Editing Calder Valley line (section)

==Route==

Before the [[Railways Act 1921|1923 Grouping]] the first section of the line (Leeds–Bradford) was owned by the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] (GNR); and the entire remainder by the [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] (L&YR), apart from the final section of the branch leading into Huddersfield, which was owned by the [[London and North Western Railway]] (LNWR).

For the section between Halifax and Burnley the line uses the valley of the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]], which in fact comprises two separate valleys with rivers of the same name, that of West Yorkshire and the [[River Calder, Lancashire|Lancashire River Calder]] thus giving the services their name; it also follows the [[Rochdale Canal]] from Todmorden into Manchester.  Since the route crosses the [[Pennines]], there are many tunnels to negotiate ''en route''.

The British Railways Board's Corporate Plan for 1983–1988 marked the routes between Milner Royd Junction (east of [[Sowerby Bridge]]) and [[Bowling Junction railway station|Bowling Junction]] (south of Bradford Interchange); and Milner Royd Junction and [[Heaton Lodge Junction]] (west of Mirfield) to be 'singled' on a list "The Proposed Elimination of Non-Essential Multiple Tracks".<ref>''Rail Enthusiast'', November 1983. pp 6–13</ref>  A combination of factors meant this was never implemented: the better gradients for freight than the Huddersfield trans-Pennine route; and the mid-1980s uncertainty over the Settle-Carlisle route meant that this became the preferred route for goods between Leeds and Preston/Carlisle.

Today, [[Hebden Bridge]] and [[Leeds]] are the only stations where every service calls, the route description follows.

===Leeds–Bradford===
For the initial section of the route between [[Leeds]] and [[Bradford]], see [[Leeds–Bradford lines]].

===Bradford–Halifax===
Many stations on this route have been closed. Stations currently open are in bold.{{clarify|reason=There is nothing in bold in this section|date=October 2024}} Original places served, and notes on the route:
* [[Bowling railway station (England)|Bowling]] was named ''Bowling Junction'' for its link with the GNR at this point
* here is ''Bowling Tunnel'' 1648 yd (1483m)
* [[Low Moor railway station|Low Moor]], also a junction with GNR. Closed in 1965 and reopened in April 2017.
* here was a triangular junction for the L&YR line to [[Dewsbury]]
* here are two tunnels: ''New Furnace Tunnel'' and ''Wyke Tunnel''
* [[Wyke and Norwood Green railway station|Wyke and Norwood Green]]
* here is Pickle Bridge junction for the [[Pickle Bridge Line]] to Huddersfield: now closed, there were two stations, [[Bailiff Bridge railway station|Bailiff Bridge]] and [[Clifton Road railway station|Clifton Road]]
* [[Lightcliffe railway station|Lightcliffe]]
* here is ''Lightcliffe Tunnel''
* [[Hipperholme railway station|Hipperholme]]
* here is ''Beacon Hill Tunnel'' 1105 yd (995m)
* [[Halifax railway station (West Yorkshire)|Halifax]]

On 24 October 1901, as the 6.10&nbsp;pm down goods train from Low Moor to Leeds to was passing through Bowling Tunnel, the rear section broke loose. It came to a stop in the tunnel and was run into from behind by the 9.05&nbsp;pm goods train from Low Moor to Laisterdyke. Wreckage partly blocking the up line was then hit by the 9:00&nbsp;pm passenger train from Leeds to Manchester. Nobody was killed but there was extensive damage to rolling stock.<ref>{{cite web |title=Accident Report: Bowling Tunnel |year=1901 |publisher= Board of Trade |url= http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_BowlingTunnel1901.pdf}}</ref>

===Halifax–Huddersfield===
This route was re-opened to passengers in 2000 when Brighouse station was re-opened, and two short lengths of line were relaid (after being out of use for 15 years) to enable trains to reach Huddersfield.
* At Dryclough Junction the Huddersfield route leaves the main line.
* [[Greetland railway station|Greetland station]] closed in 1962.
* [[Elland railway station|Elland station]] closed in 1962 but is expected to reopen in 2025<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/its-fantastic-news-businesses-welcome-planning-go-ahead-for-elland-rail-station-4064972/|title=Elland Railway Station gets planning go-ahead - here's when it could be built by|work=Halifax Courier|access-date=15 March 2023}}</ref>
* [[Brighouse]]
* [[Bradley railway station|Bradley station]] closed in 1950,
* [[Deighton, West Yorkshire|Deighton]] is only used by trains on the Huddersfield line; Calder Valley line trains do not call there.
* [[Huddersfield]]

