Hessay railway station

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Hessay
A brick built building with two storeys, and a single storey extension on the right with a railway line just visible in the bottom right
Former station at Hessay
General information
LocationHessay
North Yorkshire
England
Coordinates53°58′45″N 1°12′03″W / 53.9791°N 1.2008°W / 53.9791; -1.2008
Grid referenceSE525539
LineHarrogate line
Platforms2
Tracks1
Other information
StatusClosed
History
Opened30 May 1848
Closed5 April 1964 (1964-04-05)
Original companyYork & North Midland Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Location

Hessay railway station was a railway station near to the village of Hessay in North Yorkshire, England. The former station was on what is now the Harrogate line (between York and Leeds via Harrogate). The station opened in 1848, closed in 1915 for some years during the First World War, and then reopened, finally closing to passengers in 1958 and to goods traffic in 1964. The goods sidings to the west of the station were re-used as an Ministry of Defence (MoD) depot until 1991.

History

The line was opened by the East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway in October 1848.[1] Trains stopped to let passengers alight and entrain at what would become Hessay station from 30 October 1848, but an actual station was not built there until 1849.[2] The village of Hessay is about 0.5-mile (0.80 km) south of the station site.[3] In terms of passengers, the station was not very busy in comparison to others on the line; in 1911, Knaresborough issued 192,000 tickets, Goldsborough 4,405, Hopperton (Allerton) 5,900, Cattal 15,000, Hammerton 11,000, Hessay 3,300, Marston Moor 6,200, and Poppleton 17,000.[4][5]

The station closed to passenger traffic in September 1915 as a wartime economy, but its reopening date is disputed; officially, it was handling passenger traffic again by July 1922, but in July 1919, Bradshaw listed trains stopping only on Sundays.[6] The station was closed permanently to passengers in September 1958 (along with Goldsborough, Hopperton and Marston Moor on the same line) and to goods traffic in May 1964.[7][8][9][10] The line through Hessay was proposed for closure under the Beeching Report, but this was refused by the minister of transport, so as an economy, the line was singled between Poppleton and Hammerton in 1972 and 1973.[11] The one remaining line now passes through the station site on the down side platform (the old Knaresborough-bound line).[12][3] The station was never furnished with a signal box, even though it had MoD sidings and a refuge siding of varying lengths of wagons, all signalling was controlled from Marston Moor.[13] A North Eastern Railway diagram from 1894 shows the station site having a station frame and a ground frame; the station frame controlled the crossing gates, and the ground frame the access to the sidings which were off the down line (towards Knaresborough).[14]

The few sidings at Hessay grew into a full-scale War Department facility, which saw traffic continue up until 1991,[15] latterly as No. 322 Royal Engineers Park.[16] After the MoD disposed of the site, it became a short-term storage site for vehicles owned by the National Railway Museum.[17]

The site still has a level crossing with manually controlled gates operated by a crossing keeper who uses part of the old station house to work from.[18][19] The level crossing at Hessay is 5 miles 10 chains (8.2 km) west of York, and 11 miles 44 chains (18.6 km) east of Knaresborough.[20]

Services

The 1887 timetable details five stopping trains each way,[21] whereas the 1910 guide details six stopping trains.[22] Services in July 1922 amounted to four each way only, [23] and in 1938, services amounted to five each way with an additional evening service which could stop at Hessay on request.[24]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Marston Moor
Line and station open		   East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway
Harrogate line		   Poppleton
Line open, station closed

References

  1. Chapman 2011, p. 5.
  2. Fawcett, Bill (2001). A history of North Eastern Railway architecture volume 1: the pioneers. North Eastern Railway Association. p. 137. ISBN 1-873513-34-8.
  3. Goode 2001, p. 28.
  4. Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 150, 157, 167, 168, 170, 174, 176, 182. ISBN 0-7153-8527-5.
  5. Bairstow 2022, p. 24.
  6. Kelly, Mark (2025). Leeds to Harrogate including Otley, Wetherby, Pilmoor and Poppleton. Haslemere: Middleton Press. 120. ISBN 978-1-910356-86-9.
  7. Chapman 2011, p. 23.
  8. Goode 2001, p. 57.
  9. Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 170. ISBN 0-7153-8527-5.
  10. Bairstow 2022, p. 127.
  11. Young, Alan (2015). Lost stations of Yorkshire; the West Riding. Kettering: Silver Link. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-85794-438-9.
  12. Shannon, Paul (2023). Branch line Britain; local passenger trains in the diesel era. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-39908-990-6.
  13. Chapman 2011, p. 70.
  14. Rogers, James (2000). The railways of Harrogate & district. North Eastern Railway Association. p. 75. ISBN 1-873513-33-X.
  15. "Disused Stations: Hessay Station". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  16. "Army Storage Facilities (Hansard, 19 January 1995)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  17. Kelly, Mark (2025). Leeds to Harrogate including Otley, Wetherby, Pilmoor and Poppleton. Haslemere: Middleton Press. 121. ISBN 978-1-910356-86-9.
  18. Bairstow 2022, p. 78.
  19. Kelman, Leanne (2020). Railway Track Diagrams Book 2: Eastern (5 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. 18D. ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
  20. Maxey, David, ed. (1997). Mile by mile: rail mileages of Britain and Ireland. Gloucester: Peter Watts Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 0906025443.
  21. Bradshaw’s August 1887 Railway Guide. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1968 [1887]. p. 285. ISBN 0-7153-4325-4.
  22. Bradshaw’s April 1910 Railway Guide. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1968 [1910]. p. 714. ISBN 0-7153-4246-0.
  23. Bradshaw’s July 1922 Railway Guide. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1985 [1922]. p. 763. ISBN 0-7153-8708-1.
  24. Bradshaw’s July 1938 Railway Guide. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1969 [1938]. p. 947. ISBN 0-7153-4686-5.

Sources

  • Bairstow, Martin (2022). Railways through Harrogate. Farsley: Bairstow. ISBN 978-1-871944-49-5.
  • Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Todmorden: Bellcode Books. ISBN 978-1871233-24-7.
  • Goode, C. T. (2001). The York, Knaresborough and Harrogate Railway. Hull: Burstwick Print. ISBN 1-870313-22-4.