Wensleydale Railway has completed essential repair work to a bridge near Leyburn in time for the start of its 2026 operating season, after a five-week programme involving multiple volunteer teams and a specialist contractor.
The structure at Stoop House Farm carries the railway over a country road serving nearby farms and villages on the line’s 22-mile route. According to the railway, water ingress over a number of years had affected the masonry and created the need for urgent repairs ahead of the new season.
The work began with vegetation clearance around the site, followed by lifting sections of track and removing ballast to gain access to the top of the bridge deck. Volunteers completed part of the masonry repair work before a contractor installed a waterproof membrane on the deck. Once that phase was complete, railway volunteers reinstated the track and ballast.
The project was led by retired civil engineer Graham Boyd, who has volunteered at the railway since 2025. He said: “This project took 5 weeks to complete and involved volunteers from our Vegetation, Direct Works and P-Way teams, as well as Operations and Office staff. We had a short window of time to complete this work, before our first scheduled train services of the year were due to start. The work required considerable co-ordination across our volunteer teams and much of the work was done in very poor weather. I would like to thank everyone involved in successfully completing this work”.
The timing was critical, with the railway working to complete the repairs before its first scheduled services of the year. Those trains began running on Valentine’s Day, marking the start of the 2026 season.
Nick Keegan, Marketing and Fundraising Manager at Wensleydale Railway, said: “The repairs were completed in time for our first trains of the 2026 season, which ran on Valentine’s Day! The success of this project is a credit to our incredible volunteers. Their contribution to our railway is invaluable and we’re very grateful for their hard work, dedication and support.”
The project also underlines the maintenance demands attached to heritage and community railway infrastructure, where bridges, track, drainage, and vegetation management remain ongoing operational requirements. On the Wensleydale line, that work continues to rely heavily on volunteer labour coordinated across engineering, operations, and support teams.
With the bridge returned to service, the immediate priority has been met. The wider maintenance programme, however, remains a continuing part of keeping the route operational through the 2026 season and beyond.
