Shipley railway station

Shipley
Platform 5
Location	Shipley, City of Bradford England
Coordinates	53°49′59″N 1°46′24″W / 53.8331°N 1.7734°W / 53.8331; -1.7734Coordinates: 53°49′59″N 1°46′24″W / 53.8331°N 1.7734°W / 53.8331; -1.7734
Grid reference	SE150374
Managed by	Northern Trains
Transit authority	West Yorkshire (Metro)
Platforms	5
Other information
Station code	SHY
Fare zone	3
Classification	DfT category D
History
Opened	July 1846
Passengers
2016/17	1.745 million
2017/18	1.716 million
2018/19	1.704 million
2019/20	1.666 million
2020/21	0.459 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Shipley railway station serves the market town of Shipley in West Yorkshire, England. It is 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) north of Bradford Forster Square and 10+3⁄4 miles (17.3 km) northwest of Leeds.

Train services are mostly commuter services between Leeds and Bradford, the Airedale line (Leeds and Bradford to Skipton, via Keighley), and the Wharfedale Line (Leeds and Bradford to Ilkley). There are also a few main-line London North Eastern Railway services between Bradford or Skipton and London, and it also lies on the line from Leeds to Glasgow via the Settle-Carlisle Railway.

History[]

When the Leeds and Bradford Railway built the first railway link into Bradford in 1846, they did not take the shortest route, but a flatter and slightly longer one up Airedale to Shipley then south along Bradford Dale to Bradford. They built stations at several places along the route, including Shipley, which opened in July 1846.^[1]

In 1847, the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway was built from Shipley to Keighley and Skipton, creating the triangle of lines which surrounds today's station. The north curve was opened in 1848 and was on a much tighter alignment than the present 1883 curve. The original curve would pass through the car park.

The Leeds and Bradford was absorbed by the Midland Railway in 1851, and the Midland successively became part of the LMS and British Railways.

The Ordnance Survey map of Shipley in 1852 (surveyed between 1847 and 1850) shows the station some 500 m south of the present one, where Valley Road crosses the line to Bradford. However, an article in the Bradford and Wakefield Observer in February 1849 describes the station in its present position. It is not clear if it was moved in its first few years or there is an error on the map.

The present station was built at some time between 1883 and 1892, nestling between the western (Bradford-Skipton) and eastern (Leeds-Bradford) arms of the triangle. It was designed by the Midland's architect Charles Trubshaw. Platform 3 (on the Bradford-Leeds arm) was lengthened in 1990, to serve full-length InterCity trains. The northern (Leeds-Skipton) arm of the triangle is distant from the main station and had no platforms until May 1979. Before then, trains on the Leeds-Shipley-Skipton run had to come through the station to the Bradford branch and reverse. From 1979, there was a single platform there,^[2] on the inside of the triangle, so Skipton-Leeds trains had to cross over to reach it. The current platform 1 on the north side was built in 1992.

It is now one of two remaining triangular stations in the UK: the other being Earlestown station in Merseyside. Ambergate station was previously triangular but only retains one platform and Queensbury station was closed to passengers in 1955.

Until the Beeching Axe closures of 1965, the next stations from Shipley were Saltaire on the Airedale line to the west, Baildon on the Wharfedale line to the North, Apperley Bridge in the east towards Leeds, and Frizinghall in the south towards Bradford. Baildon station closed in 1953, but on 20 March 1965, the other three of these stations closed, along with another dozen stations and the local service between Bradford and Leeds. Most of the services through Shipley were under threat and hung in the balance until the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive adopted them in the 1970s. All four of these adjacent stations have since been reopened: Baildon on 5 January 1973, Saltaire in April 1984, Frizinghall in 1987, and Apperley Bridge on 13 December 2015.^[3]

Between 1875 and 1931, there was a second station, Shipley and Windhill railway station on Leeds Road very close to Shipley Station which served the Shipley and Windhill Line.^[4]

Platforms 1 and 2 from the footbridge

The view from platform 2

The view from platform 3

Platform 5

Stationmasters[]

The station master John Wilkinson had his salary reduced from £200 to £180 when a separate goods agent was appointed in 1873,^[5] but the position of goods agent was merged back with that of station master with the appointment of William Crowther.

William Crowther suffered a serious accident on 12 May 1891, aged only 35 years. Whilst attempting to cross the line he was run over by a locomotive^[6] which severed both feet and his right hand. He was taken to the Bradford Infirmary where both legs were amputated.^[7] He remained in Bradford Infirmary until July but recovered enough to return home. Four hundred local residents subscribed to a fund for him and he was presented with a cheque for £450 (equivalent to £50,200 in 2020).^[8] The Midland Railway found him alternative employment in their cashiers' office.

• John Wilkinson 1848^[9] - 1887 (formerly station master at Bingley)
• William Edward Crowther 1887 - 1891^[10]
• John Berkin 1891^[10] - 1909^[11]
• Amos Parsons 1909 - 1921
• William Clapham 1921 - 1931^[12]
• Mr. Woodcraft 1931 - 1936 (formerly station master at Barrow Hill and Staveley Works, afterwards station master at Low Moor)
• A.W. Bell 1936 - 1943^[13] (formerly station master of Wem, afterwards station master at Morecambe Promenade)
• W. Wright from 1943

Access and facilities[]

The station has 5 Platforms in a triangle.

