The Yorkshire Wolds Railway is East Yorkshire’s newest and only ‘heritage railway’. Located along a section of the now scrapped Malton and Driffield Junction Railway, the YWR was only born in 2012 and started with what was effectively an empty field. 12 years later, there is about a 1/4 mile of double track laid, stock has been acquired, a small museum built inside an old Mk1 coach and for the last couple of years, they have been offering short rides on the railway in their BR 20T Brake Van.
Although a ‘Fimber Halt’ station never existed, Sledmere and Fimber did, which was situated between Burdale and Wetwang. The Malton and Driffield Junction Railway opened in 1853 and was around 20 miles in length. A passenger service called the ‘Malton Dodger’ ran 3 return trips daily from Malton, with a fourth being added during peak season. The area is also quite rich in Limestone, so throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, quarries were opened at North Grimston, Burdale and Wharram. The M&DR was one of the less profitable railways however and in 1923 post-grouping, fares rose sharply and passenger numbers suffered further. With the rise in road transport and arrival of buses, the line was eventually closed to passengers in 1950 with only the odd occasional opening for special services. After the last quarry at Burdale closed in 1955, the line was closed for the last and final time in 1958 and all of the track lifted.
Given the history of the line, there is clearly a lot of local and community support to see the line reinstated in some form. What struck me the most on my visit was the sheer amount of goodwill and community support that the railway has received. A lot of items relative to the local area have been donated by people in the hopes of either being displayed in their museum or for actual use on the line. Items from lamps, signs, railway track and sleepers have all been donated by various parties for nothing in return, other than a hope that the railway is successful. I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of the site by one of the volunteers and as you will see from the pictures, it was a hive of activity and hi-vis.
The railway has many projects on the go at the moment, from the creation of a safe walking route from the main station up the line, populating the museum to the restoration and installation of a signal box which you can see examples of in the pictures below. The signal box itself is the former Hull & Barnsley Railway signal box from Sprotborough, near Doncaster. It’s a huge undertaking and given that a lot of the original wood was beyond repair, this has been a painstaking effort so far especially given the small volunteer numbers. They have however done a fantastic job so far and within the next few weeks, the ground frame should be installed.
Another project on the go is the restoration of their 0-6-0 Fowler. This was another example of a gift to the railway and they only had to pay for the transportation costs. As you can see, she’s seen better days but mechanically, I’m told she’s sound. There is an active fundraiser to raise money towards the project which should result in the railways second fully operational loco. The railway has further plans to extend the line into the next field and head further towards Wetwang. I’m excited to come back in a few years time to see what more has been achieved as there is so much potential here.
