Pudsey Lowtown Station, St. Joseph's, and Stanningley

Patexpat · Post by **Patexpat** » Mon 27 Feb, 2012 9:56 am

Just looked at 'historical imagery' on Google Earth, and if you go back to the 2002 imagery, it looks very much to me as if the side road 'Intercity way' off Swinnow Lane was built on the old railway alignment? ... much more obvious than on the later imagery ...

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon 27 Feb, 2012 10:33 am

BIG N wrote: ..... the junction actually split just before Bramley station on the leeds side with two platforms at Bramley being on the loop and two being on the direct Bradford line. Sorry Big N, the junction was Bramley West, just east of Swinnow Lane, and was in the form of a double track crossover. Check out the 1921 1:2500 map on old-maps. Of the four tracks from Copley Hill to Bramley West, the southern pair were used mainly for goods and non stop traffic. If I am remembering correctly, there were no platforms on that pair of lines at Armley Moor, or at Bramley and the Pudsey Loop trains would have stopped at both.

socistep · Post by **socistep** » Mon 27 Feb, 2012 11:56 am

Hi Jim - I had a closer look and can tell the 2 bridges now, looking back at the 1921 map on 'Tracks in time' it says there was a 'Bramley brick works' just south of the branch line, could be there in the 60s?Hello Patexpat - I had a look on 'tracks in time' comparing the 1921 map with aerial from 2006, it looks to me that the branch line goes straight through where the 'Thomas (Bros)' office is now, crosses swinnow lane and runs parallel to Intercity way but slightly north of that so don't think its directly following the old branch line route, let me know what you think?Interestingly there was also a branch creating a triangle further west, I'm guessing so that trains could go back into Bradford or Leeds direction when coming from Pudsey Lowtown, again if you look on 'tracks in time' you can see that the route line of this was used with some of the industriual units having a curved perimeter wall, good example is the recycling unit.

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon 27 Feb, 2012 2:53 pm

socistep wrote: Interestingly there was also a branch creating a triangle further west, I'm guessing so that trains could go back into Bradford or Leeds direction when coming from Pudsey Lowtown,.... I believe I am right in saying that this was the original route (easier to build, the Bramley- Pudsey route required substantial earthworks) and passengers from Leeds to Pudsey transferred at the original Stanningley station. When the later east to south curve was built the old curve fell into disuse as far as passenger trains were concerned, and was eventually disconnected at (I think) the Pudsey end and used purely as a pair of carriage sidings.As originally built, the line terminated at Pudsey Greenside and was not completed as a through route to Laisterdyke/Dudley Hill until some years later.

BIG N · Post by **BIG N** » Tue 28 Feb, 2012 2:56 am

Patexpat wrote: Hi Big N - I think you are getting Swinnow Lane and Swinnow Road confuzzed ... Swinnow Lane was just after where the lines diverged, and indeed used to have two rail over bridges close together .. Swinnow Road is where Bramley station was, and well still is in its 'new' form. Having dug out my Leeds A to Z I have to admit your correct Patexpat, my excuse is I'm not from Leeds and I've only been here 27 years now so an easy mistake to make lol

Patexpat · Post by **Patexpat** » Tue 28 Feb, 2012 4:31 am

only 27 years? bloody incomers!

Patexpat · Post by **Patexpat** » Tue 28 Feb, 2012 4:51 am

socistep wrote: Hello Patexpat - I had a look on 'tracks in time' comparing the 1921 map with aerial from 2006, it looks to me that the branch line goes straight through where the 'Thomas (Bros)' office is now, crosses swinnow lane and runs parallel to Intercity way but slightly north of that so don't think its directly following the old branch line route, let me know what you think? I think you are absolutely correct .. the distance between the two bridges is much less than the distance between the existing bridge and 'intercity way',BTW on the 1910 map, you can see just to the ENE of the bridges is marked an inn (The Brown Cow) - i used to live in the row of houses opposite, third in from the left! Pulled down in the 60's which was a travesty. Lovely houses, the walls were incredibly thick and cool in summer but the loos were outside (even tho we had a bathroom).Shame ....

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Tue 28 Feb, 2012 11:50 am

Gmintyfresh wrote: I wonder if anyone out there can please help me? I'm really interested in seeing any photo's or information about of the stretch railway line that used to depart from the old Pudsey Lowtown Station towards Stanningley. More specifically the cutting and line that stretched from mount pleasant road past St. Josephs school, across Pudsey Grangefield School playing fields, and across the land where the Bypass now is situated. Geoff I attended Pudsey Grammar School (now Grangefield) 1955-60. In those days the railway from Lowtown to Bramley was well outside the boundary of the playing fields. Sometimes at lunchtime (or dinner-time as we called it then), some of us would walk down a track leading towards Stanningley from St Joseph's church to watch trains on the Leeds-Bradford via Stanningley line. I don't recall our having any inclination to seek out the Lowtown line although obviously it passed very close.

socistep · Post by **socistep** » Wed 29 Feb, 2012 3:43 pm

Uno Hoo wrote: Gmintyfresh wrote: I wonder if anyone out there can please help me? I'm really interested in seeing any photo's or information about of the stretch railway line that used to depart from the old Pudsey Lowtown Station towards Stanningley. More specifically the cutting and line that stretched from mount pleasant road past St. Josephs school, across Pudsey Grangefield School playing fields, and across the land where the Bypass now is situated. Geoff I attended Pudsey Grammar School (now Grangefield) 1955-60. In those days the railway from Lowtown to Bramley was well outside the boundary of the playing fields. Sometimes at lunchtime (or dinner-time as we called it then), some of us would walk down a track leading towards Stanningley from St Joseph's church to watch trains on the Leeds-Bradford via Stanningley line. I don't recall our having any inclination to seek out the Lowtown line although obviously it passed very close. Hi Uni HooWhat are your memories of that area pre the stanningley bypass, I'm the kind of person who always drives round places and wonders what it was like before major development and that stretch is one I always try and imagine. I'm guessing back then Pudsey, Bramley, Stanningley were villages/towns in their own right connected by railway but not part of the Leeds urban sprawl that they are now?ian

iansmithofotley · Post by **iansmithofotley** » Wed 29 Feb, 2012 4:53 pm

Hi socistep,In modern times, Bramley and Stanningley were always part of the City of Leeds. Pudsey was in the West Riding but became part of the Leeds area in 1974, when the present 'West Yorkshire' was created.Ian