Nidd Valley Light Railway
The corporation had obtained powers to build another reservoir at Scar House in 1913, and in 1920 decided to proceed, using direct labour rather than a contractor.The origins for a railway in the upper Nidd Valley can be traced back to 1887–88, when Bradford Corporation began to investigate the valley as a source for the public water supply, following the discovery that Leeds Corporation had obtained rights to the waters of the River Burn, a tributary of the River Ure, above Masham.The Bradford Corporation Water Act 1890 was obtained on 14 August 1890, authorising the construction of four dams, but in the meantime, Binnie had moved on to work for London County Council as their Chief Engineer, and was replaced by James Watson of Dundee.A second Act of Parliament was obtained on 27 June 1892, by which time the four reservoirs were Angram, Haden Carr, High Woodale and Gouthwaite.Bradford Corporation initially agreed to invest £2,000, by buying shares in the light railway, but following meetings between them, the newly formed Nidd Valley Light Railway Company, Power & Traction, and Henry Jackson the nominated contractor, the Company decided not to proceed with the project, and Bradford withdrew their offer to buy shares.In May 1904, the Board of Trade agreed to a change to standard gauge, and borrowing powers were increased to £66,000 in 1908, because of the extra costs of building the wider formation.Best began extending the line towards Pateley Bridge, and by 13 July 1904, it had reached a level crossing at Sykes Bank, 0.5 miles (0.8 km) below Lofthouse, and work had commenced at several other sites.On that date, a party of 150 members of Bradford City Council, with invited guests, arrived by train at Pateley Bridge, and were transported to Gouthwaite Dam in carriages.The party then proceeded to Sykes Bank, where a train was waiting, which consisted of 15 wagons fitted with makeshift seats, and two locomotives, one of which was Holme and King's Xit and the other was Best's Angram.[10] At the Angram Dam site, a village for the workers was built, and the railway terminated in several sidings, which included a locomotive shed.Another incline, of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, ascended the far side of the valley, giving access to Nidd sluice and lodge.All twelve vehicles arrived at Pateley Bridge, with one engine in steam, and were driven to the exchange sidings by Mr McCallum, who worked for Best & Sons.An official opening took place on 11 September, when a train consisting of three carriages and the Corporation saloon were hauled by Holdsworth from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse, with stops at Wath and Gouthwaite reservoir.[17] Following discussions with the Board of Trade in 1906, the Corporation and the North Eastern Railway had obtained permission for three passenger trains per week to pass over the goods yard and sidings at Pateley Bridge, so that excursions could continue up to Lofthouse between June and September only.[18] In order to avoid confusion for parcels traffic, Lofthouse station became Lofthouse-in-Nidderdale on 12 December 1907, and Wath became Wath-in-Nidderdale in February 1908 for similar reasons.For a contract worth £365,493, and lasting fourteen years, it had overrun by just £7,267, which included the cost of some large granite rocks, located near the dam for decoration.[20] Bradford Corporation had already obtained an Act in 1913, allowing them to abandon their plans for a reservoir at High Woodale, and instead to build a much larger one at Scar House.Scar village was built between 1920 and 1921, consisting of ten hostels for a total of 640 men, a school, canteen, recreation room, concert hall, mission church and some bungalows.This included easing the alignment on many of the curves, the addition of loops near Lofthouse and at Woodale, just below the Scar House site, and the construction of a 180-yard (160 m) tunnel near Goyden Pot, which was used by up trains only.Stone was extracted for remedial work, caused by wind and wave erosion of the southern bank of the reservoir near the dam.An official visit by officers of the corporation on 5 June 1925 used motor transport to reach Scar House, but the party then made the zig-zag railway journey to cross the valley and inspect the steam generating plant, which was on the far side.They ascended the incline to Carle Fell Quarry, sitting in wagons fitted with transverse seats, and having inspected the new workings, descended again, a scene which was officially recorded by a photographer.A new Scar House was built, at the foot of the incline from Carle Fell Quarry, which provided a home for the reservoir keeper, and a boardroom for official visits.By 1936, with construction completed, the railway was lifted, and a sale was held at Pateley Bridge on 1 March 1937, where everything was sold as a single lot.Another road, open to the public on foot, follows the trackbed along the southern edge of Scar House Reservoir, to reach Angram dam.
North YorkshirePateley BridgeLofthouseTrack gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) 3 ft (914 mm)light railwayNidderdaleWest Riding of YorkshireAngram ReservoirMetropolitan RailwayScar Houserailmotorsteam navviesRiver BurnRiver UreMashamAlexander BinnieAlexander Henry GreengeologistOxfordDundeeAct of ParliamentAngramGouthwaiteNidd AqueductNidd Valley RailwayGreenwood and BatleyLight Railway CommissionersNorth Eastern RailwaytransshippingWinston ChurchillPresident of the Board of TradeScar House ReservoirRiver NiddLofthouse-in-NidderdaleRamsgillGouthwaite ReservoirWath-in-NidderdaleLondon North Eastern Rymixed gaugeinclineNorth Eastern Railway'sPateley Bridge railway stationlevel crossingTyer's Electric Train TabletHurst NelsonMotherwellBeyer Peacockside tank locomotivescondensing equipmentMidland RailwayHudswell Clarkehydro-electricGoyden PotSimplexMaryport and Carlisle RailwayGreat Western RailwayLondon and North Eastern Railwaysaddle tanksManning WardleCourtauldsCoventryW G BagnallLeighton ReservoirAndrew BarclayBoltonKinlochlevenPenicuikBlack HawthornWest AucklandBallachulishTalla WaterworksArmstrong WhitworthLaisterdykeGretna factoryMinistry of MunitionsLadybower ReservoirEbbw Vale SteelworksEmbsay and Bolton Abbey Steam RailwayLondon TransportRosyth DockyardROF ChorleyDunston-on-TynePeckett and SonsMillomAvonside Engine CompanySouthampton New DocksCoatbridgeAnthony GadieKerr StuartNidderdale WayBouthwaiteYorkshire WaterJennings, BernardEast Coast Main LineMidland Main LineCross Country RouteHallam LineHope Valley lineLeeds–Morecambe lineDoncaster–Lincoln lineNorthallerton–Eaglescliffe lineSheffield–Lincoln lineSettle–Carlisle lineAiredale lineAskern branch lineBarton lineCalder Valley lineDearne Valley lineEsk Valley lineHarrogate lineHuddersfield lineHull–ScarboroughLeeds–Bradford linesLeeds–Northallerton railwayPenistone LinePontefract lineSelby DiversionSelby LineSouth Humberside Main LineStocksbridge RailwaySwinton–DoncasterWakefield lineWharfedale lineYork–Scarborough