Above - L&YR Hughes Railmotor at Stainland and Holywell Green Station
Starting Point - Stainland Road, Greetland. Round trip. Distance 3.2 Miles.
Just 1.6 miles long, the Stainland branch from Greetland Junction to Stainland and Holywell Green station opened in 1875 and was primarily built to serve the local mills. Six passenger trains a day were provided to Halifax, these were operated by Hughes railmotors from 1907 until passenger services were withdrawn in 1929. Freight traffic continued until 1959.
Initially there were two passenger stations, one at West Vale and one at Stainland and Holywell Green (actually situated at Holywell Green). With the introduction of Railmotors, an attempt to remain competitive against the tramway under construction at the time, a simple platform was added at Rochdale Road Halt.
My visit to the former line was by bike, with there no longer being a station on the surviving main line at Greetland Junction or even at Elland (a shocking oversight as this is now one of the largest centres of population in West Yorkshire without a railway station despite a railway line running through it) it is quite a trek from Brighouse or Sowerby Bridge. I therefore combined the trip with a ride along the Calder and Hebble Navigation between the two towns.
After crossing under the main line a small car park can be seen on the right, this is on the site of the coal yard. (Below)
Below - Remains of the end of the coal drops.
There are paths in the woods behind the coal drops, though the railway would have been in a short cutting at this point this has been filled in. The bridge where Clay House Lane crossed the line is still in situ, though the trackbed is filled in up to the bridge deck.
The line would have continued on an embankment (probably what filled in the cutting when it was removed) and on a bridge over Rochdale Road. On the other side of Rochdale Road a footpath leads up to the trackbed.
Below - Old pipe bridge over the trackbed. This location is the site of Rochdale Road Halt which would have been a simple wooden platform on the left.
The path continues over the first of a couple of major structures that still survive, West Vale Viaduct.
I should point out that I'm not sat on the wall or anything silly in this shot, merely holding the camera (with wrist strap on) over the edge.
On the way back I took a detour through West Vale for a shot of the viaduct from ground level, seen here across the demolished site of West Vale Mill.
After the viaduct the area has seen a lot of housing development since the railway closed. West Vale station was location at what is now the corner of Green Lane and Green Royd. From Green Royd a path runs along the back of the houses, this path follows the course of the railway and the top of the old retaining wall can be seen. The houses on Green Royd occupy the site of the goods yard.
The path joins the road at Long Hays and a bridge that carried the road over the railway can be seen, showing how the cutting has been filled in to the height of the road.
Beyond the bridge is a section of trackbed leading on to Rawroyds Viaduct, though there is no footpath on this section of trackbed a footpath called Rawroyds runs alongside.
Below - Rawroyds Viaduct
From the end of the viaduct at Burnwood Way the last stretch of railway trackbed is now a private road to serve a chemical works on the site of Stainland and Holywell Green station and the line's final destination at Brookroyd Mills.
Below - The bridge where Station Road in Holywell Green crossed the railway, the station was on the right.
Below - Looking north from the Station Road bridge along the chemical works access road that now occupies the trackbed. A signal box would have been on the right.
Below - The site of Stainland and Holywell Green station. The station was on the right. Beyond the station the line continued to Brookroyd Mills.
Below - Picture of the Railmotor at Stainland and Holywell Green station. The bridge in the background is the bridge the previous couple of shots were taken from.
Great article! I live in Stainland and we have followed the route as you have! You can even get to nearly to the junction with the main line through the woods! Glad you have settled a family discussion on the coal works, we did wonder if it was a mineral drop for the dye works that were on the site of the garden centre and football pitch across the road.
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