Nidd Valley Railway

[ ] Nidd Valley Railway
Angram Reservoir Nidd Valley Light Railway Pateley Bridge Dacre Darley Birstwith Hampsthwaite Ripley Valley Leeds-Northallerton Railway Starbeck Harrogate Line Harrogate Harrogate Line

The Nidd Valley Railway was a 14 mile long single track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Nidd Junction, on the Harrogate to Ripon Line, to Pateley Bridge via five intermediate stations, Ripley Valley, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley, and Dacre.

Construction of the railway began in 1860 and the line opened two years later on 1 May 1862.

Upon opening the line had three intermediate stations: Killinghall (renamed Ripley Valley in 1875), Birstwith, and Dacre, with Darley opening in 1864, followed by Hampsthwaite in 1866. Dacre Station had a through goods shed, two coal drops, a passing loop, a siding and loading dock for silica sand and a hand operated crane.

The last scheduled passenger train ran on 31 March 1951 but the line remained open for goods until 30 October 1964. The last branch goods working was pulled by J27 0-6-0 No 65894.

Between 1907 and 1937 the line connected at Pateley Bridge to the Nidd Valley Light Railway, built to carry men and materials to the construction sites of two large reservoirs, the Angram and the Scar House.

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