Wondering And Wandering At Whitby 5

The Perilous Descent

Below West Cliff station site is, surprise surprise, Whitby's West Cliff and at the foot thereof is a splendid beach with golden sands and gently lapping surf, ideal for warm water bathing. 

Actually it's on the North Sea and the surf is often wild and threatening.

If you are really lucky the briney has warmed up just above absolute zero by the end of the school summer holidays. But a quick dip is, as they say in Skeggy, so bracing!

Also at the foot of the cliff is a row of delightfully painted beach huts.

If you get a relative to add your name to the waiting list the day you are conceived, you might take up occupancy at the fag end of your retirement!

But therein lies a snag.

There is no road at the beach or beach huts, only steep paths down. The council reputedly employed a small team of Huskies to refresh those who wilted dramatically as they climbed back up after a beach roasting or maybe rusting!

Aware of this, the Council installed a lift in the 1930s.

The lift shaft leads vertically down through the bowels of the earth and, upon exit from the lift itself, there is a tunnel ...

... which exits on the prom at the eastern end of beach hut alley.

Except that it doesn't any more. In 2022 the lift was closed "temporarily" due to "water ingress" and the need for technical repairs.

It has not yet reopened.

But have no fear, dear holiday maker. The Council has arranged for a free bus to take you on the not-so-perilous descent.

There is a bit of problem with this replacement service.

IT IS A CLOSELY GUARDED STATE SECRET.

fbb thinks that it leaves from just outside the cabin at the top ...

... whence it travels east to near the famous whalebone arch ...

... then descends the hill to turn at the Whitby Pavilion.

Here is the grand edifice seen from the beach.

From here it is a short walk to the first of the beach huts and a much longer walk to the most westerly.

Those who have paid a fat wedge in annual rental are far from happy.

In fact most residents and regular visitors are even further from happy.

As well as being a secret with no publicity, no bus stop signs and a poor frequency, it appears that the secret bus is also unreliable. Nippy Taxis, which runs it, does not admit to its existence anywhere on line, on poster or on paper.

The council is both surprised and disappointed that a service which is not adverised and runs unreliably does not carry many passemgers; so they are having a review.

They are having a public consultation!

We all know what that means. The Council will ignore those who responded to the "consultation" and will withdraw the bus - or maybe make it even less frequent so even less people use it.

But the council says, defensibly, that repairing the lift could cost £1 million. Or, maybe, it could cost 50p. And whatever the cost, there is a suspicion that its problems result from poor maintenace in the past.

Or there may be another answer. As Whitby and Scarborough are part of one mega council., maybe the politicians have decided to post "closed" notices on all roads leading to Whitby with the addendum of a "go to Scarborough instead" sign.

And Scarborough used to have FIVE!

But back to Whitby.

So successful is the publicity for the lift replacemnt bus that one resident posted a message on something on-line to say this.

Of course there isn't a lift replacement bus - the only bus on the West Cliff is th Open Top Tour.

Did you know (fbb didn't) that the Whitby Tour used to be operated by Veolia?

 Wonder what happened to them?

The open topper does stop at the cabin, but doesn't  descend anywhere near the beach!

The "crackpot" Whitby railway item is postponed until tomorrow due to pressure of "too much to do at once". It's fellowship meetings this weekend.

 Next East Midland Red blog : Friday 1 August 

Wondering And Wandering At Whitby 4

From Cliff Top To River Bank

The challenge, then, was to get a train which might have started its run in Middlesbrough to the north, then from West Cliff station (YELLOW blob) down a steep hill into Whitby ("Town") station (BLUE ditto) on the banks of he River Esk.

Having done that, there might be a need to get said train back up the hill and across the River Esk to continue southbound to Scarborough. And in case you wondered, there were trains that did just that ...

... but usually the "services" ran in two halves. In the above extract, the 0910 from Whitby starts at "Town" and runs via West Cliff to Middlesbrough. But look at the 0812 from Scarborough which runs to Whitby but via West Cliff.

Hmmm?

The line to Scarborough crossed the Esk Valley on the spectacular Larpool viaduct ...

... now a spectacular footpath ...

... seen above looking north.

Not far away is the equally exciting A171 viaduct offering a great improvement to through traffic ...

... compared with the route through town!

Herewith a geographical reminder ...

... followed by a look at the traditional route via Town Bridge.

It's swingin' man ...

... and narrow!

Oh, yes; the trains; fbb almost forgot; wallowing in the lyrical joys of Whitby's various bridges!

The old OS map. from Nick Catford's closed stations site ...

... shows the line of route

It is possible, just, to follow the line today, 

Leaving the station site (Station Avenue) there is one abutment on Stokesby Road ...

... where the line went over; but you have to be alert to spot it!

