Grosmont railway station: History of Yorkshire heritage station that runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby and where Heartbeat was filmed

Grosmont station is operated by the North York Moors Railway (NYMR) and connects both Middlesbrough and Whitby to the NYMR with the Esk Valley Line.

The engine sheds where the steam and diesel locomotives are maintained and preserved are located at the station.

Grosmont station has appeared in the ITV series Heartbeat on many occasions.

History of Grosmont railway station

The Whitby and Pickering Railway opened between Whitby and Grosmont in 1835 and was a horse-drawn line.

The name of the station was Tunnel at the time, named after the tunnel needed to pass from Grosmont in the direction of Beckhole.

Grosmont railway was sold to George Hudson’s York and North Midland Railway in 1845 and the line was also converted from single into a double track steam-powered railway. The first steam engine was introduced at Whitby in July 1847.

The tunnel and bridge were widened at Grosmont and a G.T. Andrews designed railway station was also built, creating Grosmont’s first official railway station.

York and North Midland Railway was one of the three railway companies that united to form the North Eastern Railway in 1854.

The station was turned into a junction in 1865, after a deviation line on the route to Pickering, which was built in order to avoid the cable-worked incline at Beckhole. A new connection was also made from Castleton (now Castleton Moor) to Grosmont, which now operates as part of the Esk Valley Line.

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From 1900 to 1924, iron and ore removal led to the whole area under the station being mined, using the pillar and stall method.

The North Eastern Railway bought the ironstone under the station house and the river bridge, and made preparations to deal with subsidence somewhere else.

The North Eastern Railway built a short terrace of cottages and in later years, these were used by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to house volunteers, but were demolished in 1989, to allow extensions to the running shed and workshops.

The North Eastern Railway camping coaches were located here from 1959 to 1964.

The branch line between Grosmont and Malton through Pickering was closed on March 8, 1965, under the Beeching Axe. It was later reopened by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway as a heritage railway on April 22, 1973, and currently operates between Grosmont and Pickering, with services also extending to Whitby.