Phil Jackson Bridge Number - Cleckheaton, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 43.046 W 001° 42.559
30U E 585173 N 5952856
This combined bridge number and milestone was erected on bridge 15, of the Spen Valley Greenway 'rails to trails' route.
Waymark Code: WMQ2EQ
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/06/2015
Views: 3
This bridge spans a public footpath and originally carried the Spen Valley Railway Line.
The rail line originally connected Low Moor with Dewsbury and opened in 1848.
The line closed to passenger traffic in 1965 but continued to carry goods traffic until this finally ceased in 1981.
In 2000 a stretch of the line between Dewsbury and Oakenshw was converted to a cycling and walking route called the Spen Valley Greenway. The bridge is now used to carry cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders along the route. It also forms part of the longer National Cycle Route 66 and so gives easy access to the city of Bradford.
link.
"Mr Jackson played an instrumental role in making the Greenway – which links Bradford to Dewsbury – one of the most used greenways in Europe through his work at Sustrans.
Colleagues paid tribute to the father-of-two.
David Hall, from Sustrans, said: “When Phil died last year we decided we were going to remember him by placing his name in the most happy place that he helped to maintain.
'This is an important location because it is the spot where he came with his son Liam to see the sheep in the fields around the Greenway.'"
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The plaque is in the form of a round cast iron plaque fixed to a piece of stone on top of the bridge parapet visible from the Greenway. It was erected in July 2011 and has the following inscription.
BRADFORD TO DEWSBURY
SPEN VALLEY GREENWAY SUSTRANS 2000
BRIDGE
15
IN MEMORY OF
PHIL JACKSON
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY 1848
CLECKHEATON 1/2 MILE HECKMONDWIKE 1 3/4 MILES