Such a thrill to watch this, brought back so many memories. I used to live alongside this line from the mid 70's to the mid 80's and my dad was a wagon driver working a lot out of Swinden Quarry. I then worked in Grassington in 90's and used drive up from Skipton everyday, alongside this track and the quarry. My old primary school is on the left at 4m21s and the house I grew up in, on the right around 5m15s! I remember the trains used to run quite a bit faster back then, the hoppers emblazoned with Tilcon. As kids, we used to walk along the line through Haw Tunnel (never knew its name until this video, thank you!!). Still remember the alcoves in the tunnel walls, both sides and the corrugated tunnel under Skipton bypass, and the feeling of terrified excitement of being in that tunnel when a train came through one day!!! Certainly back in the 80's, the track work was still there for the Embsay junction, it stopped maybe 10 yard from the main track (if memory serves). Thanks for the memories!
I could tell you many stories about the Ilkley Branch as it was known in LMS days. I lived close by it as it climbed away from Skipton and the Grassington Branch which left the "main line " at Embsay Junction was worked by a Skipton allocated 4F and the terminus of the branch was actually in Thresfield on the south side of the River Wharf not in Grassington. In the 1947 winter Haw Bank Tunnel had snow up to the arch and the line was blocked for several days. As kids we often walked through the tunnel. The Grassington Branch saw 2 trips each day Monday to Friday and 1 on a Saturday. In the late 1940's and early 1950's passenger excursions ran in the summer months to Grassington(Threshfield). The Ilkley Branch was doubletracked and had a fairly infrequent passenger service of 4/5 services each way each day , some to Leeds and some to Bradford. The Ilkley branch was used as a diversionary route when the Aire Valley Main Line south of Skipton was blocked.
Pity about the no sound but at least we dont get those irritating track bells and buzzers kudos for some interesting cab rides alot better than some others
Thanks for sharing. It's a nice video of this former Branchline to Grassington. I saw this railway while driving from Skipton to Grassington on holiday this year and wondered about its history. Thanks again.
I remember trips up in the line with Tilcon trains in the mid seventies when I was a secondman at Holbeck. As I recall it was pretty difficult run with lots of full braking and then full power as the line changed gradient.We always had a Hawker (class 47) for these trains.
Never realised there were platforms at Skipton, i always thought Ilkley trains reversed to enter the station. I also thought Embsay junction still gave the Bolton Abbey branch a mainline connection.
Our Holbeck job was always a pair of class 31’s,a nightmare to get out of the yard with 2,000 ton of limestone loaded just slipping and sliding due to being too light. A lot of this went to Hull Dairycoats sidings and it was used for the Humber Bridge i believe, I once second manned a Neville Hill man to Dairycoates from Holbeck in the early 1980’s
Were the platforms of the Grassington branch at Skipton always as low as that? They don't look like the standard height of a passenger carriage, so may passengers had to step into the carriage and step down onto the platform. There was a *lot* of vibration coming through the loco: you forget about that on freight locos - we are used to seeing rock-steady videos by the likes of Don Coffey where the loco or multiple unit has better damping - and maybe there's more image stablisation in the camera. Makes it seem more real when you see the throbbing of the loco! I hadn't realised that the line was only double as far as Embsay junction and single from there on to Grassington. Looking at now-singled lines, it is often (as in this case) difficult to see how there had ever been room for a second track - some of the cuttings and bridges look too narrow. Was the Grassington to Skipton route always operated as a shuttle, or did any passenger trains ever reverse at Skipton so they could continue to Leeds, given that there wasn't a triangular junction at Embsay to allow them to use the Ilkley route? Daft question: why did the train stop very briefly just before the B6265 bridge? I couldn't see a signal that hadn't quite cleared in time or a stop-and-proceed sign. I hadn't realised that the passenger service closed as early as 1930. I thought it continued until Beeching, lilke the Embsay line. It had a very short life for passengers - only 1902 to 1930. I *thought* my parents talked about going to Grassington (from Leeds) by train in the early 1960s when they first met - maybe I *thought* they said by train.
With regards to the vibration, Cameras have moved along so much in recent years. However one of the worst I went on was a MTU HST from Paddington to Exeter filming. The footage was completely unusable. The stop was just an out of course stop by the driver.
