Commondale railway station

Commondale
General information
Location	Commondale, Scarborough England
Coordinates	54°28′52″N 0°58′30″W
Grid reference	NZ665100
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Other information
Station code	COM
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway British Rail (North Eastern Region)
Key dates
1882	Opened as Commondale Siding
1891	Renamed Commondale
Passengers
2019/20	2,444
2020/21	434
2021/22	2,446
2022/23	2,294
2023/24	2,224
Services
Preceding station Northern Following station Kildale towards Middlesbrough via Nunthorpe Esk Valley Line Castleton Moor towards Whitby
Location Commondale Location in North Yorkshire, England
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Commondale is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 16 miles 72 chains (27.2 km) south-east of Middlesbrough, serves the village of Commondale, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The North Yorkshire & Cleveland Railway opened an extension line from Battersby to Grosmont in stages between 1858 and 1865. Even though the line through Commondale was opened in April 1861, it would be some years before the North Eastern Railway furnished the remote dale with a station. As the area was populated with small hamlets mostly engaged in agriculture, no station was provided immediately, but a siding was furnished for the Cleveland Fire Brick & Pottery Company (CFBaPC). The CFBaPC attracted a workforce which led to a significant rise in the population, which in turn prompted a station to be built in 1891. Previous to this, a signal box had been installed to control the west facing branch to the brickworks and the junction was used to board passengers with the name of Commondale Siding being used as a station name. Records indicate that in 1885, six years before Commondale was given full official station status, 3,555 passenger tickers were sold totalling a revenue of £99.

Even with the increased population, passenger numbers were low and apart from the freight siding, the station did not handle any goods during its lifetime. It did have several station masters (eight between 1891 and 1954) though they resided at the other station that they had responsibility for (Castleton Moor) from 1930 onwards. The station became the first in the area to become an unstaffed halt; this was effective from 16 January 1950.

The single platform, on the northern side of the line, has a single brick building, in the same style as other buildings in the hamlet, as opposed to stone built buildings at most other places on the line.

Services

Northern Trains Route 5
Esk Valley line
Middlesbrough James Cook University Hospital Marton Gypsy Lane Nunthorpe Great Ayton Battersby Kildale Commondale Castleton Moor Danby Lealholm Glaisdale Egton Grosmont Sleights Ruswarp Whitby

As of the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by four trains per day towards Whitby, and Middlesbrough via Nunthorpe. Most trains continue to Newcastle via Hartlepool. All services are operated by Northern Trains.

Sources

• Bairstow, Martin (2008). Railways around Whitby; volume one (4 ed.). Farsley: Bairstow. ISBN 978-1-871944-34-1.
• Maynard, Peter (2015). North Yorkshire & Cleveland Railway. Northallerton: North Eastern Railway Association. ISBN 978-1-873513-98-9.

External links

• Media related to Commondale railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Train times and station information for Commondale railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Kildale		Northern Trains Esk Valley Line		Castleton Moor