Esk Valley line

[4] The Class 156 and 158 units operating on the Esk Valley Line are currently in the process of being refurbished, with upgrades including free WiFi, power sockets, on-board passenger information displays, and an interior refresh.

[7] The route serves the following stations: Middlesbrough, James Cook, Marton, Gypsy Lane, Nunthorpe, Great Ayton, Battersby, Kildale, Commondale, Castleton Moor, Danby, Lealholm, Glaisdale, Egton, Grosmont, Sleights, Ruswarp and Whitby.

[8] It was originally worked by horses, before being converted in 1845, in order to be able to accommodate steam locomotives, following a takeover by the York & North Midland Railway.

The section between Grosmont and Pickering was closed under the Beeching cuts in 1965, but was one of the first to be taken into private hands as a heritage line, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

At West Cliff, trains would journey north along the coastal Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway towards Staithes and Loftus, and south across the Larpool Viaduct towards Scarborough.

Following the closure of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway, additional services began to operate along the Esk Valley Line.

[10] From Battersby, goods trains also ran south to Ingleby where a cable pulley system raised wagons up a steep incline, and across the North York Moors to iron ore workings at Rosedale and Farndale.

Between Glaisdale and Lealholm, work was begun by the railway engineer John Waddell on a branch across the North York Moors, to make the most of the iron ore in the area.

Today, Battersby serves just only one railway line, but it still takes the shape of a "Y" junction, with trains pulling into a station that is now effectively a terminus.

To allow through running of trains directly from the North Yorkshire Moors Line, an intermediate token instrument was provided at Grosmont in March 2007.

Previously, for steam services to Whitby to operate along the Esk Valley Line from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, a signalman had to drive to Glaisdale in order to pick up, or return, a token key.

[16] A proposed park and ride station, located between Nunthorpe and Great Ayton, has been suggested by a joint project of local councils.

The project aims to increase services into Middlesbrough to half-hourly, and double the number of trains on the Esk Valley Line to Whitby.

[17] Following the December 2019 timetable change, Arriva Rail North introduced two additional return trips on the line on weekdays and Saturdays.

The pre- Beeching railway network across the North York Moors .
A local train running from Darlington to Saltburn , seen at Guisborough Junction in 1954
The Esk Valley Line, near the James Cook railway station in Middlesbrough .