Notes: The line from Bradford to Thornton via
Queensbury was opened as a joint venture between the Lancashire
& Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway between
1876 and 1878. Once out of Bradford, the line was mostly rural
and necessitated the construction of many earthworks, viaducts
and tunnels. Its hilly nature earned it the nicknames of 'the
Alpine route' or 'the switchback' from its loyal drivers.
Great Horton station had an extensive goods yard and while
its passenger services were quite well used, its main business
was the transportation of parcels and woolen bales, requiring
several trains per day. Even after passenger services ceased
in 1955, Great Horton station had a team of full time goods
staff and a busy warehouse up to the very end in August 1972.
After leaving Great Horton station going towards Queensbury,
the line passed through a very deep cutting, which has now been
partly filled in and turned into a public park. To give some
indication of just how deep this cutting was, trains using it
had to pass under a sewer pipe, which was fitted with smoke
deflectors. This pipe is still visible, but is now at the bottom
of a crater, about fifteen feet below the current ground level
and the sides of the cutting are still about thirty feet high!
To see the other
stations on the Halifax - Bradford - Keighley lines click on
the station name: Halifax
St. Pauls, Pellon,
Halifax North
Bridge, Ovenden,
Holmfield, Queensbury,
Clayton, Horton
Park, Manchester
Road, St. Dunstan's,
Bradford
Adolphus Street, Thornton,
Denholme, Wilsden,
Cullingworth
& Ingrow East
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