Queensbury to Keighley
The Route
From Queensbury to Keighley via Thornton,
Denholme, Wilsden, Cullingworth & Ingrow.
Lengths
Thornton to Keighley 9 3/4 miles.
Original Companies
The original company was the Great Northern Railway. The Halifax Thornton & Keighley Railway
act was passed on 5th August 1873.
September 1st 1882 a single track goods line opened as far
as Denholme.
The first passengers were on the 1st January 1884.
The Line opened to Keighley goods depot on 1st April 1884.
A station opened at Wilsden on 1st July 1886.
Openings
Passengers -
14th October 1878 Bradford to Thornton.
1st September 1882 Thornton to Denholme.
7th April 1884 Thornton to Ingrow passenger.
1st November 1884 Thornton to Keighley passenger.
Freight -
1st April 1884 Thornton to Keighley Goods.
Closures
Passengers -
May 1956 Cullingworth & Ingrow section.
1963 Cullingworth
1965 Thornton & Ingrow.
|
|
 Queensbury
Station Map 1908
NIgel Callaghan
Opened 12-07-1879
Closed 21-05-1955
See also
Queensbury Station
|
 Keighley
to Bradford Exchange via Queensbury : Dave Graham (c/o Paul Holroyd)
A simulation of the journey from Keighley to Bradford if the
line was still in use today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msL3L5t1uAs |
_small.jpg)  Queensbury
north junction
Keighley side facing north c1950
/ 21-08-05
Before & after. (c1950s Nigel
Callaghan) & 2005.
The start of the route, the north junction at
Queensbury station, |
_small.jpg) Brow
lane bridge facing east
21-08-05
The Keighley side crossing Brow lane
(Originally Brook lane)
Nice solid stone bridge in good fettle.
see map Queensbury station |
  Timetables (1950)
: Charles Boylan
A summer 1950 Queensbury line timetable. Note
that the Queensbury - Keighley section is repeated in the "down"
direction on both timetables. A mistake which presumably would
have been rectified in a timetable supplement. |
Thornton Viaduct
 Thornton Viaduct (June 1988
Des
Phillips)
Thornton railway station was situated at the top
of a deep valley and was reached from Queensbury
via this massive 20 arch viaduct, a listed structure soon to be reopened
as a public footpath, nice. |
 Thornton Viaduct (June 1988
Des
Phillips)
The listed Buildings descriptive text describes it
thus: Thornton Viaduct, Alderscholes Lane - Grade II listed,
"one of a
spectacular series c1876-78. A finely proportioned structure of
sandstone 'brick' with 20 arches in slender tapering piers supporting
the bed of the former railway. " |
 Thornton Viaduct (June 1988
Des
Phillips)
"Very thin ashlar strings; capping piers at spring
of arches; flat band below the parapet.
The viaduct makes a most impressive contribution to the landscape of the
valley below Thornton." |
 Thornton Viaduct (June 1988
Des
Phillips)
The section of line between Bradford & Keighley is said to be the most
engineered stretch of railway
in West Yorkshire.
For loads more visit
The
Great Northern Railway Trail |
 Thornton
lamp (15-02-06 Paul
Holroyd)
A survivor from Thornton on the GNR - preserved at the private Hall
Cross Museum. |
 Thornton-1
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
website - http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/
I can think of few viaducts which are more impressive than Thornton,
with its S-shaped curve.
This is the view looking south, showing its
east side. |
 Thornton-2
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
At its tallest point, the structure stands 117
feet above the stream. It looks in immaculate condition,
possibly thanks
to the money spent on it recently as part of the Great Northern Trail
scheme. |
 Thornton
viaduct (02-12-09) : James Lovell |
Well
Heads tunnel
 Wellheads-1
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
Beyond the viaduct, the line turns west before
heading north-east again up a deep cutting to Well Heads tunnel.