• Platform 1 Skipton-Leeds
• Platform 2 Leeds-Skipton
• Platform 3 Bradford F.S. - Leeds (full length)
• Platform 4 Leeds - Bradford (short)
• Platform 5 Bradford - Skipton and back single line

The station lies to the east of the town centre, across Otley Road, There is no access directly from Otley Road: pedestrian access from town is either via a tunnel at the bottom of Station Road, or from Stead Street onto platform 1. Vehicular access is from the side away from town, under the bridge and up a long cobbled drive from Briggate and there is a large car-park between the main station and platforms 1/2.

There are no bus stops on the station forecourt: bus connections are either on Briggate/Leeds Road, or in the Market Square (5–10 minutes walk away). There is also no taxi rank within the station: again, passengers need to go into the town centre.

The station is fully staffed - the ticket office is open seven days per week and only closed in the evening. Ticket machines are also available, along with digital information screens and a long-line Public Address System (PA) for train running information.

Step-free access is available to platforms 2, 3 and 5. Platforms 1 and 4 can be reached by disabled passengers via lifts (there is also a subway with steep ramp to platform 4).^[14]

Services[]

Northern Trains Route 7
v
Bentham Line and Settle and Carlisle Line
Carlisle Armathwaite Lazonby & Kirkoswald Langwathby Appleby Kirkby Stephen Garsdale Dent Ribblehead Horton-in-Ribblesdale Settle Heysham Port Morecambe Bare Lane Lancaster Carnforth Wennington Bentham Clapham Giggleswick Long Preston Hellifield Gargrave Skipton Keighley Bingley Shipley Leeds

Most of the services are commuter services operated by Northern Trains, as part of the MetroTrain network. During Monday to Saturday daytimes, these operate every 30 minutes on each of the following routes:

• Leeds-Bradford Forster Square;
• Leeds-Skipton;
• Bradford Forster Square-Skipton;
• Bradford Forster Square-Ilkley.

In the evening a half-hourly service is maintained between Leeds and Skipton. Ilkley and Skipton to Bradford are hourly.^[15] There is no direct service between Leeds and Bradford but a shuttle from Shipley to Bradford connects with Leeds departures. On Sundays, Ilkley/Skipton - Bradford and Skipton and Bradford to Leeds each operate once per hour. These services are mostly operated by Northern Trains Class 333 electric multiple units, although Class 321 and Class 322 sets are used on some workings and the new CAF Class 331 Civity units have also started to appear in service.

There are also a number of trains each day from Leeds to Carlisle (eight on weekdays and six on Sundays) and Lancaster (seven on weekdays, of which five are through trains to Morecambe and five on Sundays; both routes operated by Northern Trains), and from both Skipton and Bradford Forster Square to London King's Cross (via Leeds), which are operated by London North Eastern Railway.^[16] The East Coast service from Kings Cross must access platform 3 in the station (i.e. it must run 'wrong line') as platform 4, the normal stopping point for Bradford bound services, is too short to accommodate the lengthy express trains. The northbound Kings Cross to Skipton service is the only train that does not stop here for similar reasons (platform 2 also being too short for use by a full-length express).

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Leeds		London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line (Limited service)		Bradford Forster Square
				Keighley
Kirkstall Forge		Northern Trains Leeds-Bradford Line		Frizinghall
Apperley Bridge
Leeds
Apperley Bridge		Northern Trains Airedale Line		Saltaire
Leeds
Frizinghall
Kirkstall Forge
Leeds		Northern Trains Leeds-Morecambe Line		Bingley
Leeds		Northern Trains Settle-Carlisle Line		Bingley
Frizinghall		Northern Trains Wharfedale Line		Baildon
	Historical railways
Frizinghall		Midland Railway Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway		Saltaire
Frizinghall		Midland Railway Leeds and Bradford Railway		Idle

References[]

• Bairstow, Martin 2004 Railways Through Airedale & Wharfedale. ISBN 1-871944-28-7
• Chapman, Stephen N.D. Railway Memories No. 7: Airedale & Wharfedaile Bellcode books. ISBN 1-871233-05-4
• Dewick, Tony 2002 Compete Atlas of Railway Station Names Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2798-6
• Heritage Cartography N.D. Shipley 1847 (based on the Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 County Series Map: Yourshire CGI: Survey of 1847). ISBN 1-903004-90-X
• Sheeran, George 1994 Railway Buildings of West Yorkshire, 1812-1920 Ryburn. ISBN 1-85331-100-6
• Smith, FW & Martin Bairstow The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-06-6.
• Whitaker, Alan & Brian Myland 1993 Railway Memories No. 4: Bradford Bellcode books. ISBN 1-871233-03-8

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shipley railway station.

• Train times and station information for Shipley railway station from National Rail