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North East England during the steam era. We are on a visit to North Yorkshire on what is now the Esk valley line, but back in 1921 was the N.E.R. Whitby branch. A W Class 4-6-2T is hauling the morning train to York via Grosmont, Pickering, Rillington Junction and Malton. A set of arc roof 49ft carriages makes up the train.
Despite being roughly halfway between Whitby and Ruswarp both the Whitby Gas Company works and Batts Iron Foundry are rather remote, with no road access apparent to either of them. Today, Water Lane accesses the former site of the foundry but the 1911 OS 25 inch does not show any road past Garden House, several hundred metres to the southwest. The 1948 1:25,000 map also shows no road or track to the site. There were a couple of footpaths and steps, such as Fitts Steps to the foundry from (very much) higher ground near Prospect Hill. Today, various sheds and huts on the site of the gasworks appear to only have access from the water by slipways. Just how the gas works employees made their way to and from the works is not clear to me. There might be a narrow footpath along the riverbank on the 1911 OS 25 inch map which emerges at the vicinity of Bog Hall SB. Today, if there is a trackway it is inside the railway boundary fence and is difficult to make out, if it is there at all, The northern end would seem to have to negotiate access through a private boatyard.
In the background is the magnificent Larpool viaduct, which carries the Scarborough to Saltburn line. Whitby Town station was connected to it by a steeply graded line between Whitby Bog Hall and Prospect Hill junctions, though passengers had to be carried for several hundred metres further north to Whitby West Cliff station before reversing for Scarborough.