Great Northern Railways Queensbury lines

A scene well known to me in my childhood. Here a

Train from Queensbury passes Horton Park station

on it's way to Bradford Exchange station via

Manchester Rd and Ripleyville. The line curving

away to the right ran down under All Saints Rd and

Great Horton Rd before running down to City Rd

Goods yard where I often lingered at the gate to

watch the goings on. There is a story of a cricketer

playing on the ground, which was to the far left of

the picture on the other side of Horton Park Ave,

having hit a six over and out of the ground and its

landing in a coal truck on a train for Keighley. The

train duly carried on and only when the train arrived

 at Keighley was the ball  found

 

 

 

Here a coal train just like the one described above

begins the climb past Horton Park and up to Great

Horton, through Clayton to Queensbury

 

The bridges that can be seen in the distance are

Horton Park station bridge and a little further

up the hump back footbridge which served the

posh houses on Cecil Ave up the side of Horton

Park. Many is the time I have crossed the bridge

to play in the park and of course lingered a little

to watch any trains in the station or goods yard

there.

 

 

Here the old footbridge at Horton Park Station by

the time this picture was taken, in a derelict state.

 

Here a rare diesel in the last days of the Queensbury

lines hauls a coal train past the now derelict Horton

 Park Signal Box

 

 

Here an ariel view of Horton Park Station the arrows

show the bridges mentioned above. The one on the

far right being the station footbridge and the one on

the left being the hump back footbridge serving the

posh houses surrounding the park

 

 

The aforementioned cricket ground. The railway

line ran through Horton Park towards Great Horton

and Queensbury and is indicated by the arrows. The

line came up from Ripleyville and Manchester Rd

passing under Laisteridge Lane shown by the far right

arrow and ran parallel with Horton Park Avenue

which lay between the cricket ground and the railway

The station was built specifically to serve the ground

which was well used for Roses matches and some test

matches too. So the longest six in history may well be

a true tale.

 

Many thanks to John Alsop for the picture of Horton Park Station footbridge.