Stations

Upon opening the line had three intermediate stations: Killinghall (renamed first to Ripley in 1862, and then to Ripley Valley in 1875), Birstwith, and Dacre, with Darley opening in 1864 and Hampsthwaite opening in 1866.^[7][8]

Initially, services for passengers on the line amounted to four out and back workings per day between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge. By 1923, this was seven a day, but this tally fell back again when by the 1950s, only two services in each direction were working the line.^[9]

All stations on the line had goods facilities, with the exception of Hampsthwaite, which was for passengers only, and actually closed a year earlier to passengers than the other stations on the line (2 January 1950).^[10] Goods traffic was mixed; inbound was mostly coal and construction traffic (especially for transfer over to the Nidd Valley Light Railway) for the reservoir building schemes in Upper Nidderdale. Grain traffic to the flour mill at Birstwith continued up to closure of the line. Outward bound traffic was mixed too, with milk being common but the Scotgate Ash quarries above Pateley Bridge provided sandstone slabs and blocks^[11] that were used for the platforms at York, Newcastle, Holyhead and London Paddington.^[12][13]

Closure

After the traffic on the Nidd Valley Light Railway ceased, passenger numbers and through freight traffic on the branch declined.^[14] In addition, a bus service between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge with stops in the villages was more convenient for many residents than a walk to the station. The last scheduled passenger train ran on 31 March 1951 but the line remained open for goods until 30 October 1964. The last branch goods working was pulled by J27 0-6-0 No 65894.^[15]

The old line northwards from Harrogate to Ripley has been converted into a bridleway for walkers, horses and cyclists as Nidderdale Greenway.^[16] The entire line up to Pateley Bridge (and beyond on the Nidd Valley Light Railway), has also been proposed to be converted into a greenway.^[17]