|
 Wellheads-2
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
The southern portal is bricked up, with hefty
steel access gates. Constructed between 1878-1881, the tunnel boasts a
vaulted stone roof but no air shafts. It's possible that the trail will
eventually pass through it. |
 Wellheads-3(29-04-07)
: Graeme Bickerdike
For that to happen, Well Heads' northern end will
have to be excavated and cleared of an assortment of clutter. When
built, the tunnel was 662 yards long but, according to a Jarvis Rail
report from 1998, the northern portal has been removed and this accounts
for the bore being 40 yards shorter today. |
 Wellheads-4
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
A long, straight approach cutting takes the trackbed towards
Denholme tunnel. |
Denholme tunnel
 Denholme-1
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
It crosses a narrow valley on an embankment. The
Great Northern Railway thoughtfully provided this elegant bridge for the
local farmer. Running beneath it in a culvert is the stream which
babbles down through the fields. |
 Denholme-2
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
A distant view of Denholme tunnel's south end with a solitary
railway fence post in the foreground. |
 Denholme-3
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
The south portal's apparently low profile is due
to 4 feet of infill (or landslip) which is now a bog.
The tunnel itself
is not long - a little over 150 yards. |
 Denholme-4
(29-04-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
Trains emerged at the northern end into Denholme station, the
site of which is now a timber yard. Beyond it, Doe Park tunnel welcomed
trains shortly after they'd departed to Keighley. |
Denholme station
Denholme : Bob Cockcroft
Note : The goods shed at Denholme was still
there the last time I visited about a year ago. It's hard to see, as it
forms part of the timber business working buildings. Likewise there
remained the station master's house on the hill above the station. All
the other buildings went some years ago when it seems there was a
"tidying up" of the remaining buildings associated with passengers on
that part of the line. Mostly wooden, presumably this was to prevent
them forming a hazard. Denholme stable was demolished some years ago,
maybe when the yard was simplified in the 1920's. |
Wilsden Station opened
01-07-1886 closed 21-05-1955
 Wilsden
(29-07-08) : James Lovell
The bridge which crosses the railway line at
Wilsden Station. |
 Wilsden
(27-07-08) : James Lovell
The retaining in the cutting near the Bridge the
cutting is now a field and the the bridge is used as some sort of
shelter,
possibly for animals, it is banked up as the garden behind it is
considerably higher. |
 Wilsden
(27-07-08) : James Lovell
Bar on the station side of the bridge - possibly
held a lamp of some sort, I am unsure of its use. |
Hewenden Viaduct
 Hewenden Viaduct (June 1988
Des Phillips)
Hewenden Viaduct is a Grade II listed structure.
It crosses Hewenden Beck at about 270 metres above sea level the
stone was quarried locally. |
 Hewenden Viaduct (June 1988
Des Phillips)
Situated near Cullingworth on the same stretch of
line as Thornton vaiduct.
Hewenden viaduct, now open to the public &
forms part of the Great Northern Trail. |
 Hewenden Viaduct (June 1988
Des Phillips)
The first section of the trail runs from Cullingworth to Harecroft.
Eventually the new Great Northern trail will cover a distance
of 10 kilometres
between Queensbury and Cullingworth. |
 Heweden
Viaduct (29-05-05 Paul
Holroyd)
website - www.vintagecarriagestrust.org
GN trail Heweden Viaduct 17 arches 376
yards long 123 feet high 29 may 2005 |
 Heweden
Viaduct (29-05-05 Paul
Holroyd)
GN trail Hewenden Viaduct 29 may 2005 |
 Heweden
Viaduct (29-05-05 Paul
Holroyd)
|
 Heweden
Viaduct (29-05-05 Paul
Holroyd) |
 Heweden
Viaduct (29-05-05 Paul
Holroyd) |
 Heweden
Viaduct (29-05-05 Paul
Holroyd)
|
 Heweden
Viaduct (09/2004) : David Taylor.
Another of Hewenden Viaduct taken from near the
site of Wilsden Station,
which incidentally was about two miles from Wilsden village. |
  Heweden
Viaduct (09-07-09) : Andrew Stopford.
