Yorkshire Wolds Railway Grand Opening!

[GrimsbyPacer]

http://www.yorkshirewoldsrailway.org.uk/blog/2015/05/grand-opening/

Our Grand Opening will be on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 of May 2015. An opening ceremony will take place on Monday 25 May at 11am. This will be your first opportunity to visit East Yorkshire’s only Heritage Railway Project.
Our address is Fimber Halt, Beverley Road, Fimber, YO25 3HG, and you can view a map here
The site will be open from 10-4.

The Yorkshire Wolds Railway are having a 'Grand Opening' event on Sunday and Monday this week.

The project was formed just under 7 years ago and they were just reported to have laid 100 metres of track by BBC Radio Humberside and BBC Look North (Hull one) last night.

The line is the former Malton Dodger service from Driffield to Malton in North Yorkshire, not the high profile Beverley to York campaign.
Fimber is only station in use so far.

On the local news they looked to have quite a bit of rolling stock including red & cream coaches, and most prominently a diesel shunter.

It's not far from The North York Moors line so might be worth a visit if on the way there. Wikipedia has no page so I linked the railways page.

 

[markindurham]

I called in briefly last summer. Looks to have great potential; I wish them well

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Fimber is only station in use so far.

Is that station on the same station site as the former Sledmere and Fimber station that closed in 1950?

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Is that station on the same station site as the former Sledmere and Fimber station that closed in 1950?

I can confirm that it is not the same site as Sledmere and Fimber.
That was at the crossroads 400ish yards north of Fimber's current site.
The new station is the first at this location.
Looking at old Ordinance Survey Map it also looks like rail and road have swapped sides!

I'm just glad the North Wolds (as it was formerly called) has a steam railway and hope it'll become really nice like Lincolnshire Wolds Railway.
Can't be many counties with no heritage railways nearby now?
I'm attaching old map below. The first post now has a useful link to the current location thanks to yorkie.

 

[66Yorks]

Does anyone know the length of line that has been reinstated?

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Does anyone know the length of line that has been reinstated?

Yes, BBC said 100 metres of track. I know it's not much but train driving's now possible.
Probably 15-20 miles left to do..

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is it hoped to progress future line extensions in the direction of Wetwang...or will these works be in the opposite direction?

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Is it hoped to progress future line extensions in the direction of Wetwang...or will these works be in the opposite direction?

The railway is planning a visitor centre first. Then lay the track towards Wetwang when funds become available. The planning permission has already been given for the railway by ''East Riding'' of Yorkshire council for most of the the route in that council area.

 

[AM9]

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Is it hoped to progress future line extensions in the direction of Wetwang...or will these works be in the opposite direction?

There's actually a place called 'Wetwang'?

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

​

There's actually a place called 'Wetwang'?

Yes there is. On BBC Look North local news, Paul Hudson the main weatherman is the mayor of Wetwang and it featured on the weather map for a few years instead of Driffield.

Also it famously had paper mashier police officers placed around the village in hope of stopping speeders.
It's one of the few real places that existed in the Lord of the Rings book world by Tolkien.

I imagine the railway would find that location more popular than Fimber as Malton people have the North York Moors nearby.

 

[Ploughman]

Working towards Wetwang from the current site means less problems in getting approval for Level Crossings.
If they went towards Fimber then 2 LCs within a couple of hundred yards would be required with a roundabout in the vicinity as well.

 

[Pinza-C55]

Is it hoped to progress future line extensions in the direction of Wetwang...or will these works be in the opposite direction?

My understanding is that the trackbed and Wetwang station are owned by the local landowner who is sympathetic to the railway. Reinstating the line as far as Gartonslack Crossing to the east would be very simple and would require the reinstatement of two very minor level crossings at Wetwang Green Lane and Wetwang Station, both of which are little more than farm tracks.
The site of Sledmere and Fimber station is owned by the local authority and used as a picnic area. To access the station would mean reinstating Fimber Gates crossing just east of the current site and going north of S&F would mean crossing the B1251. This would make it possible to relay the line to Burdale station but any progress north of there would be impossible because of Burdale Tunnel which has partially collapsed.
This was Sledmere & Fimber station when I visited it in 1978


Sledmere & Fimber {3} 25,2.78 par PinzaC55, on ipernity
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Working towards Wetwang from the current site means less problems in getting approval for Level Crossings.
If they went towards Fimber then 2 LCs within a couple of hundred yards would be required with a roundabout in the vicinity as well.

I believe that is still the long term aim of the YWR. As far as I know the Rother Valley Railway have been given planning permission to rebuild the missing bit of the K&ESR including 3 full barrier level crossings, one over a B road and one over the A21 Robertsbridge Bypass which by coincidence also has a roundabout very close to the planned crossing.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Yes there is. On BBC Look North local news, Paul Hudson the main weatherman is the mayor of Wetwang and it featured on the weather map for a few years instead of Driffield.

Also it famously had paper mashier police officers placed around the village in hope of stopping speeders.
It's one of the few real places that existed in the Lord of the Rings book world by Tolkien.

I imagine the railway would find that location more popular than Fimber as Malton people have the North York Moors nearby.

Fimber has Sledmere Hall but the main appeal of Wetwang is the award winning Harpers Chip Shop. Chip Shops are vital to rebuilding any railway.

 

[alexl92]

Wow, I'd totally forgotten about this project, thank you for bringing it back to mind!

This area is close to my heart as I used to travel through on the way to Bridlington multiple times per year... haven't been for 3 or 4 years though. I'll add it to my list of railways to visit! Thrilled that they're doing this.

 

[crispy1978]

I've spotted this a few times over the years by the side of the road and always wondered what it was; but never thought about asking.

Always thought it looked a bit peculiar as its only a very short piece of track and has no obvious 'purpose' but this thread has sort of solved that.

Hopefully the line will extend over time.

 

[IanXC]

Having visited at the weekend I was pleasantly surprised by the set up. Very professional (temporary) visitor centre displays detailing the history of the line and project.

I'm lead to believe there were circa 500 visitors during the Sunday and Monday - which must bode well given the sheer volume of traffic to the coast passing at relatively close proximity. The site will he open every Sunday across the summer.

The locomotive (which is used for cab rides) was named "Sir Tatton Sykes" on the Monday, after the landowner at nearby Sledmere House. Given that is a significant tourist attraction in the immediate area the naming would seem to be a great choice!