Next the line crosses over Stokesby Vale ...

... via more of a culvert than a bridge!

It is here, if you can spot the sign in the undergrowth ...

... where you can join the "Cinder Track" (its official name) which will take you across the Larpool Viaduct from the north. The approach is somewhat spooky!

The track, and thus the footpath, crosses under Prospect Hill (A171) ...

... which gave its name to the railway Junction below.

Here you forked left to cross the viaduct and went straight on to descend to the banks of the Esk and so to "Town" station. The picture below is looking back to that road bridge. The line to the "Town" is descending rapidly past (under!) the signal box, whilst the Larpool Viaduct tracks remain level on the right.

Note the two houses on the road bridge. Well, there they are today ...

... almost unchanged!

To conclude this steep hill blog, here is a simulation (yes, another one!) of a journey by diesel unit from Whitby "Town" to West Hill.

Of course, all of this is now closed leaving just the current line along the river bank. But what might have been?

Tune in tomorrow for a potentially crackpot railway idea and how Whitby used to give you a real lift!

 Next Whitby blog : Thurs 31 July 

An Aside At Axminster 2

And So, Off To The Pub

The Ale Way is a pub created in the former Station Master's house at Axminster.

In fine weather a few chairs and tables are available outside ...

... with a view of happenings on the platforms. Under normal circumstances those happenings soon lose their frisson of excitement as, once every hour, a Class 159 diesel from Waterloo to Exeter ...

... crosses with a class 159 from Exeter to Waterloo. And that, East Devon trainspotters, is all you get. Occasionally, when the GWR main line was closed, you did get an HST; but fbb does not think the new Hitachi trains are authorised for that diversion.

On the ground floor of the former Station Master's residence is the bar ...

... and one other small room. All the rooms are small; hardly luxurious for the man in charge of a busy station! In an upstairs back room is a map, an enlargement of an Ordnance Survey old map.

It shows very clearly the branch line from Seaton Junction to Seaton ...

... but of the former branch to Lyme Regis, just outside the window, there was no cartographic sign.

fbb does not know whether these maps belong to the pub or to the Model Railway group. He guesses the former as they just fit a whole wall!

But, for fbb, the highlight of the pub's exhibition delights was another of the upstairs rooms, equipped with a large TV screen. It was along a corridor past the "usual offices".

The third upstairs room was quaint and, by the way, the stairs were steep. Your blogger found his ascent reasonably easy, but the downwards trend was tricky!

The end room was showing a "simulation".

We were to watch a computer recreation of a journey from Axminster to Lyme Regis in real time. fbb is not at all familiar with how you go about creating a railway journey simulation, but this one was really very good indeed. OK, the trees suffer from a dash of similarity at times and occasionally bits of scenery just flick into place; but otherwise it's very impressive.

Mind you, fbb has never ridden the Lyme Regis branch so he was easily pleased!

The train would have left from a bay platform on the north side of Axminster station. Please note the old footbridge, the signal box and the massive water tower all now confined to history.

The branch curves round past the Axminster carpets factory ...

... then "flys over" the main line.

Abbey Gate is where the line crosses the road, a familiar route for the fbbs, between Axminster and Seaton.

Next comes an overbridge at Trill.

While crossing open country, the simulation cuts to a few historic pictures of the real railway. This Adams Tank is a model and is distorted ...

... because fbb has straightened up the screen which was set diagonally to his seat. Sorry to distort your creation, Mr Adams.

The good news is that the video of the simulation is available on YouTube. Well worth a leisurely look at the moving pictures..

And here comes Combpyne, the only intermediate stop on the branch.

And next is a still of the real station, cut in to the simulation.

Look at the building partly hidden by the station sign. Here it is today ...

.. with that former booking office now part of a superb private house. Nothing else remains, but there wasn't very much to remain!

The simulation passes Uplyme, where, oddly, there was never a station.

But, before that, the best bit isn't the best bit!

The wonderful Cannington Viaduct, still standing ...

... doesn't look too spectacular at track level. 

But the simulation does turn to recreate the view east and west. The road below the arches leads down the hill from the Seaton to Axminster Road ...

... a route often travelled by fbb as he exhibits the lovely viaduct to visitors at his mansions. Above we see the buildings on the simulation and below, the reality.

So not quite the same - but maybe the structures have changed a touch since the branch closed.

But soon we arrive at Lyme Regis's horribly inconvenient station over half a heavy breathing mile to climb back above the town centre.

There is nothing obvious left of the station today ...

... but our train pulls into the platform and our delightful simulated journey is complete.

Nice bus!

Oh, how fbb wishes one or other of his doting relatives had taken him for a ride. What is worse,  he never rode a train all the way to Seaton, his journeys went only as far as Colyton!

  Next Whitby blog : Weds 30 July