Stations that stayed open for freight

[montyburns56]

I was just looking at some pictures of Sutton Park station which lost it's passenger service in the 60s, but stayed open for parcels/freight for another twenty years and I was thinking about what others were there? There's quite a few big ones in Manchester such as Liverpool Road and Oldham Road and smaller ones such as Baguley (Northenden) , but I can guess that the list must be pretty long?

 

[LWB]

Not a rail expert but there’s a poignant bit in an Ian Nairn piece currently on BBC iplayer showing parcels being loaded/unloaded at Hawick some time after the Waverley line shut.

 

[Ash Bridge]

Wadebridge in North Cornwall springs to mind, closed to passengers January 1967 with freight traffic lingering on until the end of 1978.

 

[Springs Branch]

Manchester Mayfield closed to passengers in 1960 after completion of Manchester - Crewe electrification, but was used as a parcels station until 1986 (although according to Wikipedia it seems Mayfield was completely closed for a period between 1960 and 1970).

Part of Manchester Exchange was also used for late night newspaper / parcels traffic for some years after closure in 1969 (until at least 1989 according to Wikipedia).
Exchange's old island platforms were accessible by road vehicles via an underpass and ramp.
These appeared in the WTT identified as Victoria platforms 18 & 19, although there was no signage on site, nor shelter or any other facilities except for modern-style platform lamps (must have been a miserable job loading those trains on a cold, wet Manchester night).

Manchester Exchange in 1989 by Peter Whatley, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4133235

 

[Steptoe]

East Dereham station stayed 'open' for freight from 1969, when the last passenger train ran, until 1989 when the last freight train ran (my recollection is that this was a van to the UKF fertiliser depot in the yard)

'Open' only in the sense that the ownership remained with BR, rather than used for accepting parcels from the public. Although much of the building was rented out for retail purposes a portion was in use up right to closure to provide staff facilities for the train crews.

 

[UP13]

I believe Bideford and the surrounding stations remained open for milk trains and possibly some sort of mineral train until the 1970s.

I imagine some Woodhead line stations remained open for freight until the early 1980s.

 

[Taunton]

It was actually quite common for lines and stations closed to passengers to stay open for freight. Many of the 1960s closures were when coal heating was still common, and coal merchants established at local station sidings continued to provide revenue from a periodic freight, which did not need any station staff or regular timetabled trains which did not cover these costs. Signal boxes along the way might also be closed, but if there were level crossings the guard could handle the gates. The same applied if there was a particular freight source on the line, like a milk depot.

This was aided by the established method of railway accounting at the time, where costs of permanent way maintenance were not attributed to individual traffic, but taken into a common finance pool of costs, and then divided by the number of train miles, to give a cost per train mile. Before computers this was as good as it got. Thus a once-weekly coal train down a branch incurred very little train mile cost there, and while there wouldn't be a lot of track maintenance, there would be some, the drains would be cleared, the annual weedkiller train would be run up and down, etc.

 

[duffield]

Notttingham's London Road Low Level station remained open to goods until 1988, 44 years after closure to passengers. It's listed and is now a gym.

 

[RichmondCommu]

My entry is Ribblehead. The station closed in 1970 but the sidings remained open for ballast workings. In fact it was the last freight service to run on the route before its reprieve, normally producing a class 25.

 

[NSB2017]

The Canterbury and Whitstable line closed for passengers on Jan 1 1931 for passengers but stayed open until Dec 1 1952 for freight (although briefly reopened the following year when the North Kent coast mainline was flooded).

 

[montyburns56]

It was actually quite common for lines and stations closed to passengers to stay open for freight. Many of the 1960s closures were when coal heating was still common, and coal merchants established at local station sidings continued to provide revenue from a periodic freight, which did not need any station staff or regular timetabled trains which did not cover these costs. Signal boxes along the way might also be closed, but if there were level crossings the guard could handle the gates. The same applied if there was a particular freight source on the line, like a milk depot.

Yeah, I think that was what happened at Fallowfield station in Manchester as the coal merchant was still based in the station yard even after the line was closed!

 

[Springs Branch]

It was actually quite common for lines and stations closed to passengers to stay open for freight. Many of the 1960s closures were when coal heating was still common, and coal merchants established at local station sidings continued to provide revenue from a periodic freight, which did not need any station staff or regular timetabled trains which did not cover these costs. Signal boxes along the way might also be closed, but if there were level crossings the guard could handle the gates. The same applied if there was a particular freight source on the line, like a milk depot.

