Tanfield railway station

Tanfield railway station was a railway station serving the community of West Tanfield on the Masham Line in North Yorkshire, England. The station was opened with the line in June 1875 and was closed to passengers in January 1931. Full closure of the line was effected in 1963.

This article is about the station serving West Tanfield in North Yorkshire. For the railway in Gateshead and County Durham, see Tanfield Railway.

Tanfield
Tanfield former railway station
LocationNorth Yorkshire
England
Coordinates54.207041°N 1.590790°W / 54.207041; -1.590790
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyNorth Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
9 June 1875 (1875-06-09)Station opened
1 January 1931 (1931-01-01)Closed to passengers
11 November 1963 (1963-11-11)Closed completely

History

The station opened in June 1875 as the only intermediate one between the town of Masham and the junction of the line with the Leeds Northern Railway at Melmerby. Passenger trains continued on southwards from Melmerby to terminate at Ripon railway station.[1] In May 1891, six trains a day were scheduled to call at Tanfield,[2] which had been reduced to four each way by 1902. The journey to Masham took six minutes, with that to Ripon taking seventeen.[3] By the time of the line's closure to passengers by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1931, just four trains a day were calling at Tanfield.[4] The station was furnished with a passing loop, but only the south side of the station had a platform.[5]

The station had low passenger numbers and only issued 7,500 tickets in 1911.[6] Goods mostly consisted of the outward flows of livestock and manure, for which a 3 tonnes (3.3 tons) crane was provided in the goods yard.[7] During the Second World War, ammunition storage in the area increased the number of trains through the station for offloading and forwarding too. The British Army supplied the LNER with extra staff to supplement the two railway workers.[5] Over 76,000 tonnes (84,000 tons) of munitions were stored near the station which were forwarded out on 42 armament trains in the weeks leading up to D-Day.[8]

The line closed to traffic on 11 November 1963.[9] After closure, the station building became derelict but was renovated in 1973 and is now a private dwelling.[10] The station footprint and goods yard was the location of some light industrial units until 2017 when they were converted into a small housing estate.[8]

References
  1. Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railways of the Eastern Region. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens. p. 79. ISBN 1-85260-072-1.
  2. North Eastern Railway Working Timetable May 1891 at the Internet Archive
  3. North Eastern Railway Pocket Timetable January to March 1902 at the Internet Archive
  4. Bairstow, Martin (March 1988). "Beeching 25 years on". Railway Magazine. Vol. 134 no. 1043. Ewell: Prospect Magazines. p. 177. ISSN 0033-8923.
  5. "Disused Stations: Tanfield Station". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  6. Hoole, Ken (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 192. ISBN 0-7153-8527-5.
  7. The Railway Clearing House handbook of railway stations, 1904. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1970. p. 527. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
  8. Copeland, Alexa (12 October 2017). "Development to breathe new life into former World War station site". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  9. Blakemore, Michael (2001). Railways of the Yorkshire Dales. Ilkley: Great Northern Books. p. 36. ISBN 1-905080-03-4.
  10. Suggitt, Gordon (2005). Lost railways of North and East Yorkshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-85306-918-5.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Melmerby
Line and station closed		   North Eastern Railway
Masham branch		   Masham
Line and station closed
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