Shipley Great Northern Railway branch line

The route was opened in 1874 to goods traffic and then to passengers in 1875 by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and looped around the eastern edge of Bradford.[3] The Great Northern had an understanding that they would run the line(s) when opened anyway and with an act of parliament granted on 24 July 1871 they assumed control of the enterprise.[4] The branch left the Great Northern Bradford to Leeds line after Laisterdyke station with an eastwards facing connection.The stations at Laisterdyke, St Dunstan's and Bradford Exchange were already open by the time this line was completed and they remained open for passengers beyond the lines passenger closure date of 1931 (1966 for Laisterdyke, 1952 for St Dunstan's[18] and 1973 for Bradford Exchange[19][note 3]).[24] (By 1964 the former Midland and Great Northern lines were under the control of British Rail North Eastern Region so the previous problems of through passenger trains did not apply).At that time there was a slaughterhouse and cattle market adjacent to the Great Northern Terminus in south Bradford.[28] In 1892, a little over seven years after opening to traffic, The Great Northern decided to start terminating some trains at Laisterdyke rather than running them the full length into Bradford.The line was retained mainly for freight workings, including some from Ingleton and Skipton in the form of limestone for Bierley Ironworks[31] and aggregate sourced at Idle which went in the opposite direction.[note 5][33] No local passenger traffic was re-instated and the line was kept only for freight workings and as a diversionary route.The guard and brakesman of the goods train were found to be at fault due to neglect of their duties and were both dismissed from the company.The casualties amounted to 12 persons with minor cuts and scrapes as the collision speed was estimated at 15 miles (24 km) per hour.The building works to remove the items and transfer them to site on Otley Road was complete by October 1933.
Comparison chart detailing distances and gradients on the two railways that ran from Shipley to Bradford. The Green line is the Midland built line and the red line is the Great Northern built line. The green line is still extant and running as part of the Airedale line through Bradford Dale .
Colne, Halifax, Holmfield & Keighley Laister Dyke, Bowling, Bradford, Low Moor & Shipley RJD 8
Former trackbed near Eccleshill
West YorkshireShipley and Windhill railway stationLaisterdyke railway stationBradford Exchange railway stationTrack gaugeAiredale lineBradford Forster SquareSkiptonShipley and WindhillShipleyGreat NorthernWharfedale lineGuiseleyThackleyEccleshillCalder Valley linePudsey loopDudley HillLaisterdykeBowlingQueensbury LinesAdolphus StreetSt DunstansHalifaxBradford InterchangeBradford ExchangeBradfordGreat Northern RailwayMidland Railway CompanyBradford (Forster Square)Bradford DaleLondon & North Eastern RailwayNorth Eastern RegionBritish RailActs of Parliamentthrough PudseyShipley WindhillCraven DistrictA657 roadEast Coast Main LineMidland Main LineCross Country RouteHallam LineHope Valley lineLeeds–Morecambe lineDoncaster–Lincoln lineNorthallerton–Eaglescliffe lineSheffield–Lincoln lineSettle–Carlisle lineAskern branch lineBarton lineDearne Valley lineEsk Valley lineHarrogate lineHuddersfield lineHull–ScarboroughLeeds–Bradford linesLeeds–Northallerton railwayPenistone LinePontefract lineSelby DiversionSelby LineSouth Humberside Main LineStocksbridge RailwaySwinton–DoncasterWakefield lineYork–ScarboroughBarnsley–DoncasterBeeston Junction–Hunslet Goods railwayBradford–Leeds & WakefieldBrockholes–HolmfirthClayton West branchDearne Valley RailwayGilling and PickeringHarrogate–Church FentonHarrogate Gasworks RailwayHuddersfield–KirkburtonHull–Barnsley (Cudworth)Hull and HoldernessHull and HornseaKnaresborough–YorkLeeds–HarrogateLow Moor–MirfieldMalton–DriffieldMiddlesbrough–GuisboroughMiddlesbrough–Guisborough–NormanbyHuddersfield–BradfordLockwood–MelthamNunthorpe–BattersbyOtley–IlkleyPilmoor–KnaresboroughRosedale RailwayRoyston to ThornhillScarborough–WhitbySeamer–PickeringSelby–DriffieldSelby–GooleSowerby Bridge–RishworthSkipton–GrassingtonSkipton–IlkleySpurn railwayThirsk and Malton lineWetherby–Cross Gates (Leeds)Whitby–LoftusWoodhead lineYork–Market Weighton–BeverleyYork–York (Foss Island)Derwent Valley Light RailwayElsecar Heritage RailwayEmbsay and Bolton Abbey Steam RailwayKeighley & Worth Valley RailwayMiddleton RailwayNorth Bay RailwayNorth Yorkshire Moors RailwayWensleydale RailwayColsterdale Light RailwayNidd Valley Light RailwayNorth Holderness Light RailwaySand Hutton Light RailwayWhistlestop Valley