This was aided by the established method of railway accounting at the time, where costs of permanent way maintenance were not attributed to individual traffic, but taken into a common finance pool of costs, and then divided by the number of train miles, to give a cost per train mile. Before computers this was as good as it got. Thus a once-weekly coal train down a branch incurred very little train mile cost there, and while there wouldn't be a lot of track maintenance, there would be some, the drains would be cleared, the annual weedkiller train would be run up and down, etc.

This was also the case at Rawtenstall between the withdrawal of the DMU to Bury Bolton St in 1972 and re-purposing as the ELR's heritage line in the late 1980s (which reached Rawtenstall again in 1991).

After Bury Interchange was opened for the Bury/Manchester EMUs, the entire line from Castleton through Heywood, Bury & Ramsbottom was retained for an occasional coal train making a delivery to Rawtenstall - including a newly constructed flat crossing of the DC line just south of Bury Interchange (presumably paid for by GMPTE).

The coal traffic lasted up until 1980, according to Wiki, & I remember reading that even with non-attributed accounting, BR still lost £50 on every wagon of coal delivered to Rawtenstall.

If you search for "Rawtenstall" within Graham Williams' Flickr pages, you can see some examples of these coal deliveries in their final years.

 

[Carlisle]

The old Dinton station on the Salisbury- Exeter line saw a fair amount of MOD related freight until around the mid1990s

 

[341o2]

I believe Bideford and the surrounding stations remained open for milk trains and possibly some sort of mineral train until the 1970s.

That would be the line from Barnstaple to Meeth which escaped the almost total closure of the former Southern system until the early 80's for clay trains
In Plymouth, both Devpnport Kings Rd and Friary lost their passenger services, but remained open for freight. Friary was the former Southern terminus until passenger services were concentrated on North Rd, then became a freight depot
Marchwood branch lost its passeger services 1966, still open for freight
Chinnor & Princes Risborough railway - the section from PR to Chinnor remained open until 1989 for cement traffic, having lost passenger services 1957

 

[Brian M]

In Brighton....

Kemp Town closed to passengers 1933, used for goods until 1971, with final closure soon after.

 

[WesternLancer]

You can see how common this was by looking at entries here:

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/sites.shtml

each station has a 'date closed to passengers' entry and a 'date closed completely' entry. One can assume, I would think, that if the 2 dates are different it suggests the station lingered on for some sort of freight (or parcels maybe) related use. In some cases there are photos of the location during the latter period.

 

[WesternLancer]

You can see how common this was by looking at entries here:

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/sites.shtml

each station has a 'date closed to passengers' entry and a 'date closed completely' entry. One can assume, I would think, that if the 2 dates are different it suggests the station lingered on for some sort of freight (or parcels maybe) related use. In some cases there are photos of the location during the latter period.

Indeed Sutton Park entry has such pics by the looks of it
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/sutton_park/index.shtml

 

[52290]

Preston Fishergate Hill station was still open in the 1950's long after the Southport passenger service had been diverted to the main station. In fact I think it was still open in 1961 when I started work in Preston. The last loco I can remember seeing crossing the bridge over the river Ribble going down to the station in about that year, was a grimy WD 2-8-0 from Lostock Hall.

 

[L+Y]

Preston Fishergate Hill station was still open in the 1950's long after the Southport passenger service had been diverted to the main station. In fact I think it was still open in 1961 when I started work in Preston. The last loco I can remember seeing crossing the bridge over the river Ribble going down to the station in about that year, was a grimy WD 2-8-0 from Lostock Hall.

I seem to recall seeing somewhere that Fishergate Hill stayed open until 1965, served by the end by 08 shunters on trip working from Lostock Hall.

Speaking of the WLR- Hesketh Park remained open as a coal depot until 1967, after the closure of the Southport-Preston line in 1964. I know the WLR was famously never dieselised- I wonder if these coal workings were in diesel hands, or remained steam worked till the end? Could anybody shed any light?

 

[WesternLancer]

Preston Fishergate Hill station was still open in the 1950's long after the Southport passenger service had been diverted to the main station. In fact I think it was still open in 1961 when I started work in Preston. The last loco I can remember seeing crossing the bridge over the river Ribble going down to the station in about that year, was a grimy WD 2-8-0 from Lostock Hall.

Is that this location?
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/p/preston_west_lancashire/index.shtml

says Sept 1964 closure - final couple of paras detail the end of services (goods) - interesting to read about this location which I was not previously aware of.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Couple of notable Scottish Examples, Glasgwo St Enoch closed to passengers on 27/06/1966 but two platforms were retained for parcels traffic until 05/06/1967, Brechin station survived virtually intact from closure to passengers in 04/08/1952 until full closure on 02/05/1981, subsequently surviving into preservation as the Caledonian Railway.

