Yorkshire's railways - a map

[YorksLad12]

Oh... Lordy!

Several years ago I wondered how many closed stations there were in Yorkshire. I did the research, then plotted it all out on a Google map. Which is fine but it doesn't show how those stations all connected together.

So I drew the attached. It's taken me the best part of three weeks to get to this stage, so be gentle. I was just going to do the stations on one map with a separate sheet for the details (which you'd print out on the back) but no-one does printed publications these days; instead I took inspiration from Douglas Rose's diagrammatic history of the Underground and put the opening, closing, reopening, stolen, etc. dates for each station alongside their dots. But with less colour and an awful, awful lot more stations. Do not try and print this out! The map itself I had to draw on B0-size (the largest Inkscape would let me do by default); I've sized the pdf document for B1 in InDesign (the same size as the copy of Douglas Rose's map that I have).

Yes; I know Batley Carr is on the 'wrong' side of Batley. I've made several attempts to fix that but nothing works. All other comments gratefully received (but read the Notes section on the map first). I doubt I'll be doing anything like this again in a hurry. Other, smaller things, yes When my eyesight clears up...

 

[StephenHunter]

Great work!

 

[SouthernR]

Very impressive!
A minor suggestion - is it worth showing destinations of lines to the outside world?
I've spotted a few spelling errors - Westmorland, pragmatism, workmen's

 

[Hardcastle]

That must have taken great effort well done & a interesting read.

 

[pdeaves]

Unless something shows oddly on my system (quite possible!), there seems to be a superfluous bit of track a little to the right of the Bradford stations.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Should Ben Rydding (sic) near Ilkley, not be Ben Rhydding?

 

[D6130]

Wow! Excellent......a wonderful effort and very clearly laid-out.

 

[soccermad]

Super Effort ! What county is next

 

[YorksLad12]

Very impressive!
A minor suggestion - is it worth showing destinations of lines to the outside world?
I've spotted a few spelling errors - Westmorland, pragmatism, workmen's

Should Ben Rydding (sic) near Ilkley, not be Ben Rhydding?

Yes - I spotted a few of those after publishing. That's why it's the Zeroth Edition

Unless something shows oddly on my system (quite possible!), there seems to be a superfluous bit of track a little to the right of the Bradford stations.

I thought I'd deleted that... to make life slightly easier I 'chunked' bits of line then copied and pasted them around.

That must have taken great effort well done & a interesting read.

Super Effort ! What county is next

It did... and no. Just no. Unless you want me to do Malta...!

 

[David Goddard]

This is amazing- well done. A great idea to do all of Yorkshire in one go, rather than just (say) the West Riding then others separately.
A fascinating record of all that there has ever been.
Hoping someone will do East Anglia in the same way one day!

 

[xotGD]

Very nice piece of work!

A couple of observations on my patch:

The original Bingley station was slightly further in the direction of Keighley, and so ought to be included in addition to the current station.

Likewise, I believe Keighley station was originally in a different location.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

One further observation. Should principal stations such as Leeds and York be marked as such? Maybe as a (solid) square rather than a (solid) circle.

 

[YorksLad12]

Very nice piece of work!

A couple of observations on my patch:

The original Bingley station was slightly further in the direction of Keighley, and so ought to be included in addition to the current station.

Likewise, I believe Keighley station was originally in a different location.

Ta. Keighley was rebuilt on the same site, says Wiki. Bingley... beats my limit in the Notes by a few metres, assuming Wiki is correct that the old station was "nearer the Three Rise Locks" - although it doesn't say where exactly or what street it might have been off. I should have set the limit as 300m !

This is amazing- well done. A great idea to do all of Yorkshire in one go, rather than just (say) the West Riding then others separately.
A fascinating record of all that there has ever been.
Hoping someone will do East Anglia in the same way one day!

Thanks. When I realised how large it was turning out I toyed with doing one overall map then breaking out the Ridings into separate maps. But the West Riding covers more space than the North and East combined so that was that.

One further observation. Should principal stations such as Leeds and York be marked as such? Maybe as a (solid) square rather than a (solid) circle.

