Pickle Bridge Railway 2014

The Pickle Bridge Railway was a line through the outskirts of Brighouse connecting Bradford with Huddersfield. The line opened in 1881 and remained in use until 1952, when it closed due to subsidence. The two stations along the route were closed many years before the line's full closure. There is quite a lot of evidence of the line between Clifton Road and Pickle Bridge, Wyke. Sadly, between Clifton Road and Anchor Pit, not much exists.

 

The line split from the Calder Valley Line at Pickle Bridge Junction, which was between the stations of Norwood Green (closed 1953) and Lightcliffe (closed 1965). It then crossed the 22 arch (now 8 arches; the northern 14 were demolished in 1987 due to subsidence) Wyke (Red Lion) viaduct before arriving at Baliff Bridge station (1881–1917). The line then carried on southwards over the still-standing 5-arch Thornhills Viaduct before crossing another now-demolished viaduct at Clifton. The three-arch Clifton viaduct immediately led to Clifton Road Station (1881–1931). Beyond Clifton Road, the line then crossed the A644 Wakefield Road and River Calder before joining the Caldervale Line at Anchor Pit Junction between Brighouse Station (1840–1970, closed and demolished 1970; reopened 2000) and Cooper Bridge Station (1840–1950).

I walked the route on two separate occasions, the first covering the former track layout from the site of Clifton Road Viaduct until I reached an abandoned railway bridge standing alone in the middle of a field between Thornhills Beck Viaduct and Birkhouse Road, Bailiff Bridge. This set was taken on March 30, 2014.

 

The remains of Clifton Road Viaduct, the station occupied a spot along the wall pictured with the dirt track to the left the main access road.

Former trackbed pictured between the remains of Clifton Road Viaduct and Thornhills Beck Viaduct.

The top of Thornhills Beck Viaduct, this was the southern side and was gated off as can be seen preventing access any further.

Thornhills Beck Viaduct, opened up I think it would make an interesting footpath - cycleway.

Another of Thornhills Beck Viaduct

These last 2 show an abandoned bridge in the middle of a low cutting in what seemed to have become a farmers field. Looking at the surrounding land and historic maps I can see no reason for it's existence as their were alternative crossings over the railway nearby in both directions.

The second set of pictures were taken on the 25th May 2014, starting at the bridge above they show the remains of the line up to the end of Red Lion (Wyke) Viaduct.

The Pickle Bridge line crossing over Birkhouse Lane, Bailiff Bridge

The line's remains at Bailiff Bridge, the town's former station used to occupy a spot to the right of the picture behind the trees.

All that remains of the bridge that crossed Lower Wyke Lane, Houses now occupy the former trackbed to the left of the picture.

The bridge that crossed over Bradford Road has been removed, leaving only the abutments as a reminder the railway passed here.

The Red Lion or Wyke Viaduct crossing over a small access lane off Bradford Road.

The top of Wyke - Red Lion Viaduct, I don't remeber climbing up to the top but I must have as the picture here proves I did. The end of the viaduct was probably just beyond the trees,

Wyke - Red Lion Viaduct. The crossing suffered badly from subsidence resulting in a much reduced speed limit during its years of operation. The situation was so bad that by the 1980's permission was sought to demolish part of the Grade II listed Viaduct.

This partially overgrown bridge stands to the northern end of the demolished part of Wyke - Red Lion Viaduct, I'm not sure if it was separate or part of that structure.

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You can check out my Zazzle stores below, clicking either image will open a link to that store.

Both stores offer a collection of products from bags to clocks, postcards to posters, mouse mats to tablet covers and if you like the design you can transfer it to hundreds of products of your choosing. Please take a moment to have a look.

Self Made Christmas Cards

 Having recently opened a couple of stores on Zazzle, I am going through a bit of a creative phase trying new things out and one of my attempts has been to offer some Christmas cards for sale their. I have tried a number of differing types from traditional to modern, and even created some using AI to give a style similar to Mondrian, Picasso and Van Gogh.

The pictures below can only be seen here and on Zazzle, where copies can be purchased in various formats. Clicking any image should open a link to my Zazzle Calendars and Greetings Cards Collection.

All the cards can be purchased on Zazzle, the purchased items will not be watermarked and are higher resolution. Some also have options to be downloaded.

