Spen Valley Line

The railway was first proposed by the West Riding Union Railway (WRUR), who submitted a bill to parliament in 1846 to build {{convert|45|mi|0}} of railways around the south west of Bradford connecting with Halifax, Huddersfield and Mirfield.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=25}} The WRUR was absorbed by the Manchester & Leeds Railway, who in turn became a constituent of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway a year later. The railway's initial section between Mirfield and {{rws|Cleckheaton Central}} opened in 1847, with full opening to Low Moor in July 1848.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=25}} However, it would be two years before through running was achieved from Low Moor into Bradford, so Low Moor acted as the northern terminus; delays in tunnelling under the hill at Bowling meant that the section to {{rws|Bradford Exchange}} did not open until May 1850.Passengers to and from Bradford had to connect to Low Moor via an omnibus; the opening of the station at Bradford Exchange (known as Bradford L & Y in its early days) was reportedly met with "welcome relief" by passengers interchanging between the two destinations.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=26}}

The distance of the line extended to almost {{convert|7|mi}} between the two points{{cite web |title=Mirfield to Low Moor (Cleckheaton Branch) 1847 - 1965 |url=http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk/Mirfield%20Low%20moor.htm |website=lostrailwayswestyockshire.co.uk |access-date=27 August 2018}} with a small {{convert|2+1/2|mi|adj=on|0}} spur extending from Heckmondwike to Thornhill that had one intermediate station at Ravensthorpe.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=65}}{{cite magazine|last1=Ross|first1=A M|title=Rail Tour of the West Riding I - A history of the Leeds & Bradford Lines|magazine=Trains Illustrated|date=May 1957|volume=10|issue=104|page=205}}Trains Illustrated became Modern Railways in 1962. This was part of the original WRUR bill passed in August 1846, but abandoned by the L&Y on grounds of cost. Because of the need to reverse at Mirfield to head towards the Wakefield direction, the 1846 plan for the line between Heckmondwike and Thornhill was re-submitted to parliament and approved. The line opened to traffic in June 1869.{{sfn|Batty|1989|pp=55–65}}

The line was double track throughout{{cite book |last1=Horsfall |first1=Bill |title=London Midland & Scottish; Britain's Greatest Railway |date=2014 |publisher=AuthorHouse UK |location=Bloomington |isbn=978-1-4969-8179-0 |page=203}} with a triangular junction in the Low Moor area to allow trains to access the line west to Halifax. The topography of the line was fairly flat with the steepest gradient being a 1 in 100 north of Heckmondwike and the line only required two tunnels.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=25}} The spur between Heckmondwike and Thornhill cut 25 minutes from the journey time between Bradford and Wakefield and also reduced the congestion at Mirfield station. The spur line had a twelve-arch viaduct across the River Calder just east of Ravensthorpe Lower station.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=65}}The line was furnished with a new bridge in the early 1970s across the M62 motorway, though by then, it had closed to passengers.{{sfn|Suggitt|2007|p=66}} The west facing curve at the northern end of the line was built by the Lancashire & Yorkshire railway in 1893 after an agreement in 1882 with the Great Northern Railway about the sharing of running powers. The L&Y used the agreement to prevent the GNR building a line through the Spen Valley which would have duplicated their route. The 1882 agreement provided the L&Y with access to GNR lines in the Wakefield and Pudsey areas. The GNR were, in return, afforded the ability to run trains from the {{rws|Doncaster}} and Wakefield areas to Halifax either via {{rws|Brighouse}} or Cleckheaton.{{cite book |last1=Bairstow |first1=Martin |title=The Great Northern Railway in the West Riding |date=1999 |publisher=Bairstow |location=Farsley |isbn=1-871944-19-8 |page=71}}

