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Steel was in short supply during World War One, and railways were asked to contribute by identifying areas where track could be lost, to help the war effort. The North Eastern Railway, which ran the line through Pickering to the East Coast, identified six miles of track between Pickering and Levisham which could be taken up.

What happened to the steel is unclear, although it鈥檚 thought to have been used to replace out-of-date track elsewhere in the country. The route track from Pickering became a single track and resulted in a drop in passenger numbers the in the four year period of the war from 46,000 people, to 30,000. The track was never re-instated.

The railways were the motorways of the time, as the main way for people and goods to be transported. Further south, York was a hub for passengers and freight. York鈥檚 Carriage and Wagon Works also produced ambulance trains, horse drawn vehicles for the armed forces and general service wagons for the army.

Location: Pickering Railway Station, Pickering, North Yorkshire Y018 7AJ
Image shows the station platform then and now. Historic photograph courtesy of Gordon Clitheroe from Beck Isle Museum
Presented by Jonathan Cowap