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Meltham Branch
1869 - 1965
 Lancashire & Yorkshire railway
Contributors:  © Reproduction prohibited / Andrew Stopford / Rob Lewis / Andrzej Miczyk / Julie Knowles / Lost Railways
The Route
From Meltham junction the Huddersfield Penistone line just before the north end of Lockwood viaduct (GR133149) to Meltham, via Beaumont Park Halt (Woodfield), open only 1 month, Netherton & Healey House to the terminus at Meltham (GR100108). The single platform station located in Station Road (B6107) was at a much higher level than the large goods yard.

Length
3 1/2 miles, single track.
Original Company
Opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire railway company.

Openings 
5th July 1869.

Closures
Passengers - 23rd May 1949.
Freight - 5th April 1965.
Railway Ramblers gazetteer
See also the Railway Ramblers gazetteer -  Kirklees : L&Y Meltham jn (Lockwood) - Meltham
Back Track : Paul Holroyd   website - www.vintagecarriagestrust.org
A 9-page feature on the Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway route to Penistone appears in Back Track Vol. 4 no. 2, March-April 1990
Meltham Junction (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Lockwood end of Lockwood Viaduct. The trees centre shot mark the junction for the Meltham Branch.
Meltham Junction (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Old guard rail along first few feet of the branch as it goes into Beaumont Park.
Beaumont Park (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Recess in retaining wall.
Beaumont Park (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
looking towards Meltham.
Beaumont Park (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Cutting through part of the park.

Woodfield (Beaumont Park Halt)
Opened & closed in  June 1874.
 Beaumont Park (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Beaumont Park Halt: there was once a halt for passengers to use for Beaumont Park - I wonder if it was near here.
Note the big gates into the park through the bridge. (track went over the bridge)
Beaumont Park Halt (24-08-10) : Andrzej Miczyk
Note : I can answer your question about the location of Beaumont Park halt.
I lived just above the park, as a teenager between 1957 and 1969 and saw the line in its last years of use and then closure.
At that time the the Beaumont park halt was still clearly identifiable to the east of the park gates. A platform of Yorkshire stone slabs (more a high kerb) was still there then, on the park side of the line. There was also a steep stone staircase which started at the other end of the platform from the park gates and climbed up to Beaumont Park Road along the edge of the park. I suppose this was built to serve the halt when the park was closed at night and the gates locked (a practice which ceased after the war when most of the park railings were taken away as scrap). This staircase was a really substantial affair and it must still be there - totally overgrown today.

Butternab tunnel
 Beaumont Park Butternab tunnel (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Beaumont Park Tunnel (North Portal).
Butternab tunnel (07-09-10) : Julie Knowles
Interior from north portal. See more here - http://julie-knowles.fotopic.net/
Butternab (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Overbridge between Beaumont Park & Netherton.
Netherton (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Overbridge just before the southern portal of Netherton Tunnel.
Netherton (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
 BRB marker for above bridge.

Netherton Tunnel
Netherton (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Netherton Tunnel (North Portal).
Netherton tunnel (07-09-10) : Julie Knowles
Interior from north portal. See more here - http://julie-knowles.fotopic.net/
Netherton tunnel (07-09-10) : Julie Knowles
Interior from south portal.
Netherton (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Netherton Tunnel (South Portal) - close as I could get. You can just about make out a bit of the red bricked up tunnel mouth in the middle of the shot.
Healey House Tunnel (12-10-06) : Andrew Stopford
The south portal, very hard to reach, down a steep and muddy cutting side, very wet at the bottom.

Healey House Tunnel
Healey House Tunnel (18-11-07) : Andrew Stopford
Slightly better view of Healey House Tunnel.
Healey House (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Abutment.
Healey House Station (18-11-07) : Andrew Stopford
The 'wilderness' shot is in fact the exact site of Healey House Station!
Netherton (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Occupation bridge - the parapet wall is cracked down the middle - you can just make this out.

Meltham station
Opened 05-07-1869. Closed 23-05-1949. Freight 05-04-1965.
 Meltham station site (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Now Morrison's Supermarket. Abutement of sloping overbridge which came down from the town and crossed the track & platform.
Meltham (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
looking towards the station from the site of the goods yard (station was approx 200 yds after the yard).
Meltham station site (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
David Brown Tractors relic at goods yard site.
Meltham station site (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
 Goods yard site - concrete surface. This looks like a turntable of some sort. Any suggestions?

Note : (29-04-08) : Rob Lewis
According to my partners grandfather who worked at the David Brown plant this was a test track for David brown tractors.
Meltham station site (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Concrete occupation bridge about half a mile from station site - not original!
Meltham station site (30-09-06) : Andrew Stopford
Looking towards Meltham from bridge above.

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