Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway
Encyclopedia
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. It built a line from near Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
through and to . The Skipton–Colne line closed in 1970, but the remainder of the line is still in use today, and once formed part of the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
's main line route from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
History
The Leeds and Bradford (Shipley–Colne Extension) Railway Act of 30 June 1845 empowered the company to build its line as an extension of the Leeds and Bradford RailwayLeeds and Bradford Railway
The Leeds and Bradford Railway was formed in 1843 to bring the railway to Bradford: the line opened on 1 July 1846. The company was always closely allied with the Midland Railway, and within ten years the L&BR had been absorbed into the Midland, and disappeared.-History:The line and the two...
, which was still under construction between Leeds and Bradford
Bradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The...
. In July 1846, the company was leased to the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
, which later absorbed it on 24 July 1851.
The first section of the line was from , at a triangular junction with the Leeds and Bradford Railway
Leeds and Bradford Railway
The Leeds and Bradford Railway was formed in 1843 to bring the railway to Bradford: the line opened on 1 July 1846. The company was always closely allied with the Midland Railway, and within ten years the L&BR had been absorbed into the Midland, and disappeared.-History:The line and the two...
, to . A tender for construction was let on 15 October 1845 and the section opened on 16 March 1847. The line included a 151 yards (138.1 m) tunnel at Bingley
Bingley
Bingley is a market town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
.
A second section from Keighley to opened on 7 September 1847, initially as a single track, but doubled by the end of the year. Trains ran between Bradford and Skipton; passengers to and from Leeds changed at Shipley.
The final section between Skipton and was contracted on 9 September 1846 and opened on 2 October 1848. At Colne it was to make an end-on junction with the East Lancashire Railway's Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington and Colne Extension Railway, which did not open until 1 February 1849. By 2 April in the same year the line was part of a through route between Leeds and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, but the majority of passenger trains were local between Skipton and Colne.
The "Little" North Western Railway built a line, from a junction just west of Skipton, which would eventually become the main line through Skipton. The Skipton to Ingleton section opened on 30 July 1849, and by 1 June 1850 there was a through line to . The line was leased to the Midland Railway from 1 January 1859. After the opening of the Midland Railway's Settle-Carlisle Line on 1 May 1876, the Leeds–Skipton line was used by the Midland's to Glasgow express trains. Other trains ran to Morecambe, and .
The Beeching cuts of 1963 reduced the services along the Skipton–Colne line, and on 2 February 1970 this section of line closed.
The Skipton - East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership campaigns to reinstate it.
The Shipley to Skipton line is still in use as part of the Airedale Line
Airedale Line
The Airedale Line is the name given to one of the rail services in the Metro area of northern England. The service is operated by Northern Rail, on the route connecting Leeds and Bradford with Skipton in the North of England. Some services along the line continue to Morecambe or Carlisle...
, and also used by trains of the Leeds-Morecambe Line and Settle-Carlisle Line.