Thongs Bridge railway station was the only intermediate stop on the railway line between and ,

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. Opened in July 1850, the station was temporarily closed in 1865 due to the collapse of Mytholmbridge Viaduct. The station closed to passengers permanently in 1959, closing completely in 1965.

History

Thongs Bridge railway station was opened with the Holmfirth branch in July 1850. It was the only intermediate station on the branch between Brockholes railway station, and the terminus at Holmfirth. The station was south of , ( south of the junction with

Penistone Line The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards ( ...

at Brockholes), and north of Holmfirth. The line through the station was double track, and each track had a platform face; Holmfirth station had only a single platform. The station was developed within a rock cutting with steep sides, and was equipped with a goods yard, which was south-west of the station and had a crane for goods loading and unloading. This stayed open for six years after closure to passengers, ceasing to forward traffic on 3 May 1965. The collapse of Mytholmbridge Viaduct caused the station to be closed temporarily from 3 December 1865 to 11 March 1867 whilst a replacement viaduct was constructed. The station closed to passengers permanently on 31 October 1959. In 1961, the branch was singled throughout. The station was always labelled as ''Thongs Bridge'' by the railway, as that was the traditional name of the settlement. ''Thongsbridge'' is a modern version of the name.

Services

Initially, the branch operated trains only as far as Brockholes station, but by 1863 seven services along the line extended all the way into Huddersfield. In 1887, services consisted of ten daily out and back workings along the branch. Most were worked from , with some starting from Halifax. Sunday saw just three services per day. In 1910, this was 16 services each way, though some only ran as far as Huddersfield or Brockholes. In the last year of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway operation (1922), services varied between 18 and 19 depending on the day of the week, with three services on a Sunday. In 1938, under London Midland Scottish operation, it had risen to twenty trains per day. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, services had dropped to seven each way, with no Sunday service. In 1946, the station saw eleven services a day, though at least one other passenger train along the branch did not call at Thongs Bridge. The Sunday service was also absent. In 1951, under

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

, the service pattern had dropped to just six services per day, with only three per day in 1959 when the line closed to passengers.

References

Sources

* *{{cite book , last1=Young , first1=Alan , title=Lost stations of Yorkshire , date=2015 , publisher=Silver Link , location=Kettering , isbn=978-1-85794-438-9

External links

Images of Thongs Bridge railway station on Disused StationsTransport in Thongsbridge
Disused railway stations in Kirklees Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1959