scruton
Line and station open
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