Yeadon - Guiseley Railway Path

Starting Point - Guiseley Railway Station. Finishing Point - Green Lane Mills, Yeadon. 

Distance 2 Miles

The Guiseley to Yeadon branch line was part of a scheme that was never completed to connect the Midland Railway line at Guiseley to the North Eastern Railway line at Horsforth. The line was opened in 1894 and although a station was built at Yeadon it never had regular passenger services, seeing only occasional excursion traffic. The line was used for goods traffic until 1964 when it closed completely. The trackbed remains as a footpath linking Guiseley with Yeadon. More details can be found on the Wikipedia article.

Open Street Map

1936 Map

Guiseley

From Guiseley station I walked to where Leeds Road meets Otley Road, from here a footpath heads to Silverdale Drive and then to Coach Road where the path on the Guiseley to Yeadon railway line can be picked up.

1936 Map

Below - Coach Road bridge across the surviving line to Leeds. The buildings in the background are on the site of the Ghyllroyd Iron Foundry.

Below - Looking from Coach Road Bridge towards the former Rawdon Junction. The Yeadon line was on the right climbing at top of the embankment.

The bridge crossing Milner Road has been removed ant the path now crosses at road level.

Below - The bridge taking New Road over the railway, it can be seen how much the cutting has been filled since the railway was removed.

Below - The bridge taking Whack House Lane over the former railway.

Below - The bridge taking St John's Road over the former railway.

1936 Map

Yeadon

Below - The path emerges on to Parkland View close to where the bridge over Henshaw Lane has been removed. Yeadon station stood on the left at the top of the bridge. A footpath up from the street to the station was on the left, though there is no trace of it now. 

Below - The former Station pub just west of the bridge and the former entrance to the station site.

A council depot now occupies the former station site. The footpath that ran along the eastern edge of the station site survives and is accessed of Henshaw Avenue.

Below - Seen from the path at the edge of the former goods yard site, I'm not sure if this building was associated with the railway goods yard or built afterwards as part of the council depot. It looks as if it had canopies on the side at one time.

Below - The Fire Station occupies the site of the end of the line where a loop and headshunt was provided and from where wagons could be backed in to the goods yard.

A small spur connected the goods yard to Green Lane Dye Works. At the time of writing this was shown on Google Maps satellite images as being derelict but work seemed to be nearing completion rebuilding the site as housing. Unfortunately this meant that rails set in to the roadway where the rail link entered the complex seem to have been recently removed.

Below - The former Green Lane Dye Works, now named Green Lane Mills as I guess that sounds nicer as a residential address. The areas to the left of the picture have been replaced with new housing, thought it has been built of stone and to a style that fits in with the old mill buildings.

From here I returned to Guiseley the way I had come along the former railway.

Crossley Evans' Scrapyard, Shipley

A couple of visits to see shunters at Crossley Evans' scrapyard, a short walk from Shipley station

Crossley Evans' scrapyard at Shipley was well known amongst those interested in industrial locos, not for scrapping them but for being a place to see them. In the 1980s it was even possible to see a steam loco still in action when Andrew Barclay tank loco Harry was used.

Though it is some time since the rail connection to the yard has been used the engines (apart from Harry which is now preserved) still remained there until recently. The site is now being cleared with plans of using the sidings for stabling Northern Rail units. A couple of weeks ago I was passing on a train and noticed the last couple of locos, Venom and Prince of Wales, were stood under the road bridge and the others seemed to have been removed as well as a lot of the scrap around the site having been cleared. This prompted me to look back on my old photos at the site taken in 2009 and 2012 when trains operated by Advenza Freight and latterly Fastline brought wagons to the Shipley yard which would be shunted to the loading area by one of the several shunters located there.

Google Map

1935 Map

The yard is on part of the site of Shipley's goods yard and the footprint of the old goods yard (shown on the right of the above map) can be seen in the scrapyard site. It was a short walk from Shipley station to Valley Road which crossed over the middle of the yard.

Locos on the site - 

Ruston & Hornsby 459519 of 1961, 01507 Venom

Hunslet 7159 of 1969, Prince of Wales

Sentinel 10023 of 1960 Katie

Ruston & Hornsby 284838 of 1950

Ruston & Hornsby 425483 of 1958, Beth

Below - Venom at the loading area with Katie behind in 2009. Katie was subsequently stored out of use at the other side of the road bridge after Venom had arrived 

Below - The two 1950s Rustons were stored at the end of this siding for many years. Behind the locos would have been the entrance to the goods shed, the site of which is now occupied by a Network Rail yard.

Below - Prince of Wales.

Below - In the 2000s Crossley Evens used smaller independent firms to haul its trains on the main line, firstly Advenza Freight. After Advenza was wound up in 2009 (shortly after this photo was taken) the work was taken over by Fastline. This shot of a Shipley bound scrap train was taken at Holbeck.

Below - Katie and Prince of Wales in 2009.

Below - The vegetation growing around the 1950s Rustons in 2012. Beth ended up with a tree growing through its cab.

Below - Venom and Prince of Wales in 2009. This was the site of the cattle pens in the old goods yard.

Below - The 1950s Rustons disappearing in the vegetation at the end of the siding in 2012.

Below - Katie, Prince of Wales and Venom in 2009.

Below - A Fast Line hauled train at the scrapyard in 2012.

Below - A 144 Pacer passes the yard on the way to Bradford.

With the Mainline loco on the right next to the mainline connection Venom takes the wagons to and from the loading area.

Below - Bails of scrap being loaded in to the wagons.

Below - Loaded wagons behind the mainline loco with empty wagons waiting to be taken to the loading area.

Below - Katie stored in one of the sidings to the south of the road bridge.

Below - Venom and Prince of Wales at the loading area.