366 adamson: sections exposed in skipton and ilkley railway. 
the period of these disturbances was between the end of the 
Carboniferous, and the beginning of the Permian formation, during 
the period of denudation existing i-etween the two eras The 
railway was now resumed, it had been carried from Cutting No. 5a, 
upon a low embankment nearly a mile in length. In one part a 
deposit of peat had been met with, and in other parts soft silty clay, 
which caused the foundations of four bridges near Embsay to be 
very costly, it being necessary to sheet pile, and excavate to a 
considerable depth. Embsay Station will be on the side of this 
embankment, immediately be^ow the village of that name For 
about 900 yards further, the railway runs in a shallow cutting, and 
along another embankment, till we reach Cutting ^ o. 6, a little over 
1,000 yards in length, with a maximum depth of 31 feet. This was 
cut through gravels, sands, and clays at each end ; but in the centre, 
under Holywell Lane, arose a boss of limestone. This is the summit 
of the line; the level of the rails at this part is 513 feet above the 
sea, the fall to Skipton Station being 183 feet, and to Ilkley 201 feet. 
A little to the north of this is a small quarry of limestone, which 
presented a contorted appearance. A shallow embankment, about 
700 yards in length follows, with boggy land on either side. Here a 
peat deposit, about 14 feet in thickness, had been met with, and 
another engineering difficulty had to be faced. Branches of trees 
have been spread on the ground, and interlaced, to prevent, if pos- 
sible, the embankment breaking through the harder crust of warp 
and earth overlying the peat. Cutting No. 7 was next traversed 
about 1,100 yards in length, and a greatest depth of 14 feet. It is 
mostly cut through clays, gi'avel, and sand. At Draughton Bottom 
another detour from the railway was made, and close to the line on 
the south, a new quarry of limestone has been opened, which has 
proved to be a good stone for building. The hill was then 
ascended to view the section behind the Matchless Inn at 
Draughton — a name which has also a special fitness for the section. 
In this quarry, within a distanc3 of some 30 yards, the beds of 
limestone bend without breaking into two sharp anticlinals, with 
corresponding synclinals, that is, roughly speaking, in the shape of 
an inverted W. To give a better idea of the extent of this con- 
