Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway

Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway
Blocked Sandsend (Deepdale) tunnel
Overview
Other name(s)	Whitby – Loftus Railway
Status	Partially closed
Locale	North Yorkshire, England
Stations	7
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Opened	3 December 1883 (1883-12-03)
Closed	5 May 1958 (1958-05-05)
Technical
Line length	16 miles 66 chains (27.1 km)
Number of tracks	1 (with passing loops)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

v t e Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway
Legend
Cleveland Railway to Middlesbrough length Boulby line to Marske Kilton Viaduct Loftus Grinkle Grinkle Tunnel 993 yd 908 m Grinkle Mine Boulby Mine Staithes Viaduct Staithes Hinderwell Kettleness Kettleness Tunnel 308 yd 282 m Sandsend Tunnel 1652 yd 1511 m Sandsend Sandsend Viaduct East Row Viaduct Newholm Beck Viaduct Upgang Viaduct Whitby West Cliff Prospect Hill Junction to Whitby Esk Valley line Larpool Viaduct over River Esk Scarborough & Whitby Railway to Scarborough

The Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway (WRMU), a.k.a. the Whitby–Loftus Line, was a railway line in North Yorkshire, England, built between 1871 and 1886, running from Loftus on the Yorkshire coast to the Esk at Whitby, and connecting Middlesbrough to Whitby along the coast.

For much of its journey the line hugged the cliffs, and had a troubled build due to the proximity to the sea and poor quality of the construction on many of its original bridges and viaducts. The line was closed to passengers in May 1958, but the northern section to Boulby Potash Mine re-opened in the 1970s.