Battersby railway station

Battersby railway station serves the village of Battersby in North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Esk Valley Line 11 miles (18 km) south of Middlesbrough and is operated by Northern Trains which provides all of the station's passenger services.

Battersby
Battersby station
Location
Place	Battersby
Local authority	Hambleton
Coordinates	54.457°N 1.094°W / 54.457; -1.094
Grid reference	NZ588072
Operations
Station code	BTT
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	1,488
2015/16	1,458
2016/17	1,660
2017/18	1,564
2018/19	1,520
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Battersby from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

Track layout at Battersby railway station

Battersby is unusual on the British railway network, due to the layout of the tracks. Formerly the place where the branch from Middlesbrough joined the through route from Whitby to Picton (on the Stockton to Northallerton portion of the former Leeds Northern Railway), the closure of the direct line west of Battersby in 1954 means that all services have to reverse in the station. Until the rationalisation of the signalling in the late 1980s it was common for two trains to do so at the same time, in order to pass each other on the single track Esk Valley line. Trains can still pass each other in the one remaining platform, using the "first in, last out" principle, as the platform line is signalled to permit two trains to occupy it at once.

In its early years Battersby was known as Ingleby Junction, and opened on the Picton to Grosmont line in 1858 when the Ingleby Mining company's private line first linked to the North Yorkshire & Cleveland Railway. The station was renamed to Battersby Junction in 1878 to avoid confusion with Ingleby station, on the Picton Branch, which ran from Battersby to the main line at Picton. The station was simplified to "Battersby" in 1893 (The NER had a dislike of "Junction" suffixes and removed most of them).[1] Despite being located along single track routes, Battersby became a major hub with extensive marshalling sidings and three-road engine shed with turntable.[2] Two terraces with 30 cottages along with two houses were built and still stand today.

Battersby used to have three platforms: two long through platforms connected by a central footbridge and a shorter bay platform with a run-round loop. Water towers were located at both ends of the station. Only the one at the current "junction end" remains today. The signal box located here has long since vanished, but traces of the third platform are still visible and a run-round loop is available for loco-hauled trains.

Services

Northern Trains Route 5: Esk Valley Line
Durham Coast Line to Newcastle & Tees Valley Line to Bishop Auckland Middlesbrough Tees Valley Line to Saltburn James Cook Marton Gypsy Lane Nunthorpe Great Ayton Battersby Kildale Commondale Castleton Moor Danby Lealholm Glaisdale Egton North York Moors Railway to Pickering Grosmont for North York Moors Railway Sleights Ruswarp Whitby

As of the December 2019 timetable change, on Monday to Saturday there are seven daily services to Middlesbrough. In the other direction, six services go to Whitby and another terminates at Castleton Moor. There is a Sunday service of four trains in each direction.[3]

• 
  The station in 1961
• 
  Two trains pass at Battersby in July 1977
• 
  View of the junction at Battersby
• 
  View of the former Picton line and disused platform 2 (to left)

See also

• Rosedale Railway

References

1. Hoole, K. (1983). Railways of the North York Moors: Dalesman Books. ISBN 0-85206-731-3
2. Hayes R.H. & Rutter, J.G. (1974). Rosedale Mines and Railway: Scarborough and District Archeological Society. Research Report No. 9
3. Northern Timetable 5 - Middlesbrough to Whitby (Esk Valley Railway) 15 December 2019 - 16 May 2020 Northern, retrieved 21 November 2019

External links

• Train times and station information for Battersby railway station from National Rail

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Great Ayton		Northern Trains Esk Valley Line		Kildale
	Disused railways
Ingleby		NER Picton-Battersby Line		Terminus