I thought about it, or a larger dot. Some stations have waxed and waned in importance during their lives especially if they were junctions. Normanton was more important than it is now, for example, as was Skipton. And Market Weighton. Two sizes of dots in three colours just simplifies things.

 

[Revaulx]

No way did Neepsend survive as late as 1970! Wonkypedia says 1940 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neepsend_railway_station

 

[YorksLad12]

Very impressive!
A minor suggestion - is it worth showing destinations of lines to the outside world?
I've spotted a few spelling errors - Westmorland, pragmatism, workmen's

Forgot to say earlier: I will be adding some of the fictitious stations outside of God's Own County later, hence the extension of lines into the grey surround. Either major places or next station - haven't decided yet.

No way did Neepsend survive as late as 1970! Wonkypedia says 1940 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neepsend_railway_station

Ta. Cut & paste error. Now you know why I never want to try something like this again

 

[Revaulx]

Ta. Cut & paste error. Now you know why I never want to try something like this again

That’s a shame. Particularly as you have an army of proof readers on here who are only too happy to offer their services...

 

[richard1976]

Great work with the map.
Wadsley Bridge did lose its regular service in 1959, but continued to be used by football specials until it was closed for good in 1996 (think the last ones where to do with Euro 96)

 

[Welshman]

An excellent piece of work.

I'm loathe to make suggestions, but you did ask!

Firstly - an obvious cut and paste error - "Brighouse for Bradford" should be removed from the Elland entry.

Brighouse, before it closed in 1970, was known as "Brighouse for Rastrick"

Cooper Bridge was built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway to serve Huddersfield, and was known as "Cooper Bridge for Huddersfield" when opened. Of course when the LNWR built its own line and the present Huddersfield station, the main purpose for building Cooper Bridge was gone.

Berry Brow had a previous station, 330 yards towards Huddersfield, opened 1st July 1850 and closed 2 July 1966.

 

[30907]

Ta. Bingley... beats my limit in the Notes by a few metres, assuming Wiki is correct that the old station was "nearer the Three Rise Locks" - although it doesn't say where exactly or what street it might have been off. I should have set the limit as 300m !

Looking at the relevant large scale map, Bingley station building was where the goods shed later was (and still is).
Keighley was immediately NW of the present road bridge.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Never again?!
In the Sheffield area...
The triangle at Darnall isn't a triangle any more. The N-E side is shown as freight only on your map but it's long since lifted.
And nearby at Treeton, the triangle is also lifted, leaving only the N-S line, plus the lines through Tinsley yard don't extend as far as the site of Catcliffe station.

 

[xotGD]

Looking at the relevant large scale map, Bingley station building was where the goods shed later was (and still is).
Keighley was immediately NW of the present road bridge.

There is a photo in 'The Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Yorkshire' by Dr Gary Firth showing the old station immediately in front of the foot of the 3 Rise.

 

[Harpers Tate]

A handful of quick observations - very interesting bit of work

Whitby West Cliff closed 12.6.1961
South Howden closed (to pax) 1.8.1955
North Eastrington closed (to pax) 1.8.1955
(above according to "Disused Stations")

Between Anston and Kiveton Park the existing junction (Brancliffe) was trangular; there was a curve joining North to East (now dismantled)
Curve Darnall <> Attercliffe - lifted. (already mentioned)
Geometry at Scarborough - for the line to Scalby - is a bit off (depending on how precise you want to be). It should peel off between Londesborough Rd and Central.

 

[Brooke]

Very interesting - great work!

It seems like Ruswarp and Sleights jointly have the acolade of being the oldest stations in Yorkshire still open and still with the original name - something I’d never have guessed!

 

[YorksLad12]

That’s a shame. Particularly as you have an army of proof readers on here who are only too happy to offer their services...

I wouldn't have done this or the previous map if I didn't have the lovely people on here to check my homework. But it's a huge effort on a 13.3" laptop!

An excellent piece of work.

I'm loathe to make suggestions, but you did ask!

Firstly - an obvious cut and paste error - "Brighouse for Bradford" should be removed from the Elland entry.

