Wykeham Station Early 20th Century Courtesy ofwww.forgevalleyrailway.co.uk
Wykeham Station
Wykeham Station sits at the end of a small private road on the Dawnay Estate. The weigh office is visible from the main road as it sits at a lower level down from the old station buildings (Next to the entrance of the caravan site)
The station is currently used as an estate office and living accommodation for a caretaker
Wykeham Station was the only station on the Forge Valley Line not to be adjacent to a level crossing. It was also the only station that had no facilities to handle livestock of any kind.
Forge Valley Railway
The Forge Valley Railway connected Pickering to Scarborough between 1882 and 1950.
In total there were nine stations along the 16 mile route.
They were:
Scarborough
Seamer
Forge Valley
Wykeham
Sawdon
Snainton
Ebberston
Thornton Dale
Pickering
All the stations along the route between Forge Valley and Thornton Dale were built to a uniform design and all exist for various uses today.
This series of caches focuses on the six defunct stations on the Forge Valley Line.(Scarborough, Seamer and Pickering are still active train stations)
Forge Valley Station, and indeed the entire Scarborough - Pickering route, opened on 1st of May 1882. Just 68 years later on 3rd of June 1950 the route and all* the stations between Scarborough and Pickering closed despite strong objections from Pickering councillors.
The track between Seamer and Thornton Dale was lifted in 1952 - 1953.
When the final train to travel along the Forge Valley Line left Scarborough the Scarborough Evening News, reported: (on 9th of June 1950)
"There was an unofficial ceremony on Platform 7 of Scarborough station on Saturday, when a small crowd gathered to watch the departure of the 6.40 and wave goodbye to the 100 villagers aboard."
As the train travelled along the line for the last time the Evening News continued with a description that perfectly captures a true sense of community spirit.
"At the little village stations small crowds of people cheered the train on, workers in the fields waved, motorists at the crossings waved, and everybody in the train waved back."
For more information on the Forge Valley Line visit: Forge Valley Railway
*Thornton Dale station remained open for freight trains to Pickering until the early 60s.
The cache is placed around The Ice House building which dates back to the 18th Century.
The Ice House was a place where ice was once stored. It has an egg shaped chamber underground where the ice was stored. You can still look down into the chamber today but a torch is required!
The ice used was taken from frozen ponds nearby when it had reached a thickness of at least one inch. The top of the chamber would then be sealed up and the passage packed with straw to make it airtight. The ice would solidify and further supplies added as and when the pond refroze. In mild winters sometimes ice would be transported to the ice house along the railway line.
If you walk past the ice house about 50 yards up the path you will see a wooden sign post pointing to Ruston and also Wykeham (the way you have come from.) To the right is a wooded area and the building that you can see is Wykeham Station. To get a better view of it take the path directly in front of you that has no sign post pointing towards it. You will go up a hill and through the trees you will get a great view of the platform and old station building.
The cache itself is a very small plastic tupperware box but still has a log book, pencil and a few small swaps in it.
There is parking available next to the start of the footpath by the church wall. There is also The Downe Arms over teh road where you can enjoy a nice drink if you feel the urge!