Richmond Railway Station, N.Yorkshire

History of Richmond Station, N.Yorkshire.

[@TheBroomwagon]

What have we done to our wonderful country, what have we done!

[@edwardwest5035]

Thank you for compiling your video, I thought it was wonderful and am so pleased to have found it. Regards Edward

[@RB.1595]

That was lovely. The personal stories are excellent. Add so much colour.

[@mikkykay3217]

Thank you so much!

[@davidbutterworth9609]

What a brilliant video. Thanks to all concerned.

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Brilliant video! I particularly like the narratives from the people who remembered the station in its glory years.

[@mikkykay3217]

Thank you Paul, it was a labour of love! This used to play on a loop in the Heritage Room at the station, a small museum that is no longer there. There was a non-working Victorian wall clock in what was a replica Station Master's office, hence the ticking clock throughout. Cheers Mick

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

@@mikkykay3217 What a shame that the museum is no longer there (or did it just move?). I did wonder about the ticking.

[@mikkykay3217]

@@PaulSmith-pl7fo Sadly commercial pressures prevailed. My good lady was the museum designer, it was a really lovely project to be involved with. Such was the success of the refurbed station it became a retail space. We remounted the history panels along the corridors, so not entirely lost.....

[@mensamoo]

That was so tastefully produced. An amazing insight into history. A big thank you.

[@mikkykay3217]

How kind!

[@mrbigbadtrev]

Very well put together - so sad. Thanks.

[@daystatesniper01]

Superb video

[@mikkykay3217]

How Kind! It was made with love, for free, my wife designed the Heritage Room, now sadly swept aside, in the name of progress. The Folks that refurbished the Station were so enthusiastic, it rubbed off on me. My wife was paid for her work, I wasn't, never regretted that. P.S. the ticking clock in the background was to cover for a non-working Victorian wall clock, that I donated, again for free! Cheers!

[@peterwest6827]

Thank you for this and for sharing this beautiful journey through history of this station. Thank you!

[@mikkykay3217]

Thanks Peter, I loved every minute of the many hours it took to put this together.

[@portcullis5622]

Richmond, Ripon, Otley. All sizeable, scenic Yorkshire towns (Ripon is actually a city) left without a rail service. How incredibly short-sighted it was when they closed and then dismantled it all. Surely those lines and stations could have been ' mothballed' until such time as they were needed again. That time was actually only two decades later, when the Yorkshire Dales started to get spoiled by road traffic. Those lines were all very scenic as well. All very sad.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Mothballing is and was expensive, especially if you have no idea just how long you will be mothballing the line for. All that maintenance of structures and equipment and no income, BR and therefore the taxpayer couldn't afford it. And don't go on about these lines being g built with taxpayers' money as there have been very few railway lines built with public mo ey, the only one I can think of is the Selby bypass (there were probably others). These lines were all built by private investors.

[@portcullis5622]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 I am not sure about the relative costs of mothballing, but it has got to be better than wholesale destruction, which is what happened to many. I never mentioned taxpayer's money, did I? You did though!

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@portcullis5622 as BR got it's money from the taxpayer plus the ticket and freight revenue, it safe to say the taxpayer would have been footing the bill. Just as we are with Network Rail. The trouble with mothballing is the length of the mothballing. How long can you afford to have something and not make use of it? The line through Ripon closed to passengers in March 1967 at the hight of the mid-1960s Sterling crisis (the one that resulted in Sterling being devalued by 14%) and freight 2 years later. The lines main problem was that since WW2 the line had seen a decline in both passengers and freight; this was a situation faced across the country. Today the station building and area remains available for rebuilding but most of the railbed near the station has been reused for a road. However, the trackbed between Ripon and Harrogate remains undeveloped and features in the county council's strategic transport plan, but nothing is likely to happen until after 2030. Now if they had mothballed the line, everything would need to be replaced and that could cost as much as rebuilding it, as the East-West Rail project has found out.

[@portcullis5622]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 Oh OK. Thanks.