Shame that some unions, companies or people are averse to sound recordings of conversations (informal, or official with signallers etc) that may happen to take place. It always prompts me to ask "what have they got to hide?". Hearing the sometimes irreverent banter between driver and second man was always a good thing about older cab videos. Ah well, not worth losing sleep over: someone has decided that it is not allowed and we can't fight it, even if we don't agree with it. Anyway, fascinating to see this line. I've only seen bits of it where the line runs alongside the road by Swinden Quarry and south of Rylstone. It's a great shame that the Embsay and Bolton Abbey railway can't get permission to run into (or very close to) Skipton station. If that ever happened, it would be a wonderful addition if one end of their line was connected to the NR system. Be nice if it had been able to continue to Ilkley: what I hate most about Beeching wasn't that train services stopped but that the trackbeds weren't automatically handed over to "the public" as footpaths and cycle tracks so they remained as transport routes. But times and attitudes were different in the 1960s.
I personally done many filming runs and i explicit stated no voice or shots of me in finalised edit in it personal choise but sound was on for recordings😊
Yes attitudes were different in the 60's, those of us who were around then thought the brutalistic architecture was great, new towns were so hip, most of us still here now think they are horrible. Trackbed of closed railways ripped up but BR of course was controlled by Government, sod tomorrow, let's get some money in today! A fine example is my home town of Nottingham who destroyed mineral, suburban and a main trackbed. When needed 30 years later spent a fortune on trendy trams instead of suburban rail.
There was a feasibility study a few years ago the results of which as an ex member of Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway I never got to hear about, the possible re-connection always got wheeled out when looking for new members, I doubt it will ever happen as the movers and shakers of the railway have either left or passed away hence me being an ex member but I would love to be proved wrong obviously 😉
Quite an interesting ride. I remember driving past that quarry on a visit to the Dales and wondering where the line went. Has this line now closed? Thanks for uploading.
Such a thrill to watch this, brought back so many memories. I used to live alongside this line from the mid 70's to the mid 80's and my dad was a wagon driver working a lot out of Swinden Quarry. I then worked in Grassington in 90's and used drive up from Skipton everyday, alongside this track and the quarry. My old primary school is on the left at 4m21s and the house I grew up in, on the right around 5m15s! I remember the trains used to run quite a bit faster back then, the hoppers emblazoned with Tilcon.
As kids, we used to walk along the line through Haw Tunnel (never knew its name until this video, thank you!!). Still remember the alcoves in the tunnel walls, both sides and the corrugated tunnel under Skipton bypass, and the feeling of terrified excitement of being in that tunnel when a train came through one day!!!
Certainly back in the 80's, the track work was still there for the Embsay junction, it stopped maybe 10 yard from the main track (if memory serves).
Thanks for the memories!
I used to work this line as a secondman at skipton with class 37s and 60s. Beautiful line. Brings back happy memories
I could tell you many stories about the Ilkley Branch as it was known in LMS days. I lived close by it as it climbed away from Skipton and the Grassington Branch which left the "main line " at Embsay Junction was worked by a Skipton allocated 4F and the terminus of the branch was actually in Thresfield on the south side of the River Wharf not in Grassington. In the 1947 winter Haw Bank Tunnel had snow up to the arch and the line was blocked for several days. As kids we often walked through the tunnel. The Grassington Branch saw 2 trips each day Monday to Friday and 1 on a Saturday. In the late 1940's and early 1950's passenger excursions ran in the summer months to Grassington(Threshfield). The Ilkley Branch was doubletracked and had a fairly infrequent passenger service of 4/5 services each way each day , some to Leeds and some to Bradford. The Ilkley branch was used as a diversionary route when the Aire Valley Main Line south of Skipton was blocked.
Fantastic bit of Info. Many thanks. Seeing responses like this make my day!
Reckon 'Not Work Fail ' would bite your hand off for some these branches😂
Pity about the no sound but at least we dont get those irritating track bells and buzzers kudos for some interesting cab rides alot better than some others
Thanks for sharing. It's a nice video of this former Branchline to Grassington. I saw this railway while driving from Skipton to Grassington on holiday this year and wondered about its history. Thanks again.
I remember trips up in the line with Tilcon trains in the mid seventies when I was a secondman at Holbeck. As I recall it was pretty difficult run with lots of full braking and then full power as the line changed gradient.We always had a Hawker (class 47) for these trains.
In all my 37 years on the railway I have never heard a Class 47 called a Hawker. I understand why, but were always Brush, Brush 4 or Brush 4 1/2.
I really enjoyed watching this thankyou 😊
Never realised there were platforms at Skipton, i always thought Ilkley trains reversed to enter the station. I also thought Embsay junction still gave the Bolton Abbey branch a mainline connection.
Neither did I until then.
