Ilkley railway station is a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
station in
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...
, in the
City of Bradford
The City of Bradford () is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a large area which includes the towns and v ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. On the
Wharfedale Line, it is served by
Class 333 electric trains run by
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
, which also manages the station.
Services
During Monday to Saturday, daytime services run to/from Leeds and
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
twice per hour. In the evenings and all day on Sundays, services are hourly to/from both Leeds and Bradford Forster Square. Sunday services to Bradford were increased to hourly in December 2017 after new Northern Rail franchise operator
Arriva Rail North
Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...
took over in April 2016; there will also be improvements to weekday evening services and longer trains introduced to help combat overcrowding on the route in the future as part of the new franchise specification.
History
Ilkley station was opened in August 1865 as the western terminus of the
Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway
The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway was a railway line running between the towns of Otley and Ilkley in West Yorkshire. The line was managed and run jointly by the Midland Railway (MR) and the North Eastern Railway (NER) and was long. Opened to ...
(
Midland and
North Eastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
railways). The station buildings were designed by the Chief Architect to the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
John Holloway Sanders
John Holloway Sanders FRIBA (1825 – 16 October 1884) was an architect based in England and chief architect of the Midland Railway until 1884.
His date of appointment as Chief Architect to the Midland Railway is not known, but he is recorded as ...
. This railway offered two alternative routes to - either via and the Leeds Northern/NER line through or via and the former
Leeds and Bradford Railway
The Leeds and Bradford Railway Company (L&BR)The abbreviation L&BR is more commonly seen referring to the London and Birmingham Railway. opened a railway line between the townsLeeds obtained city status in 1893; Bradford became a city in 1897. on ...
along the Aire Valley. The Midland subsequently built a branch from the latter route to in 1876 to provide a direct line from the town to . A milepost on the former Platform 4 indicated that the station was 211.25 miles from London St. Pancras.
A further extension of the line opened in 1888 to
Skipton
Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...
via
Addingham
Addingham (formerly Haddincham , Odingehem 1086)Mills, A.D. (2003). ', Encyclopedia.com is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the A65, south-east of Skipton, west of Ilkley, ...
,
Bolton Abbey
Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian monastery now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by King Henry ...
and
Embsay
Embsay is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is paired with the neighbouring hamlet of Eastby to form the civil parish of Embsay with Eastby. The parish population as of the 2011 census was 1,871.
Geography
At th ...
saw the station assume the status of a junction. Terminating trains only used the
bay Platform
In the United Kingdom and in Australia, a bay platform is a dead-end railway platform at a railway station that has through lines. It is normal for bay platforms to be shorter than their associated through platforms.
Overview
Bay and islan ...
1, as the lack of a facing crossover on the approach lines meant that Platform 2 was not available as a terminating road. Platform 2 was only available as a departure road for trains that were first drawn back towards Ben Rhydding, and then shunted back into the bay. A carriage storage siding was originally provided between Platforms 1 and 2, explaining the wide gap between the current lines in this location. The facing crossover was finally installed during the remodelling of the station approaches in 1983, thus allowing terminating trains to directly access Platform 2.
The through lines were served by Platforms 3 (in the down direction) and 4 (up). The lines continued through the back wall of the station and immediately crossed over Brook Street by way of a bowstring girder bridge with an span. This extension eventually fell victim to
Dr Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (21 April 1913 – 23 March 1985), commonly known as Dr Beeching, was a physicist and engineer who for a short but very notable time was chairman of British Railways. He became a household name in Britain in the ...
's
''Reshaping of Britain's Railways'' report. It was closed to passengers in March 1965 (at the same time as the route via Otley to Leeds) and to all traffic at the beginning of 1966, reducing Ilkley to a terminus once more. The track alongside both Platforms 3 and 4 remained in place for a time following closure as a through route, with Platform 3 seeing occasional peak-time passenger use, and Platform 4 very occasional engineering use as a stabling siding. The pedestrian subway leading from the main station concourse to Platform 4 and the back entrance of the station on Railway Road was closed in 1983 owing to the deterioration of the glass roof above it. Much of the glass in the main roof at this side of the station was removed at this stage, and Platforms 3 and 4 were permanently closed and the track lifted.
Goods traffic was catered for by a yard comprising nine sidings and three through roads situated on the south eastern side of the station, in the area now occupied by Tesco's supermarket and car park. A large stone built shed and attached offices was situated on one of the through lines. A five-ton hand-cranked crane stood to the east of the shed. The yard closed for all freight except coal on 1 February 1965, and to all traffic on 7 August 1967. The last two wagons were removed on 9 August 1967 after which the yard sidings stood derelict until removed in the mid 1970s.
The original engine shed, dating from the opening of the line was on the site now occupied by the station car park. In a subsequent development, a two road engine shed and two coaling sidings, together with a 50-foot (15.24 m) turntable were provided on the northern side of the approach lines, and the original facility demolished. The new shed was some distance below the main running lines and two reversals were required to access it. The Ilkley brewery building was also provided with a single siding that also served as the headshunt for access to the engine shed area. The shed itself closed in January 1959 with the introduction of DMU passenger services.
In the late 1980s, the roofed area covering the western end of the station platforms was closed in and converted into a small supermarket, the lines being shortened by around 40 metres to make room for this alteration. The main station building was taken out of railway use and turned over to retail in May 1988. The area between former Platforms 3 and 4 (the Skipton through lines) was infilled during electrification work and is now a carpark. The vehicle ramp leading up from Station Road passes through the area once occupied by the coal drops at the eastern end of Platform 4.
The line was electrified at 25 kV AC in 1995, and was initially worked by three car
Class 308 EMUs. The previous latticework footbridge - constructed by Andrew Handyside and Co. in 1909 - was demolished during electrification works and replaced with the present structure which has solid sides to protect pedestrians from the overhead wires.
Ilkley is notable in that it was the last British Rail station to be lit by gas. The gas lights were extinguished for the last time on 8 May 1988.
In November 2011, a major refurbishment of the station, which cost £625,000, was completed. This new upgrade included the construction of a brand new station building with a ticket office, a heated waiting room and new shelters, also providing space for passengers to await trains. Also added were new customer information screens, a comprehensive CCTV system and improved PA system, and new gates at the entrance of the station.
Station masters
*James Nicholson 1865 - 1906
*Thomas Wakefield 1906 - 1924
*W.J. Wearn 1924 - 1930 (formerly station master at Oakham, afterwards station master at Wellingborough)
*James Garner 1930
- ???? (formerly station master at Shirebrook)
Gallery
File:Ilkley.jpg,
Image:Train at Ilkley.JPG,
Image:Ilkley_station.jpg,
Image:Ilkley_station_p2.jpg,
See also
*
Listed buildings in Ilkley
Ilkley is a civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 80 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade I, t ...
References
*''Railways Through Airedale & Wharfedale'' Martin Bairstow (2004)
*''The Otley & Ilkley Joint Railway'' FW Smith and Martin Bairstow (1992)
*''Railways in the Northern Dales - 1: The Skipton & Ilkley Line'' FW Smith and Donald Binns (1986)
External links
Ilkley Junction signal box
{{Railway stations in the City of Bradford
Railway stations in Bradford
DfT Category D stations
Former Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865
Northern franchise railway stations
Ilkley
John Holloway Sanders railway stations