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Heptonstall Randoms Around Towngate July 2020

The village of Heptonstall occupies a small spot on the hill overlooking the Calder Valley and Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. The town is home to approximately 1400 people, and traditionally, the village's industry was hand-loom weaving. The village is a favourite spot with hikers and has featured in a number of TV shows in recent years, including the recent Shane Meadows drama The Gallows Pole, a story about the Cragg Vale Coiners, whose leader, "King" David Hartley, is buried in the churchyard.

The pictures below were taken at various locations around the town and don't feature the usual locations shown: the Wesleyan Chapel, the Ruined Church, and its replacement. I have posted my pictures of them in earlier posts. They were taken using a Nikon D3300 on July 11, 2020.

The phone box found towards the lower end of Hetonstall is now I am told used as a library by the local community.

Towngate is the main route through the centre of the village.

The village's post office.

34 Towngate.

41A Towngate. The passge to the right leads to the former grammar school and museum and runs past the churchyard.

The grammar school and museum buildings, the fence to the right surrounds the lower part of the churchyard.

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Belle Vue Stadium, Wakefield Artwork

Belle Vue is a sports stadium in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It first opened in 1895 and is currently home to Wakefield Trinity RLFC and, since 2023, Wakefield AFC. The picture shows the East (main) Stand and the Benidorm Stand, so named due to It's resemblance to the hotels found in the Spanish resort.

The main stand has been demolished since I took the original picture and is currently in the process of being rebuilt. The club, having struggled for many years to move grounds, has finally proceeded with a scheme to redevelop Belle Vue.

The artwork can be seen un-watermarked and full size on Clickasnap, it can also be purchased on various items from my Zazzle Store.

Clicking the image should open a link to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap. The image is also listed for sale in my Colins Picture This Zazzle Store, link below, it can be purchased as a number of items including mugs, poster, bags and many other formats.

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Vintage Morris 1000

The Morris Minor 1000 was a British car in production from 1956 until 1971. During this period, over 850,000 were built. The car pictured is a 1967 model and was parked up outside St. John the Evangelist Church, Bierley Lane, Bradford.

The pictures were taken on the 10th December 2022 with a Nikon d3300.

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My Calderdale Unframed Zazzle store features a number of products with images of Calderdale central to the theme.

My Colins Picture This Zazzle store features images on products with various themes and places.

I hope in time to feature all the pictures I have displayed on here over the years.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Asquith Bottom Mill, Sowerby Bridge April 2017

I previously pictured some of Asquith Bottom Mill in 2013 and posted these pictures earlier, the pictures below were taken in April 2017 with a Nikon d3300.

Asquith Bottom Mills is a mixed-use industrial estate at Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, built up around a former (depending on the era) carpet, wire, and woollen mill. The mill was originally built by William Edlestons, and I still remember the red neon sign with their name across the roof during the 1980s (sadly now gone). I believe they closed during the late 1980's and early 1990's.

The pictures below can also be seen un-watermarked on Clickasnap; simply by clicking on any image, a link should open in another window.

The front of the mill used to feature a bowling green where the cars were parked across the River Ryburn. The top of the building used to feature a WM Edlestons sign lit up in red.

The doorways used to provide access so goods could be moved up and down, but the hoist support is still sticking out of the building.

This picture was taken from the Norland hillside towards the back of the building. I don't imagine other than for safety checks that fire escape has been used in many years.

 

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Travel Style Posters.

I recently set up a store on Zazzle and attempted to create my first set of vintage-style travel posters. The following are the results of that. I'll have more attempts at them over time, but these are my first six.

Four of the pictures were created based on pictures I have taken and can also be seen on Clickasnap; the two New York pictures were created from images used under Creative Commons commercial licence.

I created them using Photoshop. I took the original image, cropped it, resized it, and then used the cutout filter in the filter gallery to give the image an illustration-style look. I completed the image by adding the text.

This picture looks out towards the Isle of Arran from Ardrossan Beach, Ayrshire. I took the original picture in 2013. Clicking the image will open a link to the unwatermarked image on Clickasnap.

Beaumaris Castle, this picture was originally taken in the 1970's. Clicking the image will open a link in another window to the Clickasnap version of the picture.

