Queensbury Station Keighley Junction - Queensbury, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The railway line was abandoned to passengers in 1955 and then goods traffic in 1965. Part of the route has now been converted to The Great Northern Railway Trail cycle and walking route (National Route 69).

The boards have an old map drawn at the time of the railway opening showing the railway lines and junction at Queensbury station. There is also a modern map showing the area as it is now and available walking routes.

THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY TRAIL
QUEENSBURY STATION
KEIGHLEY JUNCTION

Welcome to The Great Northern Railway Trail
Queensbury station was once at the centre of a triangle of lines linking the industrial towns of Halifax, Bradford and Keighley. It was one of only a few in the country with platforms on three sides and the site became known as the 'Queensbury Triangle'. North Junction was where the line behind you came from Keighley and diverged to the left for Bradford or to the right for Halifax. The Bradford line passed through the station over a three-arch viaduct and into the 1057 yard long Clayton tunnel, while the Halifax line headed down into the 2,501 yard Queensbury Tunnel and on towards the next station at Holmfield.
The challenges of building a railway through to Queensbury and beyond were immense and it is a huge testament to the skills of Victorian engineers and the men who laboured to construct these lines that the objective was achieved.

A Brief History
After much campaigning by business leaders in Queensbury and the neighbouring townships, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) started constructing a railway between Bradford and Thornton in 1874.
The original Queensbury station was opened in 1879 and was served by trains to Thornton abd Bradford but its importance increased when the line to Halifax opened later that year.
The station soon became inadequate and after much pressure from influential industrialists and the local community, the GNR built a more substantial station with six platforms - two on each side of the triangular junction layout. This opened in 1890 and, in the early years of operation, connecting trains from Bradford, Halifax and Keighley would often wait on each side of the triangle to allow transfer between services.
Trying to get to the station was no mean feat as it was a mile from Queensbury and required passengers to trudge down the bleak and windswept Station Road which was steep and unlit. There was another access from Brow Lane, which can be seen to your right. This enabled passengers from West Scholes and Yews Green to reach the station without a long detour via Queensbury.
Unsurprisingly, Queensbury Station struggled to attract large numbers of passengers due to its difficult access and the arrival of tram, the bus competition, reduced ticket sales even more. Passenger services were withdrawn in May 1955 and the small goods yard which mainly handled merchandise to and from the Queensbury mills closed in 1961.
Goods trains continued through Queensbury to Thornton until June 1965 and track was finally lifted the following year.

Happily the old rail route to Thornton was reopened to walkers, cyclists and horse riders between 2007 and 2012 thanks to the efforts of local people, the sustainable transport organisation SUSTRANS and Bradford Council.

Type of Historic Marker: Standalone metal board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Bradford City MBC Related Website: [Web Link] Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed

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