Missing Railway links from Church Fenton to Harrogate, and Leeds to Wetherby

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Wed 11 Apr, 2007 3:30 pm

mmm edgey. The copyright thing is a problem sometimes. Is the magazine publisher still going? If not then do what you like with them i say. I'd love to see the Wetherby stuff. What about uploading them to the Leeds & west yorkshire railway group & setting the privacy level to members only view? That way there seen by only interested people http://www.flickr.com/groups/leedsrailways/

edgey2001 · Post by **edgey2001** » Wed 11 Apr, 2007 3:49 pm

I suppose if there 50 years old , no one will complain too much, if they do, I'll take them off. With regards uploading to flickr, They are probably more suited to LostRailwayswestyorkshire.com as its more written stuff than pictures, so I 'll see about scanning them tnite and will hopefully have them up there very soon.

TomD · Post by **TomD** » Wed 11 Apr, 2007 5:36 pm

finished early today so i went for an explore around my lost leeds/wetherby track...a little boring at Linton! seems the bridge was an uninspired concrete number, i took a photo of it on my phone so will upload it later. pretty uninspiring though.i also took a trip to thorner to see if what i rememberedw was correct. it was! went down "Station Lane", saw "Bridge House" whose garden is above the old railway bridge, then I saw the house Phill pictured call "Beechers". great name for a house!I still havent chatted to anyone yet who actually remembers the line, I guess I will have to go and track down some old people soon, before this curiousity drive me insane!edgy those magazines sound great, let us know wherever you end up posting them please

Barwicker · Post by **Barwicker** » Wed 11 Apr, 2007 8:55 pm

I did travel on this line, just once, immediately before it closed on a Liverpool to Newcastle train. Not surprisingly I can remember litte of the journey, it was over 40 years ago after all.I have a few photographs of Scholes Station, including one of deep snow on the platforms but these are subject to copyright as well. What I would like to see is a decent photograph of Penda's Way station. I can dimly remember the station but never took a shot myself.For a few years in the early 60s I commuted into Leeds from Crossgates and if my memory serves me correctly my train came from Thorpe Arch via Wetherby so at least I used a branch train.

edgey2001 · Post by **edgey2001** » Wed 11 Apr, 2007 9:37 pm

Here are some photos from Modern Railway April 1964:-

edgey2001 · Post by **edgey2001** » Wed 11 Apr, 2007 9:46 pm

Ignore that last message, I will upload it onto flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/bigedgey/

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Thu 12 Apr, 2007 10:25 am

I have a pic of Pendas field somewhere i dont mind adding it our Leeds rail group for members only to view to save me getting sued for copyright sometime

I've put it in the Leeds &West yorks rail group & Edgey has graced the page with the Wetherby article too http://www.flickr.com/groups/leedsrailways/

jf · Post by jf » Thu 12 Apr, 2007 3:01 pm

Looking at the aerial view of Tadcaster (via flashearth using microsoft aerial pics) I think I can see the viaduct (the northernmost of the two river crossings), with the old Wetherby line on the west side.Where was the intended destination of this incomplete railway? I'm guessing this would have been York. I've tried to trace the line using the MS aerial imagery and it looks like a lot of the formation was completed. A bank or cutting is visible north of Auster Bank View, heading east. You can follow the line of this up to Little Catterton Lane, under the factory building, then it dissapears under a field, but shows up again just beyond Catterton Lane (the aerial imagery changes here) where the formation appears to be in use as a farm track. I can trace this as far as the A64, then I think it becomes Hallcroft Lane, which would take it up to the current Leeds-York line. I know it's easy to see railway-type patterns on google earth, but the banking and gentle curves certainly look like the real thing. I thought I had found another route, at the end of Hudson Way (back near the viaduct) there is a mark in a field, then several marks in the yellow field to the north-east which I thought might have been tunnel vents (though a bit close together). Disappointingly I think they're probably just telegraph poles or pylons as there's no sign of anything beyond this.

geoffb · Post by **geoffb** » Thu 12 Apr, 2007 3:23 pm

looking at railways around Leeds and Harrogate, I was involved with the inspection of the "Barber Tunnel", which ran from Bilton to the Harrogate Gas Works. This was built in the early 20th century to lead coal from the sidings at Bilton to the gasworks via this tunnel which was about 1000yard in length, the engine used was a narrow gauge engine 15 ins I think, which was built by the Hunslet engine Company. When I inspected it in the 80s access was gained to the tunnel through someones back garden in Knox through two iron padlocked doors.and it terminated adjacent to the Little Wonder pub on Ripon Road. The tunnel was in excelent condition other than the drains required desilting. I think the tunnel still belongs to British Gas. I think the loco called Barber ended up at the Leeds industrial Museum at Armley, dont think it ever ran there though

rikj · Post by **rikj** » Sat 14 Apr, 2007 12:22 am

Yes I think you're right geoff. As far as I know the tunnel is inspected twice yearly by Transco so I guess they are the current owners. I've heard that the owner of the back garden in which the tunnel entrance now lies gets a small stipend for their troubles.Some people I know would pay to have a disused railway tunnel in their back garden!!If you've been down there I think you're in a fairly privileged position geoff.