[@wix7657]

I travel from Sunderland to Ripon very regularly I have done for about 43 years. There is no way I would pay the crazy prices they charge for rail tickets even if the trains still passed through Ripon. The average person can’t afford to travel by rail on a regular basis. Thank god we still have cars as trains are not a practical option anymore due to costs. On longer distances I have found it cheaper and quicker to fly.

[@duncancallum]

First time i saw Richmond station was in August 7th 1958 , after travelling from Edinburgh , and waiting for me and lots of other lads were Army trucks waiting to take us to Catterick camp , to do our National Service of 2 years . i am glad i finished up being posted to Episkopi Garrison Cyprus to get some sunshine , the thought of doing 2 years in the UK would have driven me round the bend .

[@mikkykay3217]

Cheers Duncan, my father spent his 2 years in the UK, he loved it. His brother went to Germany, I think he had a better time!

[@duncancallum]

I am sure your Uncle enjoyed himself in Germany , my elder brother did his time there also , and my eldest brother was posted to Hong Kong earlier . Duncan Pitkeathly. PS thank you very much for putting the video on , i thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@mikkykay3217]

Thanks Duncan, I so enjoyed making it. I had a heart attack in 2007, was off work for 9 weeks. My Wife was working on the heritage centre for the restored Richmond Station, I learnt video editing and spent about 100 hours working on this to display at the station. I worked alongside Major John Young (Retired), an absolutely lovely bloke, who loved Catterick & Richmond. I loved every minute, better than working in the Mill! Good luck Duncan

[@thomasm1964]

@@mikkykay3217 I enjoyed reading these replies. As a Service brat, I was born in Hong KOng and my Dad served there (three times) as well as in Germany (Hereford, Minden, Rheindahlen and Rheindahlen) and Cyprus (Episkopi and Dhekelia. I now live not too far from Richmond Station but have only seen it as a cinema-cum-arts centre so this was an education!

[@mikkykay3217]

@@thomasm1964 I loved making this video, and meeting the people who restored the Station. Thanks for the kind comments, I tried my best to bring a few old photos to life! Cheers

[@mickbottomley6815]

what's beautiful station that was lovely stone buildings I wonder if any remaining

[@mikkykay3217]

Hi Mick, Yes, the main station building has been beautifully renovated, some great little businesses operate from here, cheese makers, Brewery, Cafe, Cinema! etc.....No trains though, no tracks! Cheers, Mick

[@juliejeanable]

@@mikkykay3217 was a huge hardware store before that.

[@mikkykay3217]

@@juliejeanable Thanks Julie, I think I heard it was a type of garden centre/animal feed supplier? I loved making this little video, the people who renovated the place were so, so enthusiastic, I spent probably 100 hours plus on it, for no charge. And I do it all over again! My wife designed the Heritage Room that was sadly shut down a few years back, the video was played on a loop in there. Happy Days!

[@britishwillywanker]

I remember going from Richmond to Croft station with my mum and brother my aunt picked us up to visit my Gran at Dalton on tees ,i was only a young lad .

[@samwilsamwil-pr6so]

If only it was still open

[@yorkshireladtv]

Great vid

[@mikkykay3217]

How Kind! An amateur effort in a good cause, for lovely, enthusiastic folks that saved the Station. Cheers, Mick

[@MyCharlie2000]

I saw this video being played in Richmond station, no sound playing. The staff didn’t know anything about the video! Is there anywhere I could get a copy?

[@mikkykay3217]

Hi there, thank you for kind comments, I'll try to organise a copy for you, I've put it on my list! I will get back to you.

[@melvynwoodman5787]

This is the beautiful country I was born in. I despair at what the political elite have turned it into with their selfish and greedy ways.

[@mickbottomley6815]

that's a pity it

[@mickbottomley6815]

it would make a lovely heritage line

[@martinkendall3939]

Why is there stupid ticking through the vidio so annoying

[@mikkykay3217]

The video was made to be played on a loop in the old booking office at Richmond station, when it was the Heritage room. There was a large Victorian wall clock, not working, brought it to life. Stupid? Maybe......

[@davymac3882]

@@mikkykay3217 ​ Not stupid at all! I understood what the ticking was about, took me back to another age when businesses were not about air conditioned offices, computers and mobile phones! Super video, your work is appreciated!