Luddendenfoot railway station

Luddendenfoot railway station served the village of Luddendenfoot in West Yorkshire, England, from 1840 until 1962.

Luddendenfoot
site of station in 2007, looking north
LocationLuddendenfoot, Calderdale
England
Coordinates53.721800°N 1.947450°W / 53.721800; -1.947450
Grid referenceSE035250
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyManchester and Leeds Railway
Pre-groupingLancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
5 October 1840Station opened
10 September 1962Station closed

History

The Manchester and Leeds Railway, which was authorised in 1836 for a line from Manchester to Normanton,[1] was opened in stages; the second section, between Normanton and Hebden Bridge, opened on 5 October 1840, and one of the original stations was that at Luddendenfoot.[2][3]

On 1 April 1841, Branwell Brontë was transferred from Sowerby Bridge and appointed 'clerk in charge' at Luddendenfoot at a salary of £130 per annum. Under him was a porter named Watson; and when Brontë went drinking, he left Watson in charge. Later, an audit of the station accounts showed a deficit of eleven pounds, one shilling and sevenpence, which Watson had probably stolen; but Brontë was dismissed, and also had to make up the shortfall from his outstanding salary.[4][5]

In 1880 the bridge across the River Calder leading to the station was destroyed by a flood. The Luddendenfoot Local Board of Health commissioned the new Boy Bridge from Halifax architects Utley and Grey, with James Wild, a local stonemason and ironwork by Wood Brothers of Sowerby Bridge. James Wild also built the Station Bridge over the Rochdale Canal. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway contributed £1,625 to the cost of rebuilding the bridge and it was completed in 1882.[6]

Two fatal accidents occurred close to the station before its closure - the first in 1925[7] and the second thirty years later in 1955.[8]

The station closed on 10 September 1962.[3][9]

The site has been developed since 2007 and the northern half is now occupied by the Station Industrial Park, which is accessible via Old Station Road. Two gate pillars from the original station flank the entrance to the road.

References
  1. Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 39. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Marshall 1969, pp. 48–50
  3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 150. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Marshall 1969, p. 52
  5. The life of Charlotte Brontë. Penguin Books. 1857. ISBN 0-14-043493-3.
  6. "Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion - Boy Bridge". Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  7. "Ministry of Transport Accident Return - Luddendenfoot 1925" (PDF). The Railways Archive. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  8. "Ministry of Transport Railway Accidents - Report on the Collision which occurred on 21 February 1955 at Luddendenfoot in the North Eastern Region, British Railways" (PDF). The Railways Archive. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  9. Bairstow, Martin (1987). The Manchester and Leeds Railway: The Calder Valley Line. Halifax: Martin Bairstow. p. 28. ISBN 1-871944-22-8.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Mytholmroyd   L&YR
Caldervale Line		   Sowerby Bridge


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