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Harrogate railway station

Coordinates: 53°59′36″N 1°32′15″W / 53.9933°N 1.5374°W / 53.9933; -1.5374
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Harrogate
General information
LocationHarrogate
Coordinates53°59′36″N 1°32′15″W / 53.9933°N 1.5374°W / 53.9933; -1.5374
Managed byNorthern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeHGT
Fare zone6
History
Opened1 August 1862
Original companyNorth Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Railways in Harrogate
Legend
to Northallerton via Ripon
closed to passengers 1967
Harrogate
Starbeck
Hornbeam Park
opened 1992
to York
Crimple Viaduct
Line to Church Fenton
closed to passengers 1964
Pannal
to Leeds

Harrogate railway station serves the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Located on the Harrogate Line it is 18.25 miles (29 km) north of Leeds. Northern operate the station and provide local passenger train services, with a London North Eastern Railway service to and from London King's Cross running 6 times per day.

History

The station was opened by the North Eastern Railway on 1 August 1862.[1] It was designed by the architect Thomas Prosser and was the first building in Harrogate built of brick and had two platforms. Before it opened (and the associated approach lines), the town's rail routes had been somewhat fragmented – the York and North Midland Railway branch line from Church Fenton via Tadcaster had a terminus in the town (see below), but the Leeds Northern Railway main line between Leeds and Thirsk bypassed it to the east to avoid costly engineering work to cross the Crimple Valley and the East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway from York terminated at Starbeck. Once the individual companies had become part of the NER, the company concentrated all lines at a new single depot.

A storm in November 1866 caused a chimney stack to fall through the station roof causing considerable damage.[2] In 1873, a footbridge was added.

The booking office was robbed on 7 December 1868 when thieves drilled through the ticket window covering with a bit and brace, and stole a small amount of cash.[3]

The station platforms were lengthened by 100 yards in 1883,[4] largely as a result of the opening of a second route to Leeds via Wetherby (the Cross Gates to Wetherby Line) in 1876.

In 1892, the actor, Harry Fischer, was shot at by Violet Gordon at the station.[5] She missed and was arrested by the police.

The station was largely demolished in 1964/65 and replaced with a more utilitarian one (with fewer platforms) by Taylor Bown and Miller, Architects (Harrogate). A car park now occupies the site of the former bay platforms on the south side.[6] It coincided with the loss of three of the main routes through the town in the Beeching Axe – both routes via Wetherby closed to passenger traffic on 6 January 1964 and the Leeds Northern route to Northallerton via Ripon on 6 March 1967.[7]

The York branch was included in Beeching's 1963 report, but it was reprieved in 1966 and remains open. The original, attractive wrought iron footbridge remained until the mid 2000s when it was taken down and replaced by a modern plain steel one further down the platform. The station was serviced by a cafe called the 'Circle Bar' until its closure in the 1990s.

Station Masters

  • Charles Matthews ca. 1862 – 1874
  • James Richardson 1874 – 1899[8]
  • Francis Purvis 1899 – 1921
  • William Parker 1922 – 1927 (formerly station master at Durham)
  • James K. Shaw 1927 – 1934 (formerly station master at Penistone)
  • James Craig 1934 – 1936[9] (afterwards station master at Glasgow Queen Street)
  • R. A. Dawes 1936[10] – 1940 (formerly station master at Wakefield Westgate)
  • T. Arnott 1940 (afterwards station master at Selby)
  • Albert Ernest Purnell 1941 – 1943 (formerly station master at Bridlington)
  • J. A. Wilson 1943 – 1950 (formerly station master at Northallerton)
  • W. J. Thomas 1950 – 1952
  • R. B. King 1961 – ???? (formerly station master at Ripon)
  • Frederick Longbottom ???? – 1963
  • R. W. Irving 1963 – ???? (formerly station manager at Saltburn)

Facilities

A small building was added on the Leeds bound platform in the 2010s facilitating access from East Parade