The line lost its local passenger services in July 1965 and despite Low Moor being on a line that would stay open serving trains between Halifax and Bradford, it too closed completely.Low Moor reopened to passengers in April 2017{{cite book |last1=Body |first1=Geoffrey |title=Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2: Northern Operating Area |date=1989 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location=Wellingborough |isbn=1-85260-072-1 |page=110}}{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-39471692 |title=New £10.8m railway station opens in Bradford |work=BBC News |date=2 April 2017 |access-date=27 August 2018}} In the 1980s, the West Riding Transport Museum, had intended to electrify the line between Low Moor and Heckmondwike to 1,500 volt Direct Current. This was so they could run a newly acquired Class 506 EMU on the line.{{cite magazine |editor1-last=Slater |editor1-first=John |title=506 Saved |magazine=The Railway Magazine |date=March 1985 |volume=131 |issue=((1,007)) |page=145 |publisher=Transport Press |location=Surrey |issn=0033-8923}} The course of the line is now a cycle and footpath named the Spen Valley Greenway. There have been proposals for the railway to re-open to provide a separate service from Bradford to Huddersfield or Wakefield,{{cite news |title=OLD SPEN RAIL LINE COULD BE REOPENED |url=https://www.spenboroughguardian.co.uk/news/old-spen-rail-line-could-be-reopened-1-1428930 |access-date=27 August 2018 |work=Spenborough Guardian |date=17 April 2003}}{{cite news |title=Light at the end of the tunnel? |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-1-2514528 |access-date=31 August 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=17 April 2003}} however, the greenway that occupies the trackbed was dug up by Yorkshire Water in two stages during 2011 when a pipeline was installed.{{cite news |title=Greenway scheme wins top 'Oscar' |work=Batley & Birstall News |date=22 May 2012|id={{ProQuest|1015287012}} }} This was preferable to crossing roads and other means of communications but has also meant that the prospect of re-opening the line to rail traffic is diminished as the cost of moving the pipeline was estimated at £15 million in 2011.{{cite news |title=Low Moor railway station row |work=Spenborough Guardian |date=22 September 2011|id={{ProQuest|912384172}} }}

This line has been identified by Campaign for a Better Transport as a priority 1 candidate for reopening.{{cite web|title=The case for expanding the rail network|url=https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/case-for-expanding-rail-network.pdf|work=bettertransport.org.uk|page=30|access-date=23 April 2019}}

From north west to south east;

• {{rws|Low Moor}}
• {{rws|Cleckheaton Central}}
• Liversedge Central
• {{rws|Heckmondwike Central}}
• {{rws|Northorpe North Road}}
• {{rws|Mirfield}}
• {{rws|Ravensthorpe Lower}}
• {{rws|Thornhill}}

The stations at Cleckheaton, Liversedge Heckmondwike and Northorpe opened in July 1848. Cleckheaton, Liversedge and Heckmondwike were later renamed in 1924 each having the suffix Central appended to their names to avoid confusion with Cleckheaton Spen, Liversedge Spen and {{rws|Heckmondwike Spen}} stations on the Leeds New Line. Bairstow, writing in the Manchester and Leeds Railway, states that in the case of Cleckheaton, the term central was very appropriate for the Spen Valley Line station as the one on the Leeds New Line was quite far from the town.{{cite book |last1=Bairstow |first1=Martin |title=The Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Railway; the Standedge Line |date=1990 |publisher=Bairstow |location=Halifax |isbn=1-871944-02-3 |page=55 |edition=2}}{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Neil |title=The Lost Railways of Yorkshire's West Riding |date=2014 |publisher=Stenlake |location=Catrine |isbn=9781840336573 |page=68}} Similarly, Northorpe and Ravensthorpe were renamed in 1924 by the LMS to avoid confusion with other stations in the same locations.{{cite book |last1=Butt |first1=R V J |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |date=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location=Yeovil |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |page=117}}

In 1901, Parliamentary approval was granted to the Spen Valley Light Railway for the construction of nearly {{convert|19|mi}} in the Spen Valley between Dewsbury, Cleckheaton, Thornhill and Heckmondwike.{{cite book |last1=Bosley |first1=Peter |title=Light railways in England and Wales |date=1990 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester |isbn=9780719017582 |page=185}}{{cite web |title=Spen Valley Light Railway (Extensions) |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2213997 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=27 August 2018}}{{cite web |title=Spen Valley Light Railway, The Light Railways Act 1896, order of the Light Railway Commissioners authorising the construction of light railways from Ravensthorpe to Cleckheaton in the West Riding of the county of York |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/e0f10a99-3703-4387-8237-3861b8cab68c |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=27 August 2018}} This was actually a tramway and a subsidiary company was formed under the name Yorkshire Woollen District (YWD) to run trams on the network.{{cite news |title=Nostalgia on Tuesday: Rise of the tram |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-yorkshire/heritage/nostalgia-on-tuesday-rise-of-the-tram-1-8592382 |access-date=27 August 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=13 June 2017}}