Brighouse, before it closed in 1970, was known as "Brighouse for Rastrick"

Cooper Bridge was built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway to serve Huddersfield, and was known as "Cooper Bridge for Huddersfield" when opened. Of course when the LNWR built its own line and the present Huddersfield station, the main purpose for building Cooper Bridge was gone.

Berry Brow had a previous station, 330 yards towards Huddersfield, opened 1st July 1850 and closed 2 July 1966.

Ta. If you don't pull me up on these things it won't be accurate. I knew about Berry Brow and then forgot about it. The others will be me being a bit slack... I think there's around 750 station dots and labels to keep track of and I'm not known for my long attentio

Looking at the relevant large scale map, Bingley station building was where the goods shed later was (and still is).
Keighley was immediately NW of the present road bridge.

Aye. Found an old photo showing Bingley, so that gets an extra dot in the next revision. Keighley is an "other side of the bridge" rebuild like Swinton, so won't.

Never again?!
In the Sheffield area...
The triangle at Darnall isn't a triangle any more. The N-E side is shown as freight only on your map but it's long since lifted.
And nearby at Treeton, the triangle is also lifted, leaving only the N-S line, plus the lines through Tinsley yard don't extend as far as the site of Catcliffe station.

Well I wouldn't mind doing something with station plans... (see the Sheffield entry on Wikipedia). I usually double-checked curves that no longer exist, clearly I missed out these when zooming in on Google. I must have done the Sheffield bits when I had my first "never again" thought

A handful of quick observations - very interesting bit of work

Whitby West Cliff closed 12.6.1961
South Howden closed (to pax) 1.8.1955
North Eastrington closed (to pax) 1.8.1955
(above according to "Disused Stations")

Between Anston and Kiveton Park the existing junction (Brancliffe) was trangular; there was a curve joining North to East (now dismantled)
Curve Darnall <> Attercliffe - lifted. (already mentioned)
Geometry at Scarborough - for the line to Scalby - is a bit off (depending on how precise you want to be). It should peel off between Londesborough Rd and Central.

Ta. Author error (replace Author and try again) This why I needed the extra pair(s) of eyes. See above re Sheffield bits.

Scarborough: I think what I might try is to straighten it up to make the Whitby route match what happens on the ground. I have tried to be accurate with junction directions (if not actual locations sometimes) and Scarborough is a terminal like Bradford, so...


Question for anyone who knows: could you travel between Settrington and Amotherby without calling/reversing at Malton? Something needs adding there if so.

 

[SouthernR]

Question for anyone who knows: could you travel between Settrington and Amotherby without calling/reversing at Malton? Something needs adding there if so

I've no local knowledge, but old OS maps show the Settrington to Amotherby line crossing over the Malton to Scarborough line, with only a single chord linking Settrington to Malton. The question becomes - did trains travelling between Settrington and Amotherby call at Malton, which would require a double reversal?

 

[lachlan]

This map is fab, thank you for sharing it. My only complaint is it doesn't cover a larger area, though I dread to think how long it would take to make such a map for the whole of the UK!

 

[Grumpy]

Very good.
Sherburn missing?

 

[Harpers Tate]

I've no local knowledge, but old OS maps show the Settrington to Amotherby line crossing over the Malton to Scarborough line, with only a single chord linking Settrington to Malton. The question becomes - did trains travelling between Settrington and Amotherby call at Malton, which would require a double reversal?

According to a 1906 timetable there were separate services (no shown through workings) between
Malton and Driffield
Malton and Gilling (and beyond).
The time taken between Amotherby and Malton was 13/16 minutes which suggests a reverse, and there is no evidence on maps of the same era of a direct connection.

 

[YorksLad12]

Very good.
Sherburn missing?

I had to 'break' the map a few times to make more space; Sherburn-in-Elmet seems to have been accidentally deleted. It'll be re-added in the next version. Thanks for spotting.

 

[30907]

Arthington needs a N to W curve adding.

Shipley station is shown on the 6in map of 1852 just North of Valley Road bridge, some way south of the present station; also, is there any way of showing that the present triangular arrangement of platforms only dates from 1979?