There are many remains of old railways in the northern part of North Yorkshire, mostly of mineral lines which used to carry ironstone from the many mines in the area. One of the remains however is of a line which was never completed which perhaps lends it an air of mystery - this was Paddy Waddell’s railway. John Waddell was an Edinburgh contractor who covered a wide field of activities ranging from the road Putney Bridge (with Joseph Bazalgette as the engineer) to schools in Scotland and a number of railways including the Loftus, Whitby and Scarborough line. He employed a Irish foreman called Gallagher to whom was left the supervision of another line in the vicinity, the Cleveland Extension Mineral Railway which became known as Paddy Waddell’s railway. The description of this line and the history of its building is covered in detail in the excellent book “Paddy Waddell’s Railway” by R. F. Moore published in 1973 by the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society. I am indebted to this book for much of the historical background, but it is unfortunately no longer in print.
The line was intended to tap extensive ironstone deposits on the North York Moors between Hagg Beck (about half a mile north of Moorsholm) and Gerrick. It was to run for 10½ miles from Lingdale Junction south of Skelton (grid ref 691 172) to a junction with the Picton to Grosmont branch of the North Eastern Railway (grid ref 778 064) a short distance north-north-west of Glaisdale station. The original Act of Parliament for its construction was passed in 1873 but work did not commence until nine years and various further Acts later. The works were started in several places and can be traced over the course of about half the line. There was to have been a tunnel towards the southern end of the line and observation of the contours indicates that a number of bridges and viaducts would have been required. There is a nice stone overline bridge just before the junction with the N.E.R. branch. Funds ran out after about two year’s work and despite many extensions of time, the line was officially abandoned by Act of Parliament in 1898. Mr Moore traced the line over its length for the description in his book, much of the route being over private property which he obtained permission to walk. My object has been to explore the remains using marked footpaths as far as possible. Anyone wishing to follow the route is strongly advised to wear stout walking boots and to take a walking stick or even a pair of sticks; a 1:25000 Ordnance Survey map will also be found useful.
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| 1. The cutting near Kilton Thorpe which gives an idea of the conditions you may encounter. The line to Lingdale was on the embankment on the right. |
The present mineral line from Saltburn to Boulby loops inland through North Skelton before turning back to the coast through Brotton. A railway left this mineral line near Brotton heading south, with one branch going to a mine at Lingdale and another going to Kilton mine. There is a large spoil heap here marked on the OS map as Kilton Hill. These two lines diverged at Lingdale Junction and this was also the start of Paddy Waddell’s railway. The abutments of an underline bridge can be seen just west of the village of Kilton Thorpe on the road to Lingdale.
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| 2. The viaduct over Hagg Beck probably started at the end of the embankment. |
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| 3. View of the end of the cutting from the Liverton - Moorsholm road. |
A public footpath leads south up on to the old embankment with the line to Lingdale mine soon diverging to the west and commencing to climb quite steeply. The line to Kilton mine swings away to the east and the footpath continues ahead in a cutting to follow the course of our line (picture no 1). As we draw level with Kilton Hill, a track crosses the formation (a term used to describe the embankments and cuttings which form the line) and shortly afterwards the path leaves the cutting to the left. At this point the path crosses a cultivated field in a south-easterly direction, but no trace of it can be seen. Continue to walk alongside the cutting along the top of the bank. It is possible to walk further in the cutting itself, but it becomes increasingly overgrown and boggy. It is quite deep and ends abruptly at a farm track leading to Buck Rush Farm. If you are walking along the top of the cutting, turn left when you reach a hedge and then right along another hedge. This leads down to the farm track from where another footpath is marked on the OS map but which again has been obliterated by cultivation. It is best to continue in the same direction on the opposite side of the farm track, following the hedge. Turn right at the end of this hedge and after a short while turn left into the wood through an opening. The path leads steeply down to a footbridge over Hagg Beck and into the Hagg Wood Nature Reserve. We are now approximately where the railway would have crossed this valley by a viaduct 127 feet high. The path climbs out of the wood and crosses a field to run alongside a hedge on the right. An embankment can be seen on the left which ends in the middle of the field (picture no 2). It is probable that the line was intended to continue northwards from here on a viaduct. The path continues into the village of Moorsholm, but we should turn left on the road to Liverton. The road was crossed by the railway about 350m further east where there is a public footpath sign on the right. The end of a shallow cutting can be seen north of the road (picture no 3). There is no evidence that this was where Moorsholm station was intended to be but it seems the most likely place. It was however quite a way from the Station Hotel in Moorsholm which was well up into the village at the junction of Hillocks Lane and High Street (picture no 4). To quote from 'The Cleveland Village Book' : "When the railway was proposed in 1872 Miss E. Marsay's grandfather built the Station Hotel at a cost of £1,600 on a well-chosen corner site from the nearby present village hall. But the anticipated trade from the nearby railway never materialised. For a few years an off-licence business was conducted until the house became the private home of the family, known locally as 'the big house' or 'Hillock's House'. Sadly it was demolished in 1989."
The signposted footpath crosses a field, following the course of the line. After a couple of fields, a waymark at a stile points left to the corner of the field but the path is marked on the OS map as going straight on. This brings you to a hedge on the other side of which can be seen a twin line of hedges marking the route of the line (picture no 5).
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4. (left) The Station Hotel, Moorsholm. The photograph is supplied courtesy of the Northern Echo and should not be downloaded or copied without their permission. |
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| 5. (above) The two lines of hedges mark the course of the formation. |
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| 6. The southern portal of the culvert in Cow Close Wood. |
To reach the next place where the course of the line can be seen, go back into Moorsholm and turn left at the end of the village into Cow Close Lane. Continue past South Lane Farm until the track turns right and descends to the Cow Close Beck. A few yards to the north, the stream flows through a brick built culvert under the railway formation (picture no. 6). This is about 11m in length and forms an attractive cylindrical 'tunnel' 1.7m in diameter in very good condition. The formation here is just a short stone embankment within the confines of the ravine containing the stream. There has been no attempt to dig out the sides of the ravine. [Woodland Trust web site - http://www.wt-woods.org.uk/cowclose/description.asp].