Oaken Bank railway

The Oaken Bank Railway is a narrow-gauge (nominally 2-foot) railway based in the north of England, serving a wide variety of industries etc. The railway is connected to other similar lines in the area. The railway grew from a tramroad built between Crygg pit and Marshgate.

The Oaken Bank Railway is so-called after the ‘Oaken Bank’, a geological feature that provides a straight and level path for a large part of the railway, thought to be the result of glacial action after the last ice age. The OBR is now the largest and busiest of the railways hereabouts, and has an interesting variety of locomotives and rolling stock – some owned by the railway company itself, some not. Other companies and industries exercise running powers over the OBR.

West Riding Lines

Once the major railway in the area, the WRL was a victim of the depression years, and is currently closed, with much of the track raised. There are however plans to resurrect some of the railway, and to reinstate the link to the OBR. Time will tell.