A great explore following the spen valley line between Low Moor and Thornhill, although it closed in the mid 80s there are still a lot of artefacts still traceable.
The Spen Valley Line was a railway that connected Mirfield with Low Moor through the Spen Valley in West Yorkshire, England. Opened up by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847, with full opening to Low Moor in 1848, the line served a busy industrial and textile area (known as the Heavy Woollen District and allowed a connection for trains between Huddersfield and Bradford. The line was absorbed by the London & North Western Railway, the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) (on grouping) and British Railways on Nationalisation. A separate link between Heckmondwike Central and Thornhill that opened later and was known as the Ravensthorpe Branch, allowed through running to Wakefield and beyond. The line was closed down to passengers in 1965 with freight continuing sporadically until 1981. In 1966 a new connection was made at Heckmondwike Spen Goods yard, see Leeds New Line page 3 between the L & Y Ravensthorpe branch & The Leeds New Line to Liversedge Spen. This was to supply the Charrington Hargreaves oil terminal at the former Liversedge Spen Goods Yard. This enabled the closure of the Heaton Lodge to Liversedge Spen Goods section of the Leeds New Line. The yard was sold to Charrington Hargreaves in 1967. The terminal was mothballed in 1986. 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.
The line was double track throughout 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. 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.
The original station at Low Moor was situated at the junction of two routes - the line to Halifax and Greetland through the Calder Valley and that via the Spen Valley to Mirfield via Cleckheaton, both built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway.
Low Moor quickly became an important interchange station, as there was initially no direct route between Bradford Exchange and the LB&HJR route to Leeds and so many trains to/from Halifax and Manchester carried portions for both cities that were attached or joined here (a practice that continued even after Exchange was expanded and linked to the Leeds route in 1867).
Low Moor engine shed was steam locomotive shed built adjacent to Low Moor railway station, south of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Originally opened in 1866 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, the depot was rebuilt in 1890, 1945 and lastly in 1948 when it was under British Railways ownership. It was closed to all traffic in 1967, being one of the last steam sheds in the Leeds and Bradford area.
The depot at Low Moor was opened by the LYR in 1866 and was located to the northern side of Low Moor railway station. This had replaced an earlier structure built in the 1860s which was nearer the tunnel mouth.The engine shed was subject to alterations in size and structure in 1890 and 1945, by the LYR and London Midland and Scottish Railway respectively. During the First World War, many of the traditional male-orientated jobs were being undertaken by women due to most of the shed's able bodied men volunteering for war work.
In the 1940s, the shed had a turntable at the northern end, and twelve roads inside the shed, with access to the depot only from the northern end. By the 1960s, twelve roads still ran into the shed area, but the six most western lines had the overall roofing removed by then.
Filmed by Allan Roach
2 янв 2023
