Old Rail Line (Short Multi)
Note: the posted coordinates are for the start of a footpath which takes you to the cache location
This offset multi cache, a camo-taped 35mm film canister, is hidden along this short stretch of trackbed of the old Ilkley-Skipton rail line.
The footpath is a popular dog-walker route, so be prepared to employ suitable stealth tactics during your search, retrieve and replace activities!
To reach the cache: park at the old rail bridge on Back Beck Lane (see GC8VHAT Old Rail Bridge (Short multi) for access info) and look at the two blue plaques nearby on the east side wall of the bridge.
From the blue plaques, you will note that:
1. The bridge was completed in 188A
2. Two skilful trades are mentioned on the larger plaque. The number of 'E's in these two words = B
3. On the smaller plaque the alphanumeric (A=1 B=2 C=3 etc) value of the most common letter in the name of the person who unveiled the plaque = C
4. On the larger plaque, the total number of curved words = D
The cache is hidden at:
N 53 56.A(C+D)(B+C) W 1 53.(C-1)(D-1)B
Between Ilkley and Skipton, there were 3 viaducts, 1 tunnel, 19 public road or canal bridges, 45 occupation bridges and numerous culverts together with some 1,500,000 cubic yards of cutting. For such a relatively short stretch of line (17.7 km) this is an impressive amount of engineering!
A branch line diverged from the line at Embsay Junction striking out into the Dales and terminating in Grassington - or more precisely, Threshfield. This branch, promoted by the Yorkshire Dales Railway Company, opened in July 1902 and served several small villages together with Spencer’s quarry and limeworks at Swinden, near Cracoe.
Grassington lost its passenger service in September 1930 but was served by goods and holiday excursion traffic for many years afterwards. The final passenger-carrying train was in August 1969.
The Skipton to Ilkley route was closed in 1965 as part of the cuts under the infamous Beeching Axe. Passenger services were withdrawn on 22 March and the remaining through goods services ended on 5 July.
It eventually closed to all traffic east of Embsay Junction in January 1966 (though access to the Haw Bank quarry sidings at Embsay station survived until 1969).
The last section west of there was retained as part of the freight-only branch line from Skipton to Swinden Quarry (the old Yorkshire Dales Railway) and remains in operation.
Since its closure a 6 km stretch of the disused railway line has been restored and reopened as the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.
The rest of the old route beyond Bolton Abbey to the south is disused but mostly intact as far as the outskirts of Addingham, but the former station there was demolished, levelled and the site redeveloped for housing.
Much of the trackbed east of Addingham itself, has also been redeveloped or returned to agricultural use, with little trace remaining of the line's course through the western part of Ilkley – as the old embankments, bridges and viaducts were demolished in 1972–73.
As of 2015 there were plans to extend the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway back to Addingham to a replica LMS-style station on the embankment near the original station site, on a rebuilt bridge abutment. Further progress on this is not known.