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 who provide all of the station's passenger services.HistoryThe North Eastern Railway built a short line to link with 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, and a station at Great Ayton was opened on 1 April 1868.DescriptionThe station is on the single track rail line between and and there are only a few trains per day. Until the mid-1980s the station had a goods shunting yard etc. which later served as the village coal merchants. Trains until the 1950s used to run from the station to Stokesley, Whitby Town and but only the latter two destinations are now served. 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 will be operating a service to and from Newcastle on a Sunday morning (and return in the evening) for holiday makers going to and from Whitby. The station has only one platform which is usually served by Northern stopping services - these are usually composed of Class 156 Diesel Multiple Units (although Class 142 "Pacers" can also appear on occasions). Four services each way are scheduled to call on weekdays & Saturdays and also on Sundays from late March until early November.