Just had time for a quick passing look at Hewenden
Viaduct, now open as the Great Northern Trail. |
 Heweden
Viaduct (27-07-08) : James Lovell
A view across the top of Hewenden Viaduct. |
The Great Northern Trail
website - The
Great Northern Railway Trail
 Great
Northern Trail Wilsden station (29-05-05) Paul Holroyd
website -
www.vintagecarriagestrust.org
Taken along the first stretch of the Great
Northern Trail, between Cullingworth and the site of Wilsden station
29 May 2005. (following the route backwards heading north Wilsden -
Cullingworth)
The current end of the trail at the site of Wilsden
station |
 Great
Northern Trail (29-05-05) (Paul Holroyd)
Between Cullingworth & Wilsden 29 may 2005 |
 Great
Northern Trail (29-05-05) (Paul Holroyd)
Between Cullingworth & Hewenden viaduct 29 may 2005 |
 Great
Northern Trail (29-05-05) (Paul Holroyd)
Between Cullingworth & Hewenden viaduct 29 may
2005 |
 Great
Northern Trail (27-07-08) : James Lovell |
 Great
Northern Trail (27-07-08) : James Lovell |
 Great
Northern Trail (29-05-05) (Paul Holroyd)
GN trail demolished bridge between Cullingworth and Wilsden 29 may 2005 |
 Iron
girder bridge(27-07-08) : James Lovell
The remains of an iron girder bridge on the GN
Trail. |
 Iron
girder bridge (27-07-08) : James Lovell |
 Iron
girder bridge (27-07-08) : James Lovell |
 Great
Northern Trail (27-07-08) : James Lovell |
Cullingworth
viaduct
 Cullingworth Viaduct
(02/2004) : David Taylor
Section of Cullingworth Viaduct which is largely obscured by houses. |
 Cullingworth viaduct (29-05-05)
(Paul
Holroyd)
GN trail Cullingworth viaduct 29 may 2005 |
 Cullingworth viaduct (29-05-05) (Paul
Holroyd)
GN trail Cullingworth viaduct 29 may 2005 |
 Great
Northern Trail Cullingworth (29-05-05) (Paul Holroyd)
The start of the trail at Cullingworth. |
Lees Moor tunnel
 Lees
Moor
tunnel eastern portal (Graeme Bickerdike)
website - http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/
The eastern
approach cutting to Barcroft tunnel (on the Queensbury-Keighley route)
has been Landscaped, almost up to the portal.
see also homeless Known by drivers
as ‘the hell hole’. When heading from Keighley, trains entered the
tunnel in a southerly direction but exited, 1,533 yards later, traveling east. |
 Leesmoor
-1 (23-11-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
The northern portal is obscured by a stone and
corrugated metal porch. |
 Leesmoor
-2 (23-11-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
Around its edge are the characteristic rounded stones which feature on
the line's other portals. |
 Leesmoor
-3 (23-11-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
Polythene sheeting has been slung beneath the western side of the tunnel
to protect parked caravans from water ingress. |
 Leesmoor
-4 (23-11-07) : Graeme Bickerdike
It's possible to drive to the eastern end and there are caravans parked
almost all the way through. As you can tell from this shabby picture,
thick mist hangs in the tunnel thanks to the large volume of water which
permeates the lining. Despite its length, the tunnel has no ventilation
shafts. |
 Lees
Moor tunnel northern portal
April 2006 :
Paul Holroyd website -
www.vintagecarriagestrust.org
The northern entrance to Lees Moor Tunnel, on the
GNR line between Ingrow EAST and Cullingworth.
