Freight working at Castle Howard Station
Castle Howard Station was closed to passengers in 1930, but the goods yard remained in operation for freight traffic until 2 November 1959, when it, too, became excess to requirements. Perhaps the improvements made to the road system around that time, including the introduction of motorways, made it more attractive to use the flexibility of road transport.
The climb to a peak in the 1920s and the catastrophic drop only ten years later, are illustrated in the following figures which relate to the entire York to Scarborough line:
An interesting point to note regarding the above statistics is the steady growth from 1885 to 1921, however income appears to have been halved in 1931 after the station closures on the line. However, it should be noted that the negative effects of the onset of the Great Depression should be taken into account.
Over the years the goods yard at Castle Howard had been very important to the local community, for sending and receiving goods and produce around the country. In its heyday, the goods yard had also been invaluable to Castle Howard. This was not only for supply of the day-to-day provisions that such a large house needed, but also as a good way to get larger items like furniture and decorations to the house.
A good example of this was the baroque Atlas fountain, which came from the Great Exhibition of 1851 and replaced Vanbrugh’s column in the middle of the South Lawn. The five figures were carved in Portland stone by John Thomas and transported to Castle Howard railway station by steam train, a great achievement considering the size and weight of the fountain. The fountain is still in use today and is still very impressive despite its age.
Castle Howard, Crambeck Coal Depots & Huttons Ambo Sand Sidings
The drawing below was reproduced from official railway company documents dated August 1931, York.
At Castle Howard Station a dock and crane were used to load/unload wagons on a 43 yard standage.
Crambeck had purpose built coal drops and a weighbridge which are still evident today. The largest customer for coal from Crambeck Coal Depot was Castle Howard, not just for heating fuel but also for their own gas producing works that provided lighting for the grand house. We know that coal merchants A. Vause & Sons were still trading from Crambeck Coal Depot up until the 1950s.
Huttons Ambo High Silica Sand siding was situated 961 yards from Crambeck and had a ground frame connected with the Down line, the key to which was kept at Castle Howard Station signal box [NER Appedix to General Rules Volume 2 1922, p.146]. High Silica sand from Hutton Bank 54°5'50"N 0°51'40"W was considered among the best in England for glass making. Although not quite the highest quality of Aylesford sand it was superior to imported Belgium sand. According to the book 'Sands suitable for glass making - 1916' the estimated resource at Hutton Bank was one million tons and it was put on a truck at Huttons Ambo at 3s. 3d. per ton.