Traveller's tale . . .
Kirkby Thore British Gypsum sidings are on the down side (left) and are often referred to as Newbiggin, though
Newbiggin itself is actually a few miles further north, but names and locations don't always go together on
the railway!
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Mouthwatering trivia . . .
This is where the gypsum trains from Drax power station terminate. There are also four
local mines, three drift and a quarry, from where gypsum is locally extracted and has been
for over 200 years. The station buildings at Newbiggin still stand and are now in private ownership.
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Not many people know that:
The Midland Railway decided to call their station at Newbiggin "New Biggin" - with two words,
though the place has never been called "New Biggin" in over 600 years!
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Local tittle-tattle ...
Kirkby Thore village is situated near to the confluence of the rivers Eden and Troutbeck.
It got its name from a temple dedicated to the main idol of the pagan Saxons called Thor,
the God of thunder, whom they worshipped every Thursday.
It was Thor of course, who gave his name to the day of the week - Thursday.
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