Beckhole Incline was a steep, rope-worked gradient on the railway line between Whitby and Pickering, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Although the incline was closed to regular traffic in 1865, it was used for a very brief period in 1872, to test a special locomotive intended for railways with steep gradients.

Opened as part of the Whitby and Pickering Railway (W&PR) in May 1836,[2] the incline allowed for trains to be hauled up and down from Beckhole to Goathland Bank Top station.

[8] As some parts of the incline were curved, the wheels were angled and wooden rollers were added at these points to lessen friction and provide some 'give' in the rope.

[28] The Y&NM also implemented the conversion of the line to steam-engine operation in the same year, and the method of working the incline changed from water balancing, into a stationary steam-worked engine, with the capability of 10 brake horsepower (7.5 kW).

[29] The previous water-loading system was viewed as unreliable in the face of heavier traffic and more frequent services,[30] with the Y&NM also considering the water tank method and communications between the railway and the farmer as "primitive".

This was in case the engines needed to visit York Works for maintenance; the route south over the incline being the only option until 1865, when the North Eastern Railway's branch from Battersby reached Grosmont station, and the deviation line opened.

[37] On 1 June 1865, the Deviation Line from Grosmont to Goathland Mill station was opened, and whilst the incline was closed, it was left in situ for some time afterwards in case it was needed.

[39] Seven years after closure, the incline was used to test an engine built by the Manning Wardle Company in Leeds, who were exporting three bespoke steam locomotives to Brazil.

[41] The engines were larger than the loading gauge of the railways in Yorkshire, and so bits had to be removed as it travelled across the Scarborough Viaduct in York, and other trains had to be diverted as it was an out-of-gauge working.

[47] The course of the entire section of railway from Goathland Bank Top to Grosmont is now popular walking path known as the Rail Trail.

In the days of the horse-drawn operation, no written evidence exists of passengers using Beckhole as a station, although trains/carriages had to pause to detach the horse(s).