Wensleydale Railway

The Wensleydale Railway is a heritage railway in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England. The line runs 22mi between Northallerton West station, about a fifteen-minute walk from station on the East Coast Main Line, and.Occasional freight services and excursions travel the full length of the line, and regular passenger services operate between Northallerton West and Redmire, a distance of 22mi, comparable in length to the West Somerset Railway. The line formerly ran from Northallerton to on the Settle-Carlisle Railway, but the track between Redmire and Garsdale has been lifted and several bridges and viaducts demolished.HistoryOn 26 June 1846, an Act of Parliament authorised the Great North of England Railway and its successor the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway to build a line between Northallerton and Bedale. The 5+1/2mi section between Northallerton and Leeming Lane opened on 6 March 1848. The section between Leeming Bar and Bedale that was authorised by the Act was not built.The Bedale and Leyburn Railway, financed by local landowners, was a 11+1/2mi extension between Leeming Bar and Leyburn that was authorised on 4 August 1853; the section between Leeming Bar and Bedale station opened on 1 February 1855 and the remainder on 28 November 1855 for goods and minerals and 19 May 1856 for passengers. The York, Newcastle and Berwick had become a founder member of the North Eastern Railway (NER) on 31 July 1854, and the Bedale and Leyburn was absorbed into this larger company in 1859.