Rishworth Branch

The Rishworth branch was built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and linked Sowerby Bridge with Rishworth and served the villages of Triangle, Ripponden, Barkisland and Rishworth.[1]

Rishworth branch
Overview
Statusdisused
OwnerLancashire and Yorkshire Railway
LocaleWest Yorkshire, England
TerminiSowerby Bridge
Rishworth
History
Opened1 July 1878 (goods)
Closed8 July 1929 (passenger)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Rishworth Branch

Calder Valley line

 Sowerby Bridge
Scar Head tunnel
 Watson's Crossing Halt
 Triangle
 Ripponden and Barkisland
 Rishworth

History

A branch from Sowerby Bridge to Ripponden was authorised in 1865, with an extension to Rishworth authorised in 1871. The line opened as far as Ripponden in 1878 and to Rishworth in 1881. It was intended to extend the line to Littleborough to shorten the Calder Valley main line by 5 miles (8 km), but this never took place. The branch line was closed to passengers on 8 July 1929. The section between Rishworth and Ripponden closed for freight in 1953 and Ripponden to Sowerby Bridge closed completely on 1 September 1958

Route

The line left Sowerby Bridge a little to the east of the station, diverging south. It passed through the 593 yd (542 m) Scar Head tunnel, rising on a 1 in 107 gradient to Triangle. From Triangle to Rishworth the gradient increased to 1 in 60.

Present day

Part of the trackbed is now a permissive bridleway. A section of the line south west from Ripponden village is a permissive footpath.[2]

References
  1. Joy, David (1984). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Volume VIII South and West Yorkshire. David St John Thomas. ISBN 0-946537-11-9.
  2. "Railway Ramblers Calderdale - L&YR SOWERBY BRIDGE - RISHWORTH (3½ miles)". Retrieved 15 May 2009.
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