Chatburn railway station once served the small village of

Chatburn Chatburn is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Ribble Valley, East Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,102. Situated in a hollow between two ridges north-east of Clitheroe, just off th ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

History

The original single line opened in June 1850 and terminated at a platform to the rear of the Pendle Hotel. Some of the first platform stone work is still in situ (as of July 2016). The station west of Clitheroe road was opened in 1872 by the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

and until 1879, was at the end of the line from Blackburn. There was at one stage a turntable, it was situated east of Clitheroe road on the flat ground in the area of the existing station building. The line was doubled up from 1872 to 1874, and work on the line onwards towards Gisburn and

Hellifield Hellifield is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England (). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village was once an important railway junction on the Settle-Carlisle Railway between th ...

began in 1874. Initially it opened to Gisburn in June 1879, and was running to Helifield twelve months later. The bigger replacement station east of Clitheroe Road closed to passengers after ninety years, shortly before the publication of the Beeching Report. Chatburn station had its own goods depot, with multiple sidings and a large goods shed. The depot is now Pendle Trading Estate; the large goods shed is used as a vehicle repair shop. There was a crane, a weighing machine and a signal box, which would be shared with

Dixon Robinson Dixon Robinson (1795–1878) was an English lawyer, gentleman steward of the Honour of Clitheroe, and philanthropist in the 19th century. Life Dixon Robinson was born on 17 June 1795 at Chatburn, Lancashire, third son of Josias Robinson ...

's Bold Venture Lime Works, with points on the opposite side of the main line.1886 OS map The main station building has been used as storage and stables since the mid-1960s, and the second brick built station master's house, on approach to station building, has been in private hands from the same time. The original Victorian station masters house is still in situation at the side of the Clitheroe road, and was used as the weighbridge and offices for the Bold Venture Lime Works for many years. It has stood empty since 2006.

Services

References

*Lancashire Steam Finale by Michael S. Welch () Disused railway stations in Ribble Valley Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1872 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1962 {{NorthWestEngland-railstation-stub