Northallerton

[limitofshunt]

Hi all,

I passed north through Northallerton today and noticed the sidings on the up side which I hadn't noticed previously. Were these former platforms? There looks to be a platform remaining on one side. Were these part of a branch anywhere?

Thanks

Jon

[PinzaC55]

They were a coal depot and the platform was a cattle dock/loading dock and if memory serves me correctly there was a turntable behind Northallerton signalbox? In latter years they have been used to stable Tampers.
In my 1978 photo here http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3343784941/ you can see the dock and on the left the track from the Down Loop platform which was destroyed in the 1979 HST derailment.

[cambois]

Jon

In answer to your query about a brach to somewhere the answer is definitly No. The buffere were pretty much where they have always been. The coal cells were in use in the late 70s/early 80s, but I never saw any other traffic there at this time. Pinza's photo shows it well with coal hoppers on the drops.

Cambois

[PinzaC55]

BTW if you can get a copy of the Oakwood Press book "The Wensleydale Branch" it has a section from an old OS map inside and the coal cells were 14 cells long with tree tracks on top. The turntable was roughly where Northallerton signalbox was in later years.
Here's another one of mine from the good old days http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3614375678/

[CVR1865]

PinzaC55
Those are some very evocative pictures (cringe alert) they remind me of my child hood, I think everything had that tinge to it didn't it.
Thanks.
Simon

[PinzaC55]

Thanks CVR I was only 19 when I took those shots "sob".
It's funny that I took very few photos at Northallerton and Thirsk (especially Thirsk) but there was a reason - they both had a diabolical train service! There was something like a TWO HOUR gap between trains and in the case of Thirsk you had the long walk to the town centre.
I can remember being at Northallerton in 1980 and a northbound Deltic hauled train made a signal stop in the platform and I thought my luck was in!
Darlington on Sunday was nearly as bad- about 16.00 there a LONG gap between trains but at least you had the buffet with Space Invaders

Here's Boroughbridge Road signalbox, Northallerton in 1978 http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3389921209/

[mr B]

funny lot at Northallerton , did'nt like spotters on the station , shed staff was also weired , so it was often a couple of hours at Croft Spa.

mr b