Not sure where in Lanzarote I took this only it was in July 2013. Clicking the picture will open a link in another window to the version on Clickasnap.

This image, if clicked, will open a link in another window to my Colins_picture_this store on Zazzle. I offer my pictures taken outside Calderdale, my home county, in various formats there.

Clicking this image will open a link in another window to my Calderdale_Unframed store on Zazzle, a place to offer various products of images taken in the Calderdale area where I live.

Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge, the original picture was taken on January 1, 2020, early morning, and unusually for the main street through Sowerby Bridge, it was very quiet, with the road usually being nose to tail with traffic. Clicking the image will open a link in another window to the version on Clickasnap.

 

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Washer Lane Aqueduct, Halifax

Built between 1856 and 1873 when John Edward Wainhouse owned the Washer Lane Dyeworks, the aqueduct still stands now unused, but as an interesting feature at the entrance to Washer Lane Industrial Estate, the dyeworks closed in 1896. Unable to gain access to the top of the aqueduct and with only limited information available, I assume the structure no longer carries water across the access road.

The aqueduct crosses the industrial estate's top entrance road, running down from Upper Washer Lane.

I took these pictures on June 21, 2012, with a Nikon D3300.

The initials of John Edward Wainhouse can be seen on the centre stone of the aqueduct. Wainhouse owned the dye works from 1856 when he inherited them until he sold it to Henry Mossman in 1873. Because of the initialls i think the aqueduct must date from this 17 year period.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to a higher-resolution, un-watermarked version on Clickasnap.

 

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Memorial and Rain, Brearley

The following pictures were taken whilst walking the route 66 cycleway through Brearley, West Yorkshire. I'd set off to walk a loop from my home in Sowerby Bridge, down the valley from Sowerby through Boulderclough, and in to Mytholmroyd before returning along route 66 and the Rochdale Canal towpath.

Along the route, as you pass through Brearley, you pass the murder stone just north of the railway bridge. The stone is a memorial to William Deighton, a tax inspector who was killed in Halifax while investigating "King" David Hartley and his coiner gang. I have previously posted more on the memorial.

The path is part of the Route 66 cycleway (bridleway), with the railway bridge seen at the top of the picture and the green metal wall.

Underneath the skeletal artwork reads the following:A full and true account of a barborous, bloody, and inhuman murder. There is further artwork below this writing.

Carrying on my walk past the former chapel, now apartments, and through the centre of Brearley, the rain came, and trying to avoid soaking, I sheltered underneath Wheatley Royd Farm Bridge. This didn't work out as planned after nearly 30 minutes of waiting for my weather app to update to tell me it was going to be at least another hour, so I carried on with the walk and the soaking. The following two pictures were taken underneath the shelter of the bridge.

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Christ Church, Sowerby Bridge

 Christ Church is an Anglican place of worship in the town of Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire. Built in 1821 by John Oates to replace Brigg Chapel which had stood alongside the River Calder since 1526, the church was the result of over 20 years of fundraising to build the new place of worship for the growing town. Despite completion in 1821 Christ Church was not consecrated until 1824. It has been remodelled, extended and refurbished a number of times, lastly in 1895 after a fire gutted the chancel, roof and organ. 

A number of items inside the church have been taken from nearby churches and chapels after they were closed. The graveyard was closed in 1857 by order of the Secretary to Queen Victoria, due to fears of disease, despite this burials are said to have continued until 1960 with John Eddie Bottomley (1879-1960) the last known burial at Christ Church.

I took these pictures on the 18th March 2018 with a Nikon d3300.

The junction pictured used to be part of the Rochdale Canal, the church tower overlooking lock number 3. This was infilled sometime in the late 1940's. early 1950's and Tuel Lane built over it. The canal was reopened in 1996 when a tunnel was built underneath the junction and lock 3 and 4 were replaced by the deepest canal lock in the United Kingdom a short distance further west than the original lock 3.

The steps in front of the church are a recent edition, the road being recently widened here. The clock was added in 1839.

This picture would not have been possible for a number of years, the view would have been blocked by York House, a block of maisonette's that suffered from a poor reputation. They were demolished around the turn of the millennium, the area now overgrown and abandoned.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the higher resolution, un-watermarked version on Clickasnap.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.