 

[Scotrail84]

Coupar Angus, shut in the 60's Did that not stay open for potato traffic until the 80's?

 

[Morayshire]

Coupar Angus, shut in the 60's Did that not stay open for potato traffic until the 80's?

Coupar Angus closed along with the rest of the line to Forfar in 1982.

 

[montyburns56]

This was also the case at Rawtenstall between the withdrawal of the DMU to Bury Bolton St in 1972 and re-purposing as the ELR's heritage line in the late 1980s (which reached Rawtenstall again in 1991).

After Bury Interchange was opened for the Bury/Manchester EMUs, the entire line from Castleton through Heywood, Bury & Ramsbottom was retained for an occasional coal train making a delivery to Rawtenstall - including a newly constructed flat crossing of the DC line just south of Bury Interchange (presumably paid for by GMPTE).

The coal traffic lasted up until 1980, according to Wiki, & I remember reading that even with non-attributed accounting, BR still lost £50 on every wagon of coal delivered to Rawtenstall.

If you search for "Rawtenstall" within Graham Williams' Flickr pages, you can see some examples of these coal deliveries in their final years.

Thanks, I've found this picture which feature a wonderfully odd collection of coal wagons which seems to include a Yeoman PGA!

https://flic.kr/p/aDMrAA

 

[montyburns56]

Coupar Angus, shut in the 60's Did that not stay open for potato traffic until the 80's?

Indeed, there's this picture with a VBA?? in the sidings

Shunting at Coupar Angus by Alan Mitchell, on Flickr
Coupar Angus by Mike Futty, on Flickr

 

[Ash Bridge]

Thanks, I've found this picture which feature a wonderfully odd collection of coal wagons which seems to include a Yeoman PGA!

https://flic.kr/p/aDMrAA

I think there's a fair possibility that the Yeoman PGA could be included for dropping off for attention/refurbishment at the Standard Railway Wagon Co. Heywood if this was a local trip working.

 

[montyburns56]

I think there's a fair possibility that the Yeoman PGA could be included for dropping off for attention/refurbishment at the Standard Railway Wagon Co. Heywood if this was a local trip working.

I hadn't thought about that, but it does they look like the type that Heywood built in the 70s.

 

[etr221]

The classic long term examples are probably such as Birmingham Curzon Street and, in London, Nine Elms, Bricklayers Arms and Bishopsgate - and I'm sure there are others I can't recall off hand - all of which had short lives as passenger termini in the 1830s-1850s period (before a better one was built), and then another century or more as goods stations.

 

[Welshman]

3 lines come to mind in the Halifax area:-

The Halifax High Level Railway from Holmfield on the GN Halifax-Bradford via Queensbury route to King Cross St Paul's closed in 1917 as a war-time economy, but re-opened after the war, only to be finally closed to passengers in 1927 when the trams were introduced to Halifax Town Centre, reducing the journey time from about 30 to 10 minutes. However it remained open for freight for a further 33 years, before being finally closed in 1960.
Similarly the L&Y Stainland Branch from Greetland to Stainland & Holywell Green opened in 1875, and was closed to passenger traffic in 1929 but remained open for a 30 years for freight.
Also the Rishworth branch, opened by the L&Y from Sowerby Bridge to Rishworth in 1881. It was intended to extend the line through a tunnel under the Pennines to Littleborough, making that the main L&Y line to Manchester and shortening the route via Todmorden by some 5 miles. However, this did not happen, and the line was closed to passengers in 1929, but remained open for freight until 1958.

 

[d9009alycidon]

The classic long term examples are probably such as Birmingham Curzon Street and, in London, Nine Elms, Bricklayers Arms and Bishopsgate - and I'm sure there are others I can't recall off hand - all of which had short lives as passenger termini in the 1830s-1850s period (before a better one was built), and then another century or more as goods stations.

Glasgow's equivalanet to these was College Passenger Station, opened 1871 by the North British Rly. Described as "A classic train shed of the mid 19th century with wrought-iron roof trusses supported on the south side by a brick wall, and on the north by a row of ten heavy cast-iron columns linked laterally by flat-arched cast-iron girders". The station was closed to passengers in 1886 when the line was extended under Glasgow through Queen Street Low Level and a new College Station (renamed High Street in 1914) built. The original passenger station was absorbed by the much larger College Goods Station and remained in existence until that closed in 1968 and the area was cleared.