A HERITAGE railway line will not be fully reopened in time for Easter after being defeated by the weather.

Volunteers have been battling for weeks to put the Wensleydale railway back on track after a major landslip on a remote embankment.

They had given themselves an Easter deadline, but have had to admit defeat after appalling weather over the last few weeks.

It may not now reopen to passengers until April 20.

The 16 mile long railway which runs from Leeming Bar, near Bedale to Redmire near Leyburn. The work on the 300 metre long embankment is costing more than £40,000, and to help pay for it the railway issued an emergency appeal to members and the public.

General manager Nigel Park said:”This has been a real blow for us.

"We were doing very well and we had pulled out all the stops to get the work done, until this weekend when the track disappeared under eight inches of snow and it was just impossible to work on it."

Trains will continue to operate to an emergency timetable.

Mr Park added: “It is bad news for everybody - for Bedale and Leyburn because we bring a lot of people up and down the dale and this should be the real start of the tourist season."

He said he hopes to run an inspection train over the reconnected and realigned track on April 5 and work to bring the track up to passenger train standard will follow.

If all goes to plan the line will be able to accept a high speed train charter  on April 20.