Grassington & Threshfield | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Grassington & Threshfield station soon after closure | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Grassington,North Yorkshire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 54°04′14″N2°00′35″W / 54.070459°N 2.009800°W /54.070459; -2.009800 | ||||
| Grid reference | SD994638 | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Status | Disused | ||||
| History | |||||
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 30 July 1902 | Opened as "Grassington" | ||||
| October 1902 | Renamed "Grassington & Threshfield" | ||||
| 22 September 1930 | Closed to passengers | ||||
| 11 August 1969 | Closed completely | ||||
| |||||
Grassington & Threshfield railway station (orThreshfield station) was a railway station that served the town ofGrassington and village ofThreshfield, inNorth Yorkshire,England.[1][2]
TheYorkshire Dales Railway constructed the line to Grassington & Threshfield, with services operated by theMidland Railway,[2] to provide better links for local villages to the nearby town ofSkipton. It diverged at Embsay Junction, and ran through theDales, with a station atRylstone, past the then 'Swinden Lime Works' (today known asSwinden Quarry), and a further 3 miles (5 km) to Threshfield. Despite being the line's terminus, Grassington & Threshfield was built as a through station, because there were proposals to continue the line further north up the Dales toKettlewell, and thence toLeyburn, to join the line toHawes on theWensleydale Railway. That was never done.
The station, which opened with the line in mid-1902,[2] had two platforms, each with a run-round loop, and a goods shed and cattle dock with their own sidings. Another siding branched west towardsSkirethorns Quarry, ending at the rear of a set ofterraced houses known as Woodlands Terrace. Limestone was brought down from the quarry by atramway to Woodlands Terrace, where it was transferred to trains.
On 22 September 1930, after only 28 years, theLMS withdrew regular passenger services due to poor patronage. However, excursion traffic continued for more than 30 years thereafter, as did general goods traffic and stone traffic from the nearby quarry. The end of quarrying in the early 1960s eventually led to the complete closure of the station, and the northern end of the branch, on 11 August 1969.
The track was lifted on the final section north ofSwinden Quarry in 1971 and the old station buildings were demolished soon afterwards. A housing estate now occupies the site.
Embsay Junction was laid at the opening of the line in 1902 to take trains from Skipton toRylstone Station and Threshfield station. The branch was single throughout.
The other direction was theSkipton to Ilkley Line across the Dales, with stations atEmbsay,Bolton Abbey,Addingham and finally ending up atIlkley. The line was double-tracked, as it formed a useful relief route for the busy main line via Keighley. The Ilkley line was closed in 1966, but thesignal box at the junction remained in use until July 1969[3] (to give access for track-lifting trains and to the quarry siding at Embsay). The remaining double track portion down to Skipton was singled at the same time.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rylstone | Midland Railway Yorkshire Dales Railway | Terminus | ||
