Tag Archives: trains

Scenic Railway Journeys Yorkshire

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I am sure you never doubted that Yorkshire has some of the most scenic railway settings in Europe. Here is just a selection of some old but still working railways that arrange journeys into a steam driven past.

Ribblehead Viaduct

Ribblehead Viaduct

Ribblehead Viaduct by Joe Dunckley

Ribblehead viaduct on the scenic Settle-Carlise line. Ribblehead viaduct was built in 1870-74 and contributed to the Settle-Carlise line becoming one of most expensive lines in the UK. The rural line was threatened with closure during the 1960s and 1980s, but, with an active campaign it was saved.

Steam train crossing Ribblehead viaduct

Crossing Ribblehead Viaduct, with Ingleborough in the background.

Ribblehead

Another great shot of Ribblehead by ahisgett, on Flickr

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North Yorkshire Moors Trains from Pickering

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Pickering

Pickering is the perfect start to your steam train adventure, leaving the charming village the trains to Whitby go through stations evocative of an earlier era.

  • Levisham is an 1912 style station, accessible by one solitary hill road and suitable mainly for sheep and walkers (if they are different).
  • Newton Dale requires you to make a special request for the Guard to stop the train at this tiny, picturesque halt.
  • Goathland or should I say Aidensfield or Hogsmeade from Harry Potter, is just a few yards up the hill from the station.
  • Grosmont is a 50′s style British rail station and home for the engine sheds. ( My uncle worked for British rail as a welder, he put the tops on the pork pies).
  • So into Whitby and on some days up the Esk Valley railway to Battersby.

Book Cover

The original NYMR route started at Whitby and ran through to Malton Junction. The southern section from Pickering to Malton has long since passed into history – or has it? Read more in ‘A Nostalgic Trip Along the Former Whitby and Pickering Railway and Through to Malton’ on Amazon

Saltaire Village Yorkshire

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Saltaire Church

David Hockney galleries, a Round Church, a Reed Organ museum and a model village are just some of the highlights to savor on a trip to Saltaire. The village was founded in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt for the workers in the mill and their families. It included neat stone houses with running water, a hospital, an Institute for recreation and education now called Victoria Hall where music and dance events are staged. The village also provided almshouses, allotments, a park and a boathouse which was recently damaged in a fire.
Sir Titus was a canny philanthropist siting his massive mill complex between the river Aire and the Leeds Liverpool canal alongside a railway station that is still open on the Leeds to Settle line. To get staff to move over 10 miles from Bradford he needed to make some facilities available but the model village has stood the test of time and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mill has fantastic vaulted ceilings and stone slabs for flooring that would pull down many modern buildings. The space is now used by the NHS, an electronics manufacturer but mostly as a unique exhibition and retail space. As the UK home for displaying David Hockney’s works the mill has 3 floors of singular works by this artist from telephone book covers to Opera sets, photographic montages to paintings in several mediums. Interspersed are retail opportunities notably specials book sales and 3 eateries. The whole facility exudes quality and this is replicated on their web site

The Saltaire streets are given girls names that are reminiscent of a gone by era like Maud Street and Grace Street. (Sorry if these are popular modern names but I doubt that somehow)

Aire I saw elba

Credit
Saltaire Church by JohnSeb CC BY-SA 2.0