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Wensleydale Railway has launched a new fundraising appeal as part of its plans to restore passenger train services to Redmire.
The section of line between Leyburn and Redmire has been closed to the public since 2020 due to the deteriorating condition of the track and infrastructure on this section.
Officials say some of the track is life-expired and dates back to before the First World War.
The railway raised over £50,000 from a fundraising appeal in 2022.
The line from Leyburn to Redmire was then surveyed, all defects noted, and an action plan produced to bring the line back up to passenger standards again.
Work started west of Leyburn in 2023, changing sleepers, removing trees and sorting out earthworks and drainage.
This section of the line is in a deep cutting and over the years the earth on the north side has gradually drifted down onto the track.
This has all had to be dug out and shored up to prevent recurrence.
Engineers say the drainage here is very poor with around 260m of concrete drainage channel having to be dug out to remove damaged pipes containing asbestos.
The focus of this new appeal is on a 0.75-mile section of track close to Wensley Station that needs to be slewed away from the embankment edge.
The earthworks which carried the railway along the foot of the cliffs below Leyburn Shawl have eroded and material fallen into the adjacent fields.
Some sleeper ends have been left exposed and unsupported. Wensley is approximately halfway between Leyburn and Redmire.
The track section has been surveyed by a civil engineer and plans made to slew the track away from the embankment edge onto what was once part of the quarry sidings.
Wensleydale Railway says the work will require around 1,000 tons of ballast (at a cost of around £25,000), the hire of machinery and qualified operators, works trains and the railway’s operating staff, plus hiring a tamping unit (this alone will cost around £10,000) and the efforts of the railway’s volunteer infrastructure teams.
There is also a short section of track just east of Wensley crossing which needs attention and that should allow the railway to reach Wensley. The next work phase will focus on the line to the west, in particular Preston Bank as it runs downhill towards Redmire Station.
Richard Leathley, chairman of the Wensleydale Railway Association (Trust) Limited, said: “The Leyburn to Redmire section of our railway has some of the finest scenery and views in the Yorkshire Dales and we’re committed to re-opening this part of our line.
“Our goal is to restore passenger services to Redmire station by September 2025. This will coincide with the 200th anniversary celebrations of the world’s first passenger service on the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825.”
Nick Keegan, fundraising and marketing manager at Wensleydale Railway, said: “We have made great progress with our plans to restore passenger services to Redmire. However, the work is challenging, time-consuming and costly.
“Funds raised from this appeal will allow us to tackle a problematic section of trackwork that is impeding progress and bring us significantly closer to our goal of re-opening services to Redmire by 2025.
“We need your help and I urge people to support us.”
Donations can be made online at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/redmirenextsteps
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