===Halifax–Manchester Oxford Road===
Many stations on this route have been closed (or are not served by the Calder Valley line trains): original stations served:
* here was the triangular junction for the line via [[Mirfield]] to Dewsbury; Brighouse station is on this line.
* here is ''Bank House Tunnel''
* here was [[Copley railway station|Copley]] station
* the line now turns west into the Calder valley, joining the original 1840 main line at ''Milner Royd Junction''.
* Sowerby Bridge
* at Sowerby Bridge heading west the line used to branch off to Ripponden. It was originally intended to continue to Littleborough but ended at [[Rishworth branch|Rishworth]]. Closed to passengers 8 July 1929.
* here was [[Luddendenfoot railway station]] now closed
* [[Mytholmroyd railway station|Mytholmroyd]]
* here is ''Mytholmroyd Railway Viaduct''
* [[Hebden Bridge railway station|Hebden Bridge]]
* (all Calder Valley Line services serve [[Hebden Bridge]])
* here is ''Weasel Hall Tunnel''
* here was [[Eastwood (L&Y) railway station|Eastwood]] station
* here are: ''Castle Hill Tunnel''; ''Horsfall Tunnel''; and ''Millwood Tunnel''
* '' Hall Royd Junction'': here the trains on the Blackpool service turn northwestward, following the Calder Valley (see below)
* [[Todmorden railway station|Todmorden]] here the line takes a southward direction, in the same valley as the Rochdale Canal
* [[Walsden railway station|Walsden]] 
* after ''Winterbutlee Tunnel'' follows ''[[Summit Tunnel]]'', at 2885 yd (2597 m) the longest on the L&YR lines. Here the line crosses into the Rochdale District of [[Greater Manchester]]
* [[Littleborough railway station|Littleborough]]
* [[Smithy Bridge railway station|Smithy Bridge]]
* [[Rochdale railway station|Rochdale]]: junction for two lines: to [[Bacup]] (closed to passengers 16 June 1947) and to [[Oldham]]
* [[Castleton railway station|Castleton]]: junction for a line to [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]]
* [[Mills Hill railway station|Mills Hill]]
* [[Middleton Junction railway station|Middleton Junction]] junction for two lines: [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]] branch; and [[Oldham]] (both closed)
* [[Moston railway station|Moston]]
* [[Newton Heath]]
* [[Miles Platting railway station|Miles Platting]]
* [[Manchester Victoria railway station|Manchester Victoria]]
* The train passes [[Salford Central railway station]] on the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway|formerly L&MR line]] before traversing the [[Ordsall Chord]] to join the [[Cheshire Lines Committee|formerly CLC line]].
* [[Deansgate railway station|Deansgate]]
* [[Manchester Oxford Road railway station|Manchester Oxford Road]]

On 28 February 1902 a Wakefield to Rose Grove goods train broke into two due to a broken coupling, resulting in the rear half eventually crashing at high speed into the front half in Millwood Tunnel. No one was killed but wreckage filled the tunnel right up to the roof.<ref>{{cite web |title=Accident Report: Millwood Tunnel |year=1902 |publisher= Board of Trade |url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_MillwoodTunnel1902.pdf}}</ref>

[[Summit Tunnel]] was the scene of a [[Summit Tunnel fire|major fire]] in 1984, caused when a [[freight train]] hauling petrol tankers derailed.

===Blackpool route===
Trains continue up the Calder valley to [[Burnley]] and [[Blackburn]]; it also runs parallel with the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] from Burnley. The section from Todmorden to Burnley (often called the '''Copy Pit line'''<!--redirects here-->)  was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway (later L&YR) on 12 November 1849.  The East Lancashire Railway (later L&YR) built the Burnley to Preston line, Burnley to Accrington 18 September 1848, Accrington to Blackburn 19 June 1848, and the Blackburn to Preston section on 1 June 1846.

