Grassington & Threshfield railway station

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Grassington & Threshfield
Ydrmt33.jpg
Grassington & Threshfield station soon after closure
General information
Location Grassington, Craven
England
Coordinates 54°04′14″N2°00′35″W / 54.070459°N 2.009800°W / 54.070459; -2.009800
Grid reference SD994638
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-grouping Midland Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
30 July 1902Opened as "Grassington"
October 1902Renamed "Grassington & Threshfield"
22 September 1930Closed to passengers
11 August 1969Closed completely

Grassington & Threshfield railway station (or Threshfield station) was a railway station that served the town of Grassington and village of Threshfield, in North Yorkshire, England. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The Yorkshire Dales Railway constructed the line to Grassington & Threshfield, with services operated by the Midland Railway, [2] to provide better links for local villages to the nearby town of Skipton. It diverged at Embsay Junction, and ran through the Dales, with a station at Rylstone, past the then 'Swinden Lime Works' (today known as Swinden Quarry), and a further 3 miles (5 km) to Threshfield. Despite being the line's terminus, Grassington & Threshfield was built as a through station, because there were proposals to continue the line further north up the Dales to Kettlewell, and thence to Leyburn, to join the line to Hawes on the Wensleydale Railway. That was never done.

The station, which opened with the line in mid-1902, [2] had two platforms, each with a run-round loop, and a goods shed and cattle dock with their own sidings. Another siding branched west towards Skirethorns Quarry, ending at the rear of a set of terraced houses known as Woodlands Terrace. Limestone was brought down from the quarry by a tramway to Woodlands Terrace, where it was transferred to trains.

On 22 September 1930, after only 28 years, the LMS withdrew regular passenger services due to poor patronage. However, excursion traffic continued for more than 30 years thereafter, as did general goods traffic and stone traffic from the nearby quarry. The end of quarrying in the early 1960s eventually led to the complete closure of the station, and the northern end of the branch, on 11 August 1969.

The Site Today

The track was lifted on the final section north of Swinden Quarry in 1971 and the old station buildings were demolished soon afterwards. A housing estate now occupies the site.

Embsay Junction

Embsay Junction was laid at the opening of the line in 1902 to take trains from Skipton to Rylstone Station and Threshfield station. The branch was single throughout.

The other direction was the Skipton to Ilkley Line across the Dales, with stations at Embsay, Bolton Abbey, Addingham and finally ending up at Ilkley. The line was double-tracked, as it formed a useful relief route for the busy main line via Keighley. The Ilkley line was closed in 1966, but the signal box at the junction remained in use until July 1969 [3] (to give access for track-lifting trains and to the quarry siding at Embsay). The remaining double track portion down to Skipton was singled at the same time.

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References

  1. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN   1-85260-508-1, p. 108.
  2. 1 2 3 "Grassington & Threshfield". Disused Stations. Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Embsay Junction Archived 24 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine 'Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway website photogallery; Retrieved 4 July 2013
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Rylstone   Midland Railway
Yorkshire Dales Railway 		 Terminus
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