The 150th anniversary of the first passenger train journey between two stations was remembered today

. Civic leaders and staff from the Wensleydale Railway travelled between Bedale and Leeming Bar, in North Yorkshire.

The short journey marked the 150th anniversary of the first passenger service between the two stations on February 1, 1855.

In 1846, an Act of Parliament granted permission for a railway to be built and, less than two years later, the line was opened as far as Leeming Lane, re-named Leeming Bar in 1902.

However, it was another six years before building began on the 13/4-mile extension to Bedale.

Bedale Station closed to passengers in 1954, but was brought back into service in 2004, at the same time as the Wensleydale Railway reopened the five-mile extension from Leyburn to Redmire.

Ruth Annison, marketing director of Wensleydale Railway, believes the station and railway will help to revitalise Bedale in coming years.

She said: "Later this year there will be major celebrations in Bedale.

"Hambleton District Council and their funding partners are undertaking an important regeneration scheme adjacent to the station, to create employment and improve pedestrian access into the town centre.

"The railway will play a significant part in the future and prosperity of Bedales."