Transperience, A museum dedicated to the experience of passenger transport in West Yorkshire was built on the site of Low Moor station in 1995. It also had a small section of line that used the former trackbed of the Spen Valley Railway which the museum used to run trams up and down on. The museum failed to attract the visitor numbers that it had hoped for and closed down in 1997, just two years after opening.{{cite web |title=The Low Moor Tramway Light Railway Order 1995 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/2501/made |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |access-date=27 August 2018}}{{cite magazine|last1=Cormack |first1=John |title=Light Rail News - Trams Back at Bradford |magazine=The Railway Magazine |date=March 1996 |volume=142 |issue=((1,139)) |page=14 |publisher=IPC |location=London |issn=0033-8923}}

File:Spen Valley Greenway, Mallard Cl, Heckmondwike.jpg

In 1998, Sustrans acquired the trackbed and converted it into a greenway for people on horses, foot or bicycle.{{cite news |last1=Clifford |first1=Sally |title=A Green-Way to travel |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10295785.A_Green-Way_to_travel/ |access-date=9 September 2018 |work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus |date=18 March 2013}} The greenway is equally maintained by Sustrans and Kirklees Council, who between them, have paved the route.{{cite news |title=Old lines never die…they just get recycled |url=https://www.railmagazine.com/infrastructure/trackside/old-lines-never-diethey-just-get-recycled?p=2 |access-date=9 September 2018 |work=www.railmagazine.com |date=28 October 2015}} The greenway runs for {{convert|7|mi}} on the former trackbed but the length of the route between Dewsbury and Low Moor extends to {{convert|13|km|order=flip|0}} and is estimated to carry over 200,000 non-motorised journeys per year.{{cite book |last1=Hammond |first1=Richard |last2=Smith |first2=Jeremy |title=Great escapes : 500 unforgettable travel experiences |date=2010 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=978-1-84836-905-4 |page=11}}{{cite news |title=Greenway's final phase officially opened |url=https://www.spenboroughguardian.co.uk/news/greenway-s-final-phase-officially-opened-1-1395814 |access-date=9 September 2018 |work=Spenborough Guardian |date=14 September 2007}} In 2007, the route won first prize for mobility in the European Greenway Awards.{{cite news |title=Saddle up and join the chain gang |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/saddle-up-and-join-the-chain-gang-1-2485062|access-date=10 September 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=26 December 2007}} The greenway has access to Low Moor railway station at its northern end as well as alternative routes into Bradford,{{cite news |title=Forty years after rail station shut - new one is set to open |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=16 November 2011|id={{ProQuest|904055515}} }} and at the southern end it connects into the Calder Valley Greenway.{{cite web |title=Spen Greenway |url=https://www.spenvalleycivicsociety.org.uk/things-to-do/spen-greenway |website=www.spenvalleycivicsociety.org.uk |access-date=10 September 2018}} It is part of National Cycle Route number 66 which runs between Manchester and Hull,{{cite news |title=Greenway cyclists |url=https://www.spenboroughguardian.co.uk/news/greenway-cyclists-1-1416511 |access-date=10 September 2018 |work=Spenborough Guardian |date=3 April 2008}} and has been furnished with a flock of metal Swaledale Sheep and a ring of metal hoops that the walker or biker goes under whilst navigating the route.{{cite news |last1=Barron |first1=Heather |title=Train treks: 6 walks and cycle routes along disused railway lines in the north |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15089730.Train_treks__6_walks_and_cycle_routes_along_disused_railway_lines_in_the_north/ |access-date=10 September 2018 |work=The Northern Echo |date=16 February 2017}}{{cite news |title=Discover the region's natural treasures on two wheels |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/discover-the-region-s-natural-treasures-on-two-wheels-1-6498177 |access-date=10 September 2018 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=14 March 2014}}{{cite news |title=Scrap-metal sheep line cycle route |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2816563.stm |access-date=10 September 2018 |work=BBC News |date=3 March 2003}}

{{reflist|group="note"}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Batty|first=Stephen|title=Rail Centres: Leeds/Bradford|year=1989|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton|isbn=0-7110-1821-9}}
• {{cite book|last=Suggitt|first=Gordon|title=Lost Railways of South & West Yorkshire|year=2007|publisher=Countryside Books|location=Newbury|isbn=978-1-84674-043-5}}

{{commons category|Spen Valley Greenway}}

• [https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/spen-valley-greenway Spen Valley Greenway map — Sustrans]

{{Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber}}

Category:Closed railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber

Category:London and North Western Railway

Category:Disused railway stations in Kirklees

Category:Rail trails in England