Wetherby Racecourse railway station

Wetherby Racecourse railway station was a railway station on the Harrogate to Church Fenton Line serving Wetherby Racecourse in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England.

Wetherby
Site of the station in 2007
LocationWetherby, City of Leeds
England
Coordinates53.930°N 1.358°W / 53.930; -1.358
Grid referenceSE420482
Platforms2 through
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyLondon and North Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
British Railways (N.E. region)
Key dates
1924Opened
18 May 1959[1]Last used
1962Demolished

When Wetherby's original station on York Road closed in 1902, for two decades the only rail access was via Wetherby's new station on Linton Road.[2] This was some distance from the racecourse, involving a walk of just over 2 miles.

There was therefore a station built at Wetherby Racecourse in 1924, with a ticket booth of wooden construction, starter signals, a ground frame and a footbridge. It even boasted electrical lighting and its own nameboard.[3] It was located on the line going south east towards Tadcaster and Church Fenton and had two platforms; one for each running line.[4]

Race specials would stop at this 'Racecourse station', about three quarters of a mile from Linton Road towards Thorp Arch. These specials came from Leeds, Doncaster and Bradford Exchange and Sheffield.[5]

Reports vary as to when it closed; one report says it stayed open until 1963 with Racecourse Specials running to the station from Bradford Exchange on racedays,[6] whilst another publication states that it was last used on Whit Monday 18 May 1959 and was demolished in 1962.[7] The line closed in 1964.[8]

References

  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 247. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Disused Stations:Wetherby Station (1st site)". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Rudston: Bellcode. p. 97. ISBN 978-1871233-24-7.
  4. Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 137. ISBN 0-7153-8527-5.
  5. Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Rudston: Bellcode. pp. 105–112. ISBN 978-1871233-24-7.
  6. The Archive Photograph Service-Wetherby page 71 ISBN 0-7524-0328-1
  7. Rogers. J. (2000) The railways of Harrogate and district, Manchester: North East Railway Association
  8. Suggitt, Gordon (2005). Lost railways of North and East Yorkshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-85306-918-5.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Wetherby (York Road)
Line and station closed
  LNER
Harrogate to Church Fenton Line
  Thorp Arch
Line closed; station closed
The rail network in Leeds showing the LNER Cross Gates to Wetherby and Harrogate to Church Fenton Lines
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