On 16th July 1866 the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway was incorporated with the intention of linking Whitby to Lofthouse (Loftus) with a line along the coast.
Because of a lack of finance it took until 3rd May 1871 for the contract to build the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway (WRMUR) to be signed. The contractor was John Dickson. Construction of the new railway started on 25th May 1871 when the first sod was cut near Sandsend by the Dowager Marchioness of Normanby. By 1874 the construction of the railway had stopped and the contractor had gone into liquidation.
On 1st July 1875 the North Eastern Railway took a perpetual lease over the WRMUR and employed another contractor, John Waddell of Edinburgh, to complete the line with a completion date of 13th July 1881. The WRMUR Act ratified the arrangement on 19th July 1875 and the NER agreed to complete the line in a substantial and satisfactory manner.
The Whitby – Loftus line was ready for use on 3rd December 1883, 2 1/2 years behind schedule and the first train left Whitby Town station. The new line served stations at Whitby Town, Whitby West Cliff, Sandsend, Kettleness, Hinderwell, Staithes, Easington (renamed Grinkle in April 1904) and Loftus. At Loftus the line formed an end on junction with the route of the former Cleveland Railway which allowed trains to run through to Saltburn.
On 16th July 1885 the Scarborough and Whitby railway opened and joined onto the WRMUR at Prospect Hill Junction so allowing direct trains to run between Scarborough and Saltburn.
On 3rd May 1958 the line was closed completely between Whitby West Cliff and Loftus, however Whitby West Cliff remained open for trains ex Scarborough until 10th June 1961. Between May 1958 and June 1961 Scarborough-Whitby trains reversed at Prospect Hill Junction for Whitby Town station.
The main buildings on the southbound platform were later converted into private dwellings named Beechings Mews. The name is slightly ironic as the station closed 2 years before the publcation of Dr. Beeching's report on 1963 - 'The Reshaping of British Railways'
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