The Rose Grove–Todmorden (Hall Royd) local service over this route ended in 1965, the only passenger services thereafter being a daily Leeds–Blackpool train.  In mid-1982 the last tanker train travelled over the line, with the expectation of closure shortly after.  A turning point came when the National and Provincial Building Society moved staff from Burnley to Bradford.  The Society arranged for a Preston–Bradford Interchange train to be run to move staff from their home base to Bradford offices.  In October 1984 British Rail developed this into five trains each way between Leeds and Preston with one extended to Blackpool.<ref>Batty, Stephen R., British Rail at Work: West Yorkshire, 1987, pp. 70–71</ref>

====Todmorden curve====
The Todmorden curve is a {{convert|440|yd|m|adj=on}} section of track at Hall Royd Junction in Todmorden which was lifted in 1972. Originally Hall Royd Junction was triangular, and the lifted curve allowed services from Burnley to reach Manchester via Todmorden (regular services over it had ceased in November 1965). Reinstating the curve was a priority for Lancashire County Council and was ranked as the most important project in its 2010 Rail Improvement Schemes draft report.<ref>{{cite news |work=Rail |location=Peterborough |issue=641 |pages=16–17 |title= Todmorden and Fleetwood top Lancashire's rail list |date=7 April 2010}}</ref> The government stated in March 2010 that reinstating the link would cost around £7&nbsp;million and any new rail services would require initial subsidy.<ref name="pendletoday">{{cite news |newspaper=Pendle Today |location=Nelson |url=http://www.pendletoday.co.uk/nelsonnews/7m-upfront-price-tag-for.6174177.jp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421033346/http://www.pendletoday.co.uk/nelsonnews/7m-upfront-price-tag-for.6174177.jp |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=£7m. upfront price tag for Todmorden Curve rail link |date=23 March 2010 |access-date=10 April 2010 }}</ref> Burnley [[Member of Parliament|MP]] [[Kitty Ussher]] wrote to the [[North West Development Agency]] to seek assurance that it could find the money.<ref name="pendletoday"/> In October 2010 Network Rail agreed to pay for the final assessment of the plans.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.railwayherald.org/magazine/pdf/RHUK/Issue241.pdf |title=UK News In Brief |magazine=Railway Herald |issue=241 |page=5 |date=4 October 2010 |access-date=6 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009150521/http://www.railwayherald.org/magazine/pdf/RHUK/Issue241.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> This assessment, completed in May 2011, concluded that it could be feasible to reinstate the curve, although the original route could not be used as the original curve was deemed to be too sharp. An alternative route was instead put forward, and it was stated that, if funds could be obtained by early 2012 to carry forward the project, the curve could be back in use by the end of 2013.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9032186.Burnley_s_Todmorden_Curve_line_could_be_running_by_2013/ |title =Todmorden Curve could be running by 2013 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |location =Blackburn |author=Moseley, Tom |date=17 May 2011 |access-date= 18 May 2011}}</ref>

On 31 October 2011, the deputy Prime Minister announced that the scheme would be given the go-ahead.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9335117.Major_boost_as___9million_rail_link_cash_announced_for_Burnley/ |title= Major boost as £9million rail link cash announced for Burnley |date=31 October 2011 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |location =Blackburn |author= Magill, Peter |access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref>

