duffield
Established Member
| Leg | From | Dep. WTT | Dep. Real | To | Arr. WTT | Arr. Real | Distance | ID | Oper Code | Origin | Destination | Class | Car. | Loading | Ref. |
| 1 | Nottingham | 0941 | 0943+2 | Grantham | 1011 | 1012+1 | 22m57c | 1L06 | EM | Warrington Central | Norwich | 158 | 2 | Light | *1 |
| 2 | Grantham | 1018 | OT | York | 1128 | OT | 83m02c | 1N81 | GR | London Kings Cross | York | 91 | 9 | Light | *2 |
| 3 | York | 1142 | OT | Knaresborough | 1206 | 1207+1 | 16m50c | 2C85 | NT | York | Leeds via Harrogate | 158 | 3 | Light | *3 |
| 4 | Knaresborough | 1508 | OT | Leeds | 1552 | 1557+5 | 22m12c | 2C91 | NT | York | Leeds via Harrogate | 170 | 3 | Light | *4 |
| 5 | Leeds | 1611 | OT | Derby | 1726 | 1729+3 | 75m05c | 1V64 | XC | Edinburgh | Plymouth (truncated at Bristol) | 221/220 | 5+4 | Medium | *5 |
| 6 | Derby | 1740 | OT | Nottingham | 1804 | 1805+1 | 16m0c | 1M98 | XC | Cardiff Central | Nottingham | 170 | 3 | Light | |
| ALL | Nottingham | 0941 | 0943+2 | Nottingham | 1804 | 1805+1 | 235m46c |
Notes:
*1: Service normally starts from Liverpool Lime Street, variation to start from Warrington Central 07/05-10/05 maybe relates to ASLEF overtime ban?
*2: Original plan at Grantham was to board the 1042 1D08 Kings Cross to Harrogate via Leeds, but this was truncated to Leeds and then running 20 minutes late, so via York was chosen instead.
*3: Leaving York approaching Skelton junction works including piling were in progress near Water End Road bridge, not sure if they were railway related. Edit: As per 800001's post below, this must be the new overbridge that forms part of the York Central project.
After leaving 2C85 at Knaresborough, it was subsequently terminated short at Harrogate due to a track defect under investigation between Harrogate and Leeds. The service was disrupted during the next few hours but had mostly recovered by the time of leaving Knaresborough.
The line from York to Knaresborough is mostly single track with passing at stations, there are semaphore signals and traditional gated level crossings, although manual token exchange was ended in 2021.
Knaresborough: A very attractive town with many points of interest, the railway viaduct across the Nidd valley being the most obvious (see photos below). Some of the best views of the viaduct can be obtained from the grounds of the partly ruined castle, which adjoins the Bebra gardens (ten minutes from the station). The viaduct is also very impressive seen from below, while walking along Waterside.
There are a number of riverside and woodland walks close by, a short circular walk from High Bridge past Conyngham Hall, across the footbridge and back along the other side of the Nidd gorge is very pleasant, including charming woodland streams and a ruined farm with a mysterious past. Back at High Bridge there is the paid attraction of Mother Shipton’s cave, details available on their website. Longer walks along further parts of the Nidd gorge to the North West look promising although there is no continuous public footpath along the river from Knaresborough and crossing points are well spaced. Boat hire is available from two companies on Waterside.
There are many interesting buildings and local shops, and public toilets are available at the bus station near the castle. Note that public toilets are not available at the station, they seem to have been incorporated into the businesses operating there. Otherwise the station itself is very attractive, well-kept and traditional, with many original features, a short tunnel at one end and the unusual signal box (which is situated in the end part of a row of houses) at the other end (see photos below). There is a stepped subway between the platforms at the signal box end, and also a barrow crossing, currently in use (many have been closed, but in this case the subway is not suitable for wheelchair use etc.).
Overall Knaresborough makes an excellent day out, but given that it was moderately busy even on a weekday in early May, it’s likely that it gets unpleasantly overcrowded at weekends and school holidays. Another minor negative is that the market square is somewhat spoiled by being turned into a car park.
*4: The Knaresborough to Harrogate section of the line still has a somewhat heritage feel but Harrogate to Leeds is much more modern. An oddly convoluted route in the Harrogate area between Starbeck and Pannal seems to be explained by line closures and amalgamation of the remaining sections.
*5: Heading back to Nottingham on Cross Country from Leeds via Derby should have been slightly quicker than changing to the Northern Leeds to Nottingham service at Sheffield or Chesterfield, but involved a (same island) three minute change at Derby to the Crewe to Newark Castle service. However, the XC service was exactly three minutes late at Derby so the connection was missed by a Gnat’s whisker; but, there was an XC service to Nottingham just 11 minutes later as a backup plan.
The XC service from Leeds to Derby was supposed to terminate at Plymouth but was actually to be truncated at Bristol Temple Meads for reasons not explained (maybe the ASLEF overtime ban?); on the plus side it was composed of 5+4 coaches so was relatively civilised even in standard class.
Photo: Knaresborough Railway Viaduct from Waterside
Photo: Knaresborough Railway Viaduct from the castle gardens, class 158 DMU crossing
Photo: Knaresborough Railway Viaduct closeup from below
Photo: Knaresborough Railway Station looking north east towards the tunnel
Photo: Knaresborough Railway Station looking south west, showing the barrow crossing, semaphore signal gantry and signal box (below the gantry).
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