Heavy Freight on the Edge of the Yorkshire Dales:
Class 37, 60, 66s at Hellifield and Skipton
19 and 20 Jan 23

With Northern offering a large number of 50p (and more) tickets - on sale online in a short window but for use over several weeks, I took the easy option of two trips guaranteed not to be on a strike day.

On 19th January I went to Hellifield. A beautiful old station, once a major junction for passengers travelling on the Midland Railway's Anglo Scottish expresses , and now served by passenger trains on the Skipton - Settle - Carlisle line and the old North Western line (NOT LNWR) to Lancaster and Morecambe. Freight cant be guaranteed as most runs 'as required'. I was lucky,, they were running ! Even the second day of a new aggregates traffic from Rylstone Quarry, near Skipton, to Leyland, south of Preston. This involved remarkably running to Blea Moor for the loco to run around.

Although the old Steam Shed is long gone, one of its shed codes, 24H, is remembered in the name of the wonderful and good value cafe on the station. The owner has a museum of memorabilia together with books and other goodies for sale. Well worth a visit!

On 20th I made a slightly longer trip to Skipton, to see if any aggregates trains came off the Rylstone Quarry branch. I was in luck with a full train coming off the branch and one of empties heading up to the quarry. A couple of other heavy trains plus lots of electric trains providing services to and from Bradford and Leeds. A very freequent service too, with the odd trains for Carlisle and Morecambe.

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