Construction work began in summer 2013, and the curve was planned to be available for the May 2014 timetable change.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9846944.Todmorden_Curve_journeys_to_start_after_May_2014/ |title= Todmorden Curve journeys to start after May 2014 |work= Lancashire Telegraph |date= 31 July 2012 |access-date=4 July 2013 |location= Blackburn}}</ref> The track was completed and tested in May 2014, and services began on 17 May 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/local/campaigners-hope-curve-will-spring-into-life-1-6884509 |title=Campaigners hope curve will spring into life |date=15 October 2014 |work=Todmorden News |access-date=22 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122160518/http://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/local/campaigners-hope-curve-will-spring-into-life-1-6884509 |archive-date=22 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northernrail.org/todmorden-curve |title=New direct train services between Accrington, Burnley and Manchester  |publisher=Northern Rail |access-date=17 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518124436/http://www.northernrail.org/todmorden-curve |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Original stations====
Many stations on this route have been closed (or are not served by the Calder Valley line trains): original stations served and other notes on the route:
* ''Hall Royd Junction'': see above; there are now no stations on the route before Burnley; stations once served, and notes on the route:
* here is the junction with the original line from Todmorden (to Burnley), forming a triangle (closed 1972, but reopened in 2015).
* [[Stansfield Hall railway station|Stansfield Hall]] station opened 1869, closed July 1944
* here is ''Kitsonwood Tunnel'' (290 yards)
* Nott Wood (Lydgate) viaduct
* [[Cornholme railway station|Cornholme]] station closed to all traffic 26 September 1938
* [[Portsmouth railway station (West Yorkshire)|Portsmouth]] closed 7 July 1958
* Copy Pit summit (749&nbsp;ft)
* Holme Tunnel (265 yards)
* [[Holme railway station (Lancashire)|Holme]]: closed 28 July 1930
* Towneley Tunnel (398 yards)
* [[Towneley railway station|Towneley]]: serving the nearby ''Towneley Hall'', closed 4 August 1952
* [[Burnley Manchester Road railway station|Burnley Manchester Road]] station: (there are also ''Burnley Barracks'' and ''Burnley Central'' see below)
* Gannow Junction where the line joins from Colne, Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley Central and Burnley Barracks
* [[Rose Grove railway station|Rose Grove]] has an island platform with 2 disused bay platforms.
* here was the ''Rose Grove Junction'' for the [[North Lancashire Loop]], an alternative route to Blackburn via [[Padiham railway station|Padiham]], [[Simonstone railway station|Simonstone]] and [[Great Harwood railway station|Great Harwood]] (closed to passengers 2 December 1957)
* [[Hapton railway station|Hapton]]
* [[Huncoat railway station|Huncoat]]
* [[Accrington railway station|Accrington]]
* here was the triangular junction for the line to [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]] (closed 5 December 1966)
* [[Church and Oswaldtwistle railway station|Church and Oswaldtwistle]]
* [[Rishton railway station|Rishton]]
* Rishton Tunnel
* here was the other end of the line from Burnley at ''Great Harwood Junction''
* Blackburn Tunnel

===Blackburn to Preston===
This line is described in more detail in [[East Lancashire line]].
* [[Blackburn railway station|Blackburn]]: junction of the line to [[Bolton]]
* [[Mill Hill (Lancashire) railway station|Mill Hill]]
* [[Cherry Tree railway station|Cherry Tree]]
* here was the L&YR/LNWR joint line (the ''Lancashire Union Joint Railway'') to [[Chorley]] and the West Coast Route (opened 1 November 1869 and closed to passengers 4 January 1960)
* [[Pleasington railway station|Pleasington]]
* [[Hoghton railway station|Hoghton]]
* [[Bamber Bridge railway station|Bamber Bridge]]
* here was a junction for a direct route to Preston, the surviving route continues to Preston via [[Lostock Hall railway station|Lostock Hall]] where there are further junctions, including one for the former through route to [[Liverpool]].

===Preston to Blackpool===
This route is described in more detail in [[Blackpool branch lines]].
* [[Preston railway station|Preston]]: the joint LNWR/L&YR station on the West Coast Route
* [[Lea Road railway station|Lea Road]]
* [[Salwick railway station|Salwick]]
* [[Kirkham and Wesham railway station|Kirkham and Wesham]]
* here were junctions: for the direct route to Blackpool; and the coast route via [[Lytham]] [[St Annes on Sea]]
* [[Singleton (Lancashire) railway station|Singleton]]
* [[Poulton-le-Fylde railway station|Poulton-le-Fylde]]
* here was the junction for [[Fleetwood railway station|Fleetwood]] (line closed to passengers 1 June 1970)
* [[Layton railway station (England)|Layton]] (opened as Bispham)
* [[Blackpool North railway station|Blackpool North]] was named ''Talbot Road''

===Holme Tunnel engineering work===
Holme Tunnel, which lies between Hebden Bridge and Burnley Manchester Road, was closed for 20 weeks from November 2013 until March 2014.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.modern-railways.com/view_article.asp?ID=5909|title=20 week closure for Holme tunnel upgrade|journal=Modern Railways|date=9 May 2013|access-date=15 September 2013}}</ref> This was to allow for major engineering work to fix the distorted shape of the tunnel, caused by movement of the ground through which it passes. The project was budgeted to cost £16.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Rail Engineer|url=http://www.therailengineer.com/2013/11/07/ground-force/|title=Ground Force|date=7 November 2013|access-date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111110945/http://www.therailengineer.com/2013/11/07/ground-force/|archive-date=11 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the works, buses replaced train services. Trains can now pass through at 45&nbsp;mph.<ref name="Holme Tunnel reopened">{{cite web|url=http://www.northernrail.org/news/7323|title=Holme Tunnel reopened on Monday 24 March|publisher=Northern Rail|access-date=12 April 2014}}</ref>