Railway Relics of Yesteryear

jf · Post by jf » Sat 17 Mar, 2007 10:51 pm

Part of the Middleton Railway trackbed is still in existence in the gas depot on Kidacre Street (west of Crown Point). The rail bridge to the south is still there and there is also an embankment on the site, now home to several high pressure gas mains. I have seen some historic photos of this area, including the rail depot where Crown Point now is.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Sun 18 Mar, 2007 2:30 pm

Nice work Jf. Is any of the trackwork visible or do you have to be in the compound to see it? I'm suprised it's still there. There used to be a connection to a pottery from there as well.

Martyn · Post by **Martyn** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 12:10 am

This isn't exactly trackwork but it's the route of the original Middleton Railway where it crosses Jack Lane. The track is now the entrance to the gasworks. This is just next to Pottery Fields depot. Could this be the pottery that Phil_d is referring to? There were loads of potteries in Leeds in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries making anything from posh tiles and dainty plates to things that you could p against. Adamant springs to mind.

wsmith · Post by **wsmith** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 9:15 am

Was Adamant made in Leeds? Where was the factory? The first album I ever bought was Prince Charming. Being a big fan, I used to laugh at seeing the artist's name on every urinal in my school.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 10:06 am

I actually photographed that trackway the same day as the bridge. Yes the connection to the pottery was to the left looking at the pic. I have a map of the Middleton railway showing all that area. I'll try make it clear to see later. I don't think you can make it out small scale. There were connections to engineering works from the Hunslet Midlands goods yard too. It's amazing how much land the railway occupied. When the secret Leeds team get the big size pics sorted i'll post some arial Leeds city station pics 1963. There's a cracking view of all 3 stations.

Beeston mick · Post by **Beeston mick** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 2:26 pm

Hi Phill,stumbled on a site that you may be interested in.http://www.ponies.me.uk/maps/osmap.htmlIt's basically a guy that's layered modern maps and satellite images over old os maps 1920s 1930s.It's great for tracking down old buildings.Keep up the good work and happy wanderings.

Aeldfrith · Post by **Aeldfrith** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 5:35 pm

It's a shame that the "Low Moor Colliery" railway isn't on this map as they'd already started building the Gipton estate by then. You can still see traces of the embankment on the left at the Harehills end of Easterly Road. (The coal staithes were on Harehills Lane near to where Hovingham Avenue is.) Coldcotes School was built on the site of the colliery. The remains of the slag heap (the "pit hill") are on Thorn Walk.

Squatch_11 · Post by **Squatch_11** » Thu 22 Mar, 2007 7:55 pm

When I dropped our lass off at Croggy station on Monday, the rements of the bridge was cut up in between the ticket office and M&S, so guess it won't be appearing at a preserved railway near you......

Aeldfrith · Post by **Aeldfrith** » Fri 23 Mar, 2007 1:47 am

Martyn wrote: This isn't exactly trackwork but it's the route of the original Middleton Railway where it crosses Jack Lane. The track is now the entrance to the gasworks. This is just next to Pottery Fields depot. Could this be the pottery that Phil_d is referring to? There were loads of potteries in Leeds in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries making anything from posh tiles and dainty plates to things that you could p against. Adamant springs to mind. There is a plan of the pottery and the railway here: http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Fri 23 Mar, 2007 1:33 pm

Beeston mick wrote: Hi Phill,stumbled on a site that you may be interested in.http://www.ponies.me.uk/maps/osmap.htmlIt's basically a guy that's layered modern maps and satellite images over old os maps 1920s 1930s.It's great for tracking down old buildings.Keep up the good work and happy wanderings. Cheers Mick, I'll have a good old look at that map soon. I have the map that covers the whole of Middleton railway if anyone wants to download it & view it on a larger scale. http://flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/431307416/