The tunnel is used as a store by the Bronte Caravan Park. |
 Lees
Moor tunnel northern portal
April 2006 (Paul
Holroyd)
GNR Lees Moor Tunnel
Wider view. |
 Lees
Moor tunnel northern portal
trackbed April 2006 (Paul
Holroyd)
GNR Trackbead approaching Lees Moor
tunnel. |
 Damems
Lane underbridge (Paul
Holroyd)
Damems Lane underbridge. The trackbed on the left leads to Lees Moor
Tunnel, whilst that on the right leads to the cutting near Apple
Street. |
|
 Damems
Lane trackbed (Paul
Holroyd)
Trackbed, looking from
Damems Lane towards the cutting near Apple Street. Damems Lane
climbs on the right hand side of the photo. The main A 629 Keighley
to Halifax Road lies behind the other side of the houses. |
 Damems
Lane underbridge (Paul
Holroyd)
Damems Lane underbridge, looking towards Lees Moor Tunnel. Damems
Lane runs from the main A629 road to the level crossing at Damems
station. |
|
 Damems
Lane underbridge
(Paul
Holroyd)
Damems Lane underbridge,
looking towards Lees Moor Tunnel.
The
main A629 road
is behind the houses
in the top left of the photo. |
|
 Damems
Lane underbridge
(Paul
Holroyd)
Damems Lane underbridge.
The trackbed towards
Ingrow is on the left, with the trackbed towards Lees Moor Tunnel on
the right. |
 Halifax
Road (23-11-10) :
Paul Holroyd
Looking south from the west side of Halifax Road. After passing in
front of Oakvale, and burrowing underneath Halifax Road,
the railway emerged near Apple Street in this cutting, before
climbing towards the northern portal of the notorious Lees Moor
Tunnel. |
 Halifax
Road (23-11-10) :
Paul Holroyd
Halifax Road, looking North towards Keighley. The railway used to be
in a
cutting in front of the house, Oakvale, and passed under Halifax
Road. |
 Halifax
Road (23-11-10) :
Paul Holroyd
A closer view |
 Haincliffe
Road (23-11-10) :
Paul Holroyd
Looking south from Haincliffe Road, the railway used to be in a
cutting at this point. |
Ingrow East station
opened 07-04-1884 closed 21-05-1955
 Ingrow
East station (23-11-10) :
Paul Holroyd
The site of Ingrow East station, looking north towards Keighley.
Taken from Haincliffe Road. |
 Ingrow
East station (23-11-10) :
Paul Holroyd
The site of Ingrow East station, looking towards Keighley. |
Keighley GNR opened 16-03-1847
 Keighley
Station (April 1987) : Michael Kaye
Keighley station yard.
See also Queensbury Keighley |
 Keighley
Station (02-06-1975) : Charles Boylan
A refurbished class 108 dmu in a short lived
livery at Keighley Station (still with canopies) dated unusually for me
2.06.1975. |
 Keighley
Station (1981) : Andrew Ripley
A view of Keighley, I think from 1981, before
they messed about with it. |
 Keighley
sheds (1952) : Dave Walbank
I've found the picture of keighley sheds taken in 1952. |
 Keighley
sheds (n.d) : Dave Walbank
Keighley shed as it was starting to be demolished. |
Keighley Goods
 Keighley
abandoned railway cutting (20-12-08) : Phill Davison
The half filled in cutting of the Queensbury to Keighley Great Northern
railway goods yard.
The line used to pass under the Worth Valley line seen in the distance to
an extensive goods yard were a timber merchants now stands.
The line was
opened in 1884 and closed to traffic in 1956. |
Parkwood street tunnel
 Parkwood
street tunnel South portal (20-12-08) : Phill Davison
The elusive South portal of Parkwood st tunnel is in a hard to reach
location these days.
The easily viewed site of the North portal been filled in many years ago.
Parkwood tunnel has largely been forgotten about and is listed on most
tunnel data bases simply as a 'lost tunnel' |
 Parkwood
street tunnel interior (20-12-08)
: Phill Davison
Looking towards the South portal, and the only reminder the tunnel still
exists from the outside world. You can still see the indents in the track
ballast were the sleepers used to be. The remains of the tunnel drainage
system can be seen on the left. These can be pretty lethal hazards while
exploring disused tunnels. |
 Parkwood
street tunnel north portal (20-12-08) : Phill Davison
Tunnel men added for scale. The north portal been filled in many years
ago.
The tunnel is a short 118 yds long with no air shafts or refuges in It's
construction.
See more of Phills photo's on flickr. |
Queensbury
- Halifax
.jpg)
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