Sowerby Bridge railway station

Sowerby Bridge railway station serves the town of Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Caldervale Line 4.5 miles (7 km) west of Halifax and 21 miles (34 km) west of Leeds.

History

The original station was opened on 5 October 1840 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway, on a site 662 yards (605 m) further west (on the other side of the River Ryburn) of the current site.^[1] Prior to opening, in August 1840, Branwell Brontë was engaged as 'assistant clerk in charge' at Sowerby Bridge, for which his salary was £75 per annum; he transferred to Luddendenfoot on 1 April 1841.^[2] Ahead of the opening of the Rishworth Branch in the 1880s, a new station was built on the current site,^[3] and this opened on 1 September 1876.^[1]

A major fire in 1978 resulted in the demolition of most of the buildings by British Rail in 1980. New canopies were erected in 1981 on the remaining platforms, with a ticket office housed in the surviving wing of the 1870s station, however this closed in 1983^[3] and the station is now unstaffed^[4]. In 2008, the former ticket office building was re-opened as a bar called the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms^[5].

Services

There are two trains per hour in each direction from the station during the day, westbound to Todmorden and Manchester Victoria and eastbound to Leeds. Since the 2008 timetable change, eastbound trains run alternately via Bradford Interchange and via Brighouse and Dewsbury.^[6] Some peak hour services between York and Blackpool North also call here.

During the evenings and on Sundays, there is an hourly service each way to Manchester and to Leeds via Bradford.

Route

At Milner Royd Junction, approximately a quarter of a mile to the east the lines to Halifax and Brighouse diverge. To the west, the dismantled branch line to Ripponden and Rishworth diverged, until its closure in 1958.^[7]

Gallery

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 217. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508. 
2. ^ Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 52. ISBN 0 7153 4352 1. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "History". Jubilee Refreshment Rooms. http://www.jubileerefreshmentrooms.co.uk/History.html. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
4. ^ "Station facilities for Sowerby Bridge". National Rail Enquiries. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sow/details.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 
5. ^ "Refreshing change at Pennine station". Yorkshire Post. 2008-02-02. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/refreshing_change_at_pennine_station_1_2491505. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
6. ^ "Caldervale Line Timetable 2008-09 Northern Rail website". http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/20081117/27.pdf. Retrieved 20 December 2008. 
7. ^ "L&YR Sowerby Bridge - Rishworth". Railway Ramblers. http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk/Railway%20Ramblers%20Calderdale.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 

External links

• Train times and station information for Sowerby Bridge railway station from National Rail
• Milner Royd Junction