The railway between Garsdale and Hawes is generally known as the Hawes Branch. It was the only branch line of the Midland Railway Company’s famous Settle and Carlisle Railway. When Garsdale Railway station first opened to passenger traffic in 1876 it was known as ‘Hawes Junction’ station in anticipation of the launch of railway services to Hawes in 1878. In 1900 the name changed to Hawes Junction and Garsdale and became simply Garsdale, as we know it today, in 1932.
The Hawes Branch opened for goods traffic on 1st August 1878, with passenger services commencing a few months later on 1st October 1878.
At Hawes, the line formed an end-on junction with the North Eastern Railway Company’s branch line from Northallerton, thereby providing a continuous railway along the full length of Wensleydale.
Tip: To view the full-size version of this plan (753Kb), click /tap on the reduced-size version above.
Hawes station was operated jointly by the Midland Railway Company (which constructed the line from Garsdale) and the North Eastern Railway Company (which constructed the line from Northallerton).
The scheduled passenger service between Garsdale and Hawes ceased on 16th March 1959. The passenger service resumed for a few days in the January of the severe winter of 1962/63, when deep snow made all of the local roads impassable. The line remained open to occasional traffic until it was finally closed to all traffic on 27th April 1964 and subsequently dismantled.
Much of the track bed and many of the associated structures have been in private ownership since the 1960’s.