Hawes railway station

Hawes
General information
LocationHawes, North Yorkshire
England
Coordinates54°18′17″N 2°11′34″W / 54.3047°N 2.1929°W / 54.3047; -2.1929
Grid referenceSD875899
SystemStation on heritage railway
Platforms2
History
Original company
Midland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 October 1878[1]Opened
16 March 1959[1]Closed to passengers
April 1964Closed to goods traffic
Location

Hawes railway station served the town of Hawes, in North Yorkshire, England. The station was owned and operated jointly by the Midland Railway and the North Eastern Railway, being at either end of the railways from Garsdale (Hawes Junction) and Northallerton (the Wensleydale Line). It was closed to passengers in 1959, although freight continued until 1964, and the station buildings now form part of the Dales Countryside Museum.

History

The station was opened to goods traffic in June 1878 by the North Eastern Railway (NER), with the Midland Railway (MR) following on in August 1878, as the terminus of their 6-mile (10 km) branch line from Hawes Junction.[2] Passenger traffic by both companies started on 1 October 1878.[3] The MR branch made an end-on junction there with the NER line from Northallerton via Bedale, which had been opened as far as Leyburn by 1856 and then extended onwards to Hawes in the summer of 1878.[4] Although the station belonged to the Midland, the NER (and later the London and North Eastern Railway) operated most of the passenger services from there — the MR section being worked as an extension of the service to/from Northallerton.[5] The only exception to this was a single daily return service between Hawes and Hellifield that for much of its life was known by the nickname Bonnyface.[6] The station operated as a Joint station between the Midland and the North Eastern, one of six joint stations that the NER were involved with.[i]

The station building was on the south side of the two running lines, with a smaller waiting shelter on the north side. Both buildings were built with sandstone, and the main building was finished with Welsh blue slate.[8] All of the structures were built to a Midland Railway design (described as being "typical of the Midland Derby Gothic style"), but of note is that the three-arch overbridge at the west end of the station carried an NER numberplate signifying that they were responsible for the bridge.[9][10] Besides the two platforms with through lines, there was a siding line on the south side which ended in a cattle dock beside the main station building, and from the siding were four west sidings which had an east-facing junction. The four sidings were set out in pairs, with a wide section separating the two to allow carts in-between them.[11] The southernmost siding had a stone dock, which exported locally quarried sandstone; over 15,000 tonnes (17,000 tons) was taken out by freight wagons in 1879, most by the Midland Railway.[12] The Railway Clearing House listing for Hawes shows that it could handle livestock, horses, general freight, passengers and parcels, and it was equipped with a crane capable of lifting 5 tonnes (5.5 tons).[13]

The NER section of the line lost its passenger service in April 1954, but the station retained a nominal service of one train each way from Hawes Junction (by then renamed Garsdale) until final closure to passengers on 16 March 1959.[14] Goods traffic from the Leyburn direction continued until complete closure in April 1964,[15] after which the track was lifted and the buildings left to fall into disrepair.

Disused railways
Terminus   North Eastern Railway   Askrigg
Line and station closed
Garsdale
Line closed, station open		   Midland Railway
Hawes Branch		   Terminus
Preceding station Heritage railways Heritage railways Following station
Proposed extension
Garsdale
Terminus
 Wensleydale Railway Askrigg
towards Leeming Bar

The site today

After many years of disuse, the site was purchased by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and converted into a museum and tourist information centre in the early 1990s, a role it continues to fulfil to this day.[16] As part of this scheme, the station buildings and platforms were refurbished, with a short length of track relaid. A preserved industrial tank locomotive, painted in British Railways colours, together with a pair of Mark 1 coaches, were installed as a static exhibit.[17][18] The station buildings now form part of the Dales Countryside Museum, and since 2015, the museum has rented the building to a business operating a bike shop and, later, a cafe.[19][20]

Although isolated from the national rail network for over half a century, the Wensleydale Railway hopes to eventually reopen the currently abandoned and derelict section of line between Redmire and Garsdale; this would involve restoring the station to its former glory and active use.[21] However, the train with three carriages which currently resides in the platform would not have to be removed as the campaigners stated that ".. the branch line would not completely take over the station and its other uses could remain."[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ The other five stations that the NER opertated jointly were; Holbeck, Leeds (New), Tebay, Normanton and Penrith.[7]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  2. ↑ Goode, C. T. (1980). The Wensleydale Branch. Headington: Oakwood Press. p. 8. ISBN 0-85361-265-X.
  3. ↑ Joy, David (1990). A regional history of the railways of Great Britain; volume 14, the Lake Counties. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 61. ISBN 0-946537-56-9.
  4. ↑ Jenkins, Stanley C (2002) [1993]. The Wensleydale Branch; a new history (2 ed.). Usk: Oakwood Press. p. 36. ISBN 0-85361-587-X.
  5. ↑ Davies, Roy (2024). Settle to Carlisle and the branch to Hawes. Haslemere: Middleton Press. map XXV. ISBN 978-1-910356-89-0. Whilst the station was MR owned, the NER operated almost all passengers services through to Garsdale...there was one notable exception, and that was the daily return service between Hawes and Hellifield that had the curious nickname of Bonnyface....
  6. ↑ Houghton & Foster; p. 51
  7. ↑ Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 9. ISBN 0-7153-8527-5.
  8. ↑ Hallas, C. S. (1984). The Wensleydale Railway. Clapham: Dalesman Books. p. 32. ISBN 0-85206-780-1.
  9. ↑ Tuffrey, Peter (2011). North Yorkshire railway stations; from Ainderby to York. Stroud: Amberley. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4456-0503-6.
  10. ↑ Anderson, V R; Fox, G K (1986). Stations & structures of the Settle & Carlisle Railway. Poole: Oxford Pub. Plate 87. ISBN 0-86093-360-1.
  11. ↑ Anderson, V R; Fox, G K (1986). Stations & structures of the Settle & Carlisle Railway. Poole: Oxford Pub. Figure 35. ISBN 0-86093-360-1.
  12. ↑ Lennie, Stuart (2005). The roof of Wensleydale: a portrait of Wensleydale's two thousand foot fells. Kirkby Stephen: Hayloft. p. 24. ISBN 1-904524-30-3.
  13. ↑ The Railway Clearing House handbook of railway stations, 1904. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1970. p. 257. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
  14. ↑ Welbourn, Nigel (1994). Lost lines; LMR. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 103. ISBN 0-7110-2277-1.
  15. ↑ Body; p. 144
  16. ↑ "Dales Countryside Museum Website". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  17. ↑ Eaton, Tony (2003). Memories of the Wensleydale Railway. Northallerton: ReCall Publications. p. 85. ISBN 0953633136.
  18. ↑ Davies, Roy (2024). Settle to Carlisle and the branch to Hawes. Haslemere: Middleton Press. plate 120. ISBN 978-1-910356-89-0.
  19. ↑ "New business opens in Dales Countryside Museum". Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  20. ↑ "New cafe opens in Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes". The Bolton News. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. ↑ "Wensleydale Railway Association – History & Heritage". Retrieved 5 November 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  22. ↑ Newton, Grace (1 July 2020). "All you need to know about the bid to re-open the Upper Wensleydale Railway". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 July 2026.

Sources

  • Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides – Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1
  • Houghton, F. W. & Foster W. H. (1965 Second Ed) The Story Of The Settle – Carlisle Line, Advertiser Press Ltd, Huddersfield.
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