Rishworth branch

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title: "Rishworth branch" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["railway-lines-opened-in-1881", "closed-railway-lines-in-yorkshire-and-the-humber", "1881-establishments-in-england", "transport-in-calderdale"] description: "Disused railway line in West Yorkshire, England" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishworth_branch" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Disused railway line in West Yorkshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox rail line"]

Field	Value
name	Rishworth branch
image	Bridge over the dismantled Rishworth Branch railway line - geograph.org.uk - 1261540.jpg
image_width	280px
status	Disused
locale	West Yorkshire, England
start
end
open	1 July 1878 (goods)
close
owner	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
gauge
map	[[File:Rishworth Branch Line.png
(Click to expand)
map_state	expanded
::

| name = Rishworth branch | image = Bridge over the dismantled Rishworth Branch railway line - geograph.org.uk - 1261540.jpg | image_width = 280px | image_alt = | caption = | type = | system = | status = Disused | locale = West Yorkshire, England | start = | end = | open = 1 July 1878 (goods) | close = | owner = Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway | linelength = | tracks = | gauge = | elevation = | map = [[File:Rishworth Branch Line.png|280px]] (Click to expand) | map_state = expanded The Rishworth branch was built in the Ryburn valley by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and linked with and served the villages of Triangle, Ripponden, Barkisland and Rishworth.

History

A branch from Sowerby Bridge to Ripponden was authorised in 1865 as Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (Ripponden and Stainland Branches, &c.) Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. cccxxxii), with the extension to Rishworth authorised in 1870, (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (Ripponden Branch Extension, &c.) Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. lxxx)). The line opened as far as Ripponden in 1878 and to Rishworth in 1881. The section to Ripponden was built by T. J. Walker at a cost of £113,000.

It was intended to extend the line to to shorten the Calder Valley main line by 5 mi, but this was ruled out quite soon after the branch opened and never taken up again. The branch line was in competition for passengers firstly with a tram line that ran up the valley, and secondly after a private firm had started running buses between Rishworth and Halifax; this took away the remaining few passengers who used the service and the line was closed to passengers to Rishworth on 8 July 1929. In an effort to save costs, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway tried using railmotors on the branch, but the trains were unpopular with the crews who maintained that they were difficult to keep in steam, and the railmotors were withdrawn from the Sowerby Bridge area when the passenger service ceased along the branch. Special excursion trains did continue using the branch after July 1929, but these ceased at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. The section between Rishworth and Ripponden closed for freight in 1953 and Ripponden to Sowerby Bridge closed completely on 1 September 1958.

Route

The line left a little to the east of the station, diverging south. It passed through the 593 yd Scar Head tunnel, rising on a 1 in 107 gradient to which was on a level section. From Triangle to the gradient increased to 1 in 60. The entire line from Sowerby Bridge to Rishworth was 3.75 mi long.

Present day

A section of the line south west from Ripponden village is a permissive footpath.{{cite web |url=http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk/Railway%20Ramblers%20Calderdale.htm |title=Railway Ramblers Calderdale - L&YR SOWERBY BRIDGE - RISHWORTH (3½ miles) |date= |accessdate=15 May 2009

References

References

1. (1990). "The Rishworth branch". Oakwood Press.
2. (1986). "A gazetteer of the railway contractors and engineers of central England 1830-1914". Melledgen.
3. (2001). "The Manchester & Leeds Railway – the Calder Valley Line". Bairstow.
4. (1970). "The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway volume two". David & Charles.
5. (1984). "South and West Yorkshire: the industrial West Riding". David Charles.
6. (1981). "LMS engine sheds: their history and development". Wild Swan Publications.
7. (2001). "The Manchester & Leeds Railway – the Calder Valley Line". Bairstow.
8. (1984). "South and West Yorkshire: the industrial West Riding". David Charles.
9. (1990). "The Rishworth branch". Oakwood Press.
10. (2001). "The Manchester & Leeds Railway – the Calder Valley Line". Bairstow.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::