Easingwold Railway

Easingwold Railway
Legend East Coast Main Line Easingwold Alne East Coast Main Line

The Easingwold Railway was a two mile long branch line from Alne Station to Easingwold in the Vale of York, England. It was the shortest standard gauge railway in the British Isles.

History

Although the line was first proposed in 1836^[1] it was not until 23 August 1887 that a consortium of local businessmen formed the Easingwold Railway Company and obtained parliamentary approval to build the line.^[2] Although the first contractor, Death and Company^[3] went bust during construction a second contractor was found and the line opened on 27 July 1891 at a cost of £17,000.^[4] The line was privately owned throughout its period of operation and made small profits for most of that time. The line fell victim to road competition in the late 1940s and passenger services ended on 29 November 1948, with freight services ending with the line's closure 30 December 1957.^[5]

Trivia

Part of this former railway is now one of the worlds most bizarrely sized gardens measuring approximately 10 metres in width and almost half a mile long. A stroll from the front to the back takes nearly 30 minutes. The garden starts where the former railway and the street called Railway House cross.

References

1. http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/e/easingwold/index.shtml
2. Searle, MV (1983) Lost Lines: Anthology of Britain's Lost Railways, New Cavendish Books P176
3. http://www.lner.info/co/NER/easingwold/easingwold.shtml
4. Atterbury, P. (2006). Branch Line Britain. David & Charles, Marlborough. ISBN 0-7153-2416-0. p. 202
5. Searle, MV (1983) Lost Lines: Anthology of Britain's Lost Railways, New Cavendish Books P177. See also Smith, "A Year to Remember 1957," at 46-47 (Irwell Press, 1999) (photos and discussion of the line's history).

External links

• The line on a navigable 1946 OS Map
• Easingwold Railway station on LNER Encyclopedia
• Easingwold railway station on Disused Stations