Littleborough Station: Gateway to the Pennines and a Slice of Railway History
Nestled on the western fringe of the Pennine hills, Littleborough Railway Station stands as a vital, yet unassuming, gateway. This two-platform halt, serving the charming town of Littleborough in Greater Manchester, resonates with the echoes of a rich railway heritage. Imagine the scene: the rhythmic clatter of train wheels approaching, the crisp Pennine air carrying the faint scent of coal and damp stone, a testament to the station's long service.
Before us lies the Summit Tunnel, a feat of Victorian engineering, plunging deep beneath the rolling hills, connecting Lancashire with Yorkshire. Littleborough, in its role as the last stop before this subterranean passage, holds a unique position in the region's transport network.
The station itself, while modest, caters to the modern traveller. Two staggered platforms, designed with accessibility in mind, offer basic shelters against the unpredictable northern weather. The hum of ticket machines, a constant companion when the station's manned ticket office is closed, fills the brief silences between train arrivals. To the east, the line stretches towards Walsden, while westward, it leads to Smithy Bridge, each stop a chapter in the railway's ongoing story.
Tracing its roots back to July 1839, Littleborough Railway Station was initially the western terminus. Picture the bustling scene of 19th-century passengers, their luggage piled high, embarking and disembarking, the station a hive of activity. For two years, it served as the frontier, until the monumental Summit Tunnel, a testament to Victorian ambition, was finally completed in 1841, forging a continuous rail link across the Pennines.
The station's history is not without its dramatic interludes. In December 1984, a devastating fire engulfed the Summit Tunnel, bringing rail traffic to a standstill. Littleborough once again found itself a terminus, a temporary dead-end, until the tunnel's triumphant reopening in August 1985. The resilience of the railway, and the community it serves, is palpable.
These moments, captured on the 26th of May 2015 with a Polaroid is2132 bridge camera, offer a snapshot of a station that has witnessed the ebb and flow of time. The images, below invite you to visualise the station's quiet strength, its enduring presence in the heart of Littleborough. Each platform, each shelter, each ticket machine tells a story, a story of connection, of history, and of the enduring spirit of rail travel in the Pennines.
Clicking any of the images should open a link in another window to my Colin Green Photography store on Zazzle.
