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Whitby Weighing Machine House

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Coordinates: 54°28′30″N 0°36′54″W / 54.475°N 0.615°W / 54.475; -0.615
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Whitby Weighing Machine House
Map
General information
StatusDerelict
LocationWhitby, North Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates54°28′30″N 0°36′54″W / 54.475°N 0.615°W / 54.475; -0.615[1]
Ordnance SurveyNZ898098
Openedc. 1835–1836
Closedc. 1845–1847
Design and construction
EngineerJohn Bolton
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureWeighing Machine House at NGR NZ 8985 0981
Designated7 August 1990
Reference no.1239953

The Whitby Weighing Machine House is a grade II listed structure that is south of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, between the Esk Valley line and the River Esk. The site was also where the original railway line allowed passengers to change into carriages pulled by horses on local roads, acting as the original railway terminus. The building is still largely extant, but mostly derelict, and is one of the few original Whitby and Pickering Railway (W&PR) buildings to still exist.

History

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The weighing machine house (WMH) was built c. 1835,[note 1] before the whole track was completed to Pickering, as it served stone brought down the Esk Valley, providing revenue for the fledgling railway.[3] Contemporary pictures of the building show a view looking north with Whitby Abbey on a hill in the distance. The image has two tracks, with what is believed to be the running track on the left, and the track for the weighing machine on the right adjacent to the building (see external links).[4] The weighing house operative also acted as a toll-keeper for foot traffic - unlike turnpikes which afforded free use to those on foot, the railway would charge for its use and the WMH had gates which were closed against the line to prevent non-payment of tolls.[5]

The weighing machine house was also the point of embarkation and disembarkation of passengers between carriages on rails, and carriages on roads, taking passengers the 0.5-mile (0.8 km) between the weighing house and Whitby town centre (and vice-versa).[6] Stones quarried in Aislaby and Grosmont were railed down the line to the WMH, and weighed before being exported from Whitby by ship; early railways and canals were not actually carriers of goods themselves, they charged others for use of the railway to transport their goods, so a weighing house provided the maximum revenue for the railway company.[7][8] When the first railway companies appeared, their bills through Parliament were treated in the same way as turnpike roads, in that anyone could use the railway line, as long as they paid monies for carriage of their goods to the railway company.[9][note 2]

The weighing machine apparatus was installed underneath the track, and acted a lever which had a counterbalanced weight inside the building.[3] The position of the weighing machine house was just to the south of the Whitby Stone Company's quay, which they used for exporting the stone,[11] and the building itself is believed to be made from stone quarried at Aislaby.[4] The front of the WMH where it faced onto the railway track has a wide, low front window so that the operative could view the load being weighed.[5]

The building was designed by Frederick Swanwick (the engineer who built the W&PR deputising for George Stephenson), but was built by John Bolton, an architect who operated out of Whitby, with the weighing machine apparatus was supplied by Kitchens of Warrington.[12][4] The Weighing Machine House is believed to have fallen out of use between 1845 and 1847 when the Y&NMR converted the line into heavy rail use, with weighing of goods either not necessary, or, an alternative system was used.[13]

The building was grade II listed in 1990, though the citation notes that the building is in a "ruinous state".[14][note 3] The site is publicly accessible from a path that parallels the riverbank starting at the southern end of the Port of Whitby.[16] It is one of the few original W&PR buildings to still exist (the 1836 Grosmont Tunnel being another example); the railway was built largely without station infrastructure as passengers boarded horse-drawn coaches on rails at designated stops, and so traditional stations were not provided. Most other W&PR structures were demolished or replaced when the York & North Midland Railway rebuilt the line in the 1840s/1850s for heavy railway traffic.[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ Sources disagree on the opening date of the Weighing Machine House. Whilst the entire railway to Pickering was opened in May 1836, the section from Whitby to Grosmont was opened in June 1835, although work had started on the railway two years earlier.[2]
  2. ^ The act of 1833 regarding the W&PR states "... and be it further enacted, That all persons shall have free liberty to pass along and upon and to use and employ the said railway with carriages properly constructed as by this Act directed, upon payment of such rates and tolls as shall be demanded by the said company..."[10]
  3. ^ The Historic England citation also states that the building was built for the Scarborough and Whitby Railway Company in 1835. The Scarborough and Whitby Railway did not pass the site, leaving Whitby Town railway station at Bog Hall Junction (further north) and the company was not incorporated until 1871.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Georeferenced Maps - Map images - National Library of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  2. ^ Body, Geoffrey (1985). Railways of the Eastern Region. Wellingborough: P. Stephens. p. 175. ISBN 0-8505-9712-9.
  3. ^ a b White 2007, p. 329.
  4. ^ a b c Kain 2024, p. 372.
  5. ^ a b Kain 2024, p. 373.
  6. ^ Whitworth, Alan (1998). Esk Valley Railway: a travellers' guide ; a description of the history and topography of the line between Whitby and Middlesbrough. Barnsley: Wharncliffe Books. pp. 19–20. ISBN 1871647495.
  7. ^ White 2007, pp. 331–332.
  8. ^ Whitworth, Alan (1998). Esk Valley Railway: a travellers' guide ; a description of the history and topography of the line between Whitby and Middlesbrough. Barnsley: Wharncliffe Books. p. 20. ISBN 1871647495.
  9. ^ Kain 2024, p. 374.
  10. ^ "An Act for making a railway from Whitby to Pickering in the North Riding County of York" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. Section CX (110). 6 May 1833. p. 705 (53). Retrieved 18 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ White 2007, pp. 332–333.
  12. ^ White 2007, p. 332.
  13. ^ White 2007, p. 334.
  14. ^ Historic England. "Weighing Machine House at NGR NZ 8985 0981 (Grade II) (1239953)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  15. ^ Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the railway companies of Great Britain. Kibworth Beauchamp: Matador. p. 488. ISBN 9781785893537.
  16. ^ Hoole, K. (1984). Forgotten railways, North-East England. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 60. ISBN 0-9465-3710-0.
  17. ^ Benham, Philip (2008). An illustrated history of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Hersham: OPC. p. 8. ISBN 9780860936220.

Sources

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  • Kain, Peter (June 2024). "From the dawn of public railways: the Whitby Weighing Machine House". Backtrack. Vol. 38, no. 6. Easingwold: Pendragon Publishing. ISSN 0955-5382. OCLC 156854685.
  • White, Andrew (2007). "An early railway building: the Weighing Machine House, Whitby". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 79. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society. ISSN 0084-4276.
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