Todmorden Railway Station November 2013

Todmorden Railway Station is a two-platform station originally built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway alongside the Lancashire-Yorkshire border, but now firmly part of West Yorkshire.

 

The station opened in March 1841 as the main line connecting Normanton with Manchester opened through the Summit Tunnel. In 1849, services increased as the station became a junction when a branch line was built through the Cliviger gorge to Burnley, known as the Copy Pit Line. Trains had to reverse out of Todmorden for Burnley, and the station was bypassed altogether when, in 1862, this line had a connection allowing trains to go directly from Hebden Bridge to Burnley without stopping. A second station for Todmorden was built at the junction of the two lines called Stansfield Hall, which became the stopping point for trains connecting Hebden Bridge and Burnley. It opened in 1869, the last train stopped in 1944, and it closed to all traffic in August 1949.

 

In 1965, the Todmorden Curve was closed, and by 1972, it had been removed, meaning there was no direct connection between Todmorden and Burnley, with a plan to completely close the Copy Pit Line by 1983. The plan was changed and services were extended during the late 1980's, and in 2015, after 6 years of planning, this curve was reinstated and regular services resumed.

 

The station has waiting rooms on both platforms, is staffed daily, and features disabled access to platform 1 only. Platform 2 can only be reached by steps. Platform 1 Gallery, run by Todmorden Art Group, is housed in the buildings along Platform 1.

 

I took these pictures on November 26th, 2013 with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet; they can be seen below, and Clickasnap is unwatermarked.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.