Our Holbeck job was always a pair of class 31’s,a nightmare to get out of the yard with 2,000 ton of limestone loaded just slipping and sliding due to being too light.
A lot of this went to Hull Dairycoats sidings and it was used for the Humber Bridge i believe, I once second manned a Neville Hill man to Dairycoates from Holbeck in the early 1980’s
Were the platforms of the Grassington branch at Skipton always as low as that? They don't look like the standard height of a passenger carriage, so may passengers had to step into the carriage and step down onto the platform.
There was a *lot* of vibration coming through the loco: you forget about that on freight locos - we are used to seeing rock-steady videos by the likes of Don Coffey where the loco or multiple unit has better damping - and maybe there's more image stablisation in the camera. Makes it seem more real when you see the throbbing of the loco!
I hadn't realised that the line was only double as far as Embsay junction and single from there on to Grassington. Looking at now-singled lines, it is often (as in this case) difficult to see how there had ever been room for a second track - some of the cuttings and bridges look too narrow.
Was the Grassington to Skipton route always operated as a shuttle, or did any passenger trains ever reverse at Skipton so they could continue to Leeds, given that there wasn't a triangular junction at Embsay to allow them to use the Ilkley route?
Daft question: why did the train stop very briefly just before the B6265 bridge? I couldn't see a signal that hadn't quite cleared in time or a stop-and-proceed sign.
I hadn't realised that the passenger service closed as early as 1930. I thought it continued until Beeching, lilke the Embsay line. It had a very short life for passengers - only 1902 to 1930. I *thought* my parents talked about going to Grassington (from Leeds) by train in the early 1960s when they first met - maybe I *thought* they said by train.
With regards to the vibration, Cameras have moved along so much in recent years. However one of the worst I went on was a MTU HST from Paddington to Exeter filming. The footage was completely unusable. The stop was just an out of course stop by the driver.
Great video very interesting, what was the short stop for at 15 31 just before a bridge. thanks for sharing.
Just an out of course stop by the Driver.
Thanks for that.
Used to work the trains when operated by EWS
Probably spoke to you then at some point when i was in control.
Shame that some unions, companies or people are averse to sound recordings of conversations (informal, or official with signallers etc) that may happen to take place. It always prompts me to ask "what have they got to hide?". Hearing the sometimes irreverent banter between driver and second man was always a good thing about older cab videos. Ah well, not worth losing sleep over: someone has decided that it is not allowed and we can't fight it, even if we don't agree with it.
Anyway, fascinating to see this line. I've only seen bits of it where the line runs alongside the road by Swinden Quarry and south of Rylstone. It's a great shame that the Embsay and Bolton Abbey railway can't get permission to run into (or very close to) Skipton station. If that ever happened, it would be a wonderful addition if one end of their line was connected to the NR system. Be nice if it had been able to continue to Ilkley: what I hate most about Beeching wasn't that train services stopped but that the trackbeds weren't automatically handed over to "the public" as footpaths and cycle tracks so they remained as transport routes. But times and attitudes were different in the 1960s.
I think Companies were scared of the GDPR stuff as well which coming in at the time..
I personally done many filming runs and i explicit stated no voice or shots of me in finalised edit in it personal choise but sound was on for recordings😊
Yes attitudes were different in the 60's, those of us who were around then thought the brutalistic architecture was great, new towns were so hip, most of us still here now think they are horrible. Trackbed of closed railways ripped up but BR of course was controlled by Government, sod tomorrow, let's get some money in today! A fine example is my home town of Nottingham who destroyed mineral, suburban and a main trackbed. When needed 30 years later spent a fortune on trendy trams instead of suburban rail.
Has there been thoughts to reconnect and run steam trains from skipton to bolton abbey ?
Not to my knowledge.
There was a feasibility study a few years ago the results of which as an ex member of Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway I never got to hear about, the possible re-connection always got wheeled out when looking for new members, I doubt it will ever happen as the movers and shakers of the railway have either left or passed away hence me being an ex member but I would love to be proved wrong obviously 😉
Did the laddie who lost his hat on Ilkley Moor ever find it, I wonder?
:)
Quite an interesting ride. I remember driving past that quarry on a visit to the Dales and wondering where the line went. Has this line now closed? Thanks for uploading.
Your welcome.
No.
It still has loaded trains to Leeds & Hull.
Sound???
Hi, please see note in the description.
Is the line still open?.
Yes. 2 stone trains per day. Now operated by GB railfreight.
When was it filmed ?
Autumn 2016
First !