Great Ayton railway station

Great Ayton railway station serves the village of Great Ayton in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Esk Valley Line and is operated by Northern Trains who provide all of the station's passenger services.

Great Ayton
LocationGreat Ayton, Hambleton
England
Coordinates54.4896°N 1.1154°W / 54.4896; -1.1154
Grid referenceNZ574108
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeGTA
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyNorth Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 April 1868Station opened
Passengers
2015/16 7,100
2016/17 6,890
2017/18 7,322
2018/19 7,726
2019/20 8,614
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The North Eastern Railway built a short line to link Battersby (on their route between Picton and Grosmont) with Nunthorpe on the Middlesbrough and Guisborough Railway (a subsidiary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway). This link line opened on 1 June 1864 but was used at first only for mineral trains. Passenger trains along the route began four years later,[1] and a station at Great Ayton was opened on 1 April 1868.[2]

Description

The station is on the single track rail line between Nunthorpe and Battersby[3] and there are only a few trains per day. The goods yard at the station closed down in July 1965 along with many other stations on the Esk Valley line.[4] Until the 1950s, trains used to run from the station to Stokesley, Whitby Town and Middlesbrough but only the latter two destinations are now served.[5]

Next to Great Ayton station is the village garage and towing service. The station had, until 1934, a full station building complete with booking office and waiting room, this however was demolished to save costs. From the start of the May 2010 timetable Northern Rail began operating a service to and from Newcastle on a Sunday morning (and return in the evening) for holiday makers going to and from Whitby (since increased to two northbound and three southbound trips). The station has only one platform which is usually served by Northern Trains stopping services - these are usually composed of Class 156 Diesel Multiple Units (although Class 142 "Pacers" used to appear on occasions, but have now been withdrawn). Five services each way are scheduled to call on weekdays & Saturdays (one terminates and returns from Battersby) and four each way on Sundays.[6] Some of these run through to/from Newcastle Central via the Durham Coast Line. Additional services (one evening return trip to Whitby and a lunchtime short turn to Castleton Moor and back to Middlesbrough and Newcastle) were introduced at the December 2019 timetable change.[7]

The Esk Valley line is the only rail connection to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and occasionally one can view locomotives going to and from the railway, information about moves can be obtained from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The best place to view trains at Great Ayton station is on the road bridge which overlooks the station. Further information about station facilities can be obtained from Northern Trains.

References
  1. Allen, Cecil J. (1974) [1964]. The North Eastern Railway. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 117. ISBN 0-7110-0495-1.
  2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 108. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. Brailsford, Martyn (2016). Railway Track Diagrams Book 2: Eastern. Frome: Trackmaps. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.
  4. Bairstow, Martin (2008). Railways around Whitby (3 ed.). Halifax: Martin Bairstow. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-871944-34-1.
  5. Burgess, Neil (2011). The lost railways of Yorkshire's North Riding. Catrine: Stenlake. p. 8. ISBN 9781840335552.
  6. Table 45 National Rail timetable, December 2018
  7. Northern Timetable 5 - Middlesbrough to Whitby (Esk Valley Railway) 15 December 2019 - 16 May 2020 Northern, retrieved 21 November 2019
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern Trains
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