Pateley Bridge railway station (Nidd Valley Light Railway)

Pateley Bridge NVLR
Light rail
General information
Location	Pateley Bridge North Yorkshire England
Coordinates	54°05′17″N1°45′43″W / 54.088°N 1.762°W / 54.088; -1.762
Platforms	2
History
Opened	12 September 1907 (1907-09-12)
Closed	1 January 1930 (1930-01-01)
Original company	Nidd Valley Light Railway
Location

Pateley Bridge railway station (NVLR) was a railway station serving the southern terminus of the Nidd Valley Light Railway, in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, England. The railway was built to enable the construction of reservoirs in the Upper Nidd Valley by the Bradford Corporation. The station opened to passengers in September 1907, and closed in January 1930, however, the adjacent line remained open for the transfer of goods traffic until 1937.

History

The station at the southern end of the Nidd Valley Light Railway (NVLR) was referred to as either Pateley Bridge NVLR, or Pateley Bridge (Nidd). ^[1] It was opened to traffic on 12 September 1907, ^[2] and had one main platform, with a second on the southern side, and even though a physical link existed between Pateley Bridge NVLR and the North Eastern Railway's (NER) Pateley Bridge station, passengers had to de-train and travel the short distance between the two (about 400 yards (370 m)). ^[3]

Pateley Bridge NVLR was the main station on the line and was equipped with a small goods shed to the east of the station platform, a carriage shed and depot to the north, and a signal box at the station's northern throat. ^[4] In 1908, the wooden shed containing the contractor's engines burnt down. This was replaced by an iron-built shed made by the Bradford Corporation. ^[5] The exchange sidings with the NER line was to the west of the station. ^[6] The signal box was at Pateley Bridge was the only one on the line, with a signalling contract worth over £430. ^[7] The other three passengers stations on the line operated their points and signals from a ground frame that was located on the station platform. ^{[8] [9]}

Two lines connected with the NER railway; one diverging off the incline up to Scotgate Ash Quarry, and the other leading to a three-road exchange yard. ^[4] The station building, a two-storey structure, was built at a 90-degree angle to the station platforms and still stands to this day. ^[10] A stationmaster, Ted Fawcett, was appointed in September 1907, and served until his death in February 1929. ^[11]

Passenger services varied over the years, with four out and back workings between Pateley Bridge and Lofthouse in 1912, which took 20 minutes each way. ^[12] This was reduced to just three trains during the First World War, when the trains were combined as a passenger and freight service. ^[13] Between 1922 and 1927, the pattern had been extended to five daily out and back services, with journey times northwards (up valley) taking 25 minutes, and the return down the valley taking only 20 minutes. ^{[14] [8]}

The station was closed in January 1930 as a result of falling passenger numbers; records show that over 63,000 people travelled on the line in 1923, which had dropped to 25,000 in the year before closure (1929). ^[15] However, the line remained open to carry freight to and from the dam workings up the valley until 1936, when the whole line from Angram Dam to Pateley Bridge NVLR and the exchange sidings was lifted. In 1937, the agreement with the LNER (the successors to the NER) for the exchange of freight between the NVLR and the Nidd Valley Railway, was terminated. ^[16]

References

1. Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 354. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
2. Burgess, Neil (2014). The lost railways of Yorkshire's West Riding : Harrogate and the north. Catrine, Ayrshire: Stenlake. p. 29. ISBN   9781840336559.
3. Young 2015, p. 108.
4. Bowtell 1991, p. 100.
5. Bowtell 1991, p. 98.
6. Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Todmorden: Bellcode. p. 58. ISBN   978-1871233-24-7.
7. Bowtell 1991, p. 101.
8. Bairstow, Martin (1986). Railways around Harrogate. Halifax: M. Bairstow. p. 37. ISBN   0-9510302-3-X.
9. Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Todmorden: Bellcode. p. 60. ISBN   978-1871233-24-7.
10. "Pateley Bridge". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021. Use the slider to toggle between mapping from 1909 and modern day satellite imagery
11. Bowtell 1991, pp. 102, 135.
12. Hitches, Mike (2013). Steam around Harrogate & the Dales. Stroud: Amberley. p. 82. ISBN   978-1-4456-0764-1.
13. Young 2015, p. 109.
14. Bowtell 1991, p. 134.
15. Bowtell 1991, p. 135.
16. Bowtell 1991, p. 138.

Sources

• Bowtell, Harold D (1991). Lesser railways of the Yorkshire Dales : and the dam builders in the Age of Steam. Brighton: Plateway Press. ISBN   1-871980-09-7.
• Young, Alan (2015). Lost stations of Yorkshire; the West Riding. Kettering: Silver Link. ISBN   978-1-85794-438-9.

External links

• Webpage with image of station building at a right angle to the platform

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		Nidd Valley Light Railway		Wath-in-Nidderdale Line and station closed