The station has a staffed ticket office open seven days a week (except late evenings), along with ticket machines. Facilities include a newsagent, key cutters, ATMs, a cafe, photo booths and a waiting room, all located on the main concourse on Platform 1. The station has three platforms, but only platforms 1 and 3 are in operation – platform 2 (an east-facing bay) is not in public use. Full step-free access is available to both main platforms and they are linked by a footbridge with lifts.[11] Ticket barriers were installed in early 2017.[12]

Services

The Monday to Saturday daytime service is generally 3tph to Leeds (southbound); with two calling at all stations and one limited stop (Hornbeam Park and Horsforth only) and 2tph to Knaresborough (eastbound) on the Harrogate Line with an hourly service onwards to York also calling at all stations en route.[13] 2tph operate to Leeds and Knaresborough on Sundays with one train per hour operating to/from York.

Services increase in frequency at peak time to Leeds, resulting in 4tph (trains per hour) with 1tph running fast to Horsforth. There are 4tph in the opposite direction between 16:29 and 18:00 from Leeds with one running fast from Horsforth to Harrogate.

Evenings an hourly service operates from Leeds through Harrogate towards Knaresborough and York (some early morning trains to Leeds start from here and terminate here from Leeds in the late evening).

London North Eastern Railway operates six daily services to and from London King's Cross on Mondays to Saturdays.[14] These trains also provide a fourth hourly clockface service to Leeds every two hours.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Leeds   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line 		  Terminus
Horsforth
(Limited service) 		   
Hornbeam Park   Northern
Harrogate Line 		  Starbeck

Harrogate (Brunswick) station

Main article: Harrogate (Brunswick) railway station
Plaque marking the site of Harrogate Brunswick Railway Station

Harrogate's first railway station, Brunswick, was the terminus of York and North Midland Railway's branch line and the first train arrived there on 20 July 1848. The station was situated on the site where Trinity Methodist Church now stands, close to the Prince of Wales roundabout and some distance from either High or Low Harrogate.[15] When the new line of the North Eastern Railway entered Harrogate via a cutting through The Stray, Brunswick closed and the first train into the town centre station was on 1 August 1862.

Ripon Railway

Harrogate station's platforms and tracks, seen from the pedestrian overbridge.

The city was previously served by a railway station on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton via Harrogate and Ripon.[16] It was once part of the North Eastern Railway and then LNER. The site is now occupied by Starbeck railway station.[17]

The Ripon Line was closed to passengers on 6 March 1967 and to freight on 5 September 1969 as part of the wider Beeching Axe, despite a vigorous campaign by local campaigners, including the city's MP.[16] Today much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road and although the former station still stands, it is now surrounded by a new housing development. The issue remains a significant one in local politics and there are movements wanting to restore the line.[16] Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate railway station would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700.[16][18][19] Campaigners call on MPs to restore Ripon railway link.[20]

A61 Station Parade, Harrogate

References

  1. ^ "Opening of the Harrogate New Railway". Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 2 August 1862. Retrieved 20 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ Kendal Mercury – Saturday 10 November 1866
  3. ^ Leeds Times – Saturday 12 December 1868
  4. ^ The Building news and engineering journal: Volume 44, 1883
  5. ^ Morpeth Herald – Saturday 30 July 1892
  6. ^ Harrogate station's former side platforms Eden, A Geograph.org; Retrieved 30 November 2016
  7. ^ Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides – Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1, p.136
  8. ^ "Harrogate". York Herald. England. 29 April 1899. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "When Mr. J.Craig…". Leeds Mercury. England. 13 February 1936. Retrieved 7 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Harrogate Stationmaster". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. England. 30 April 1936. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Harrogate station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 30 November 2016
  12. ^ "Ticket barriers to be installed at Harrogate Railway Station Stray FM news article 17 November 2016; Retrieved 9 December 2016
  13. ^ GB National Rail Timetable May 2019, Table 35
  14. ^ "New Azuma trains in Harrogate a 'game changer' for town". The Yorkshire Post. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  15. ^ Bilton Historical Society Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 18 September 2007
  16. ^ a b c d "Reopening line makes economic sense, says study". NorthernEcho.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  17. ^ Cobb, M H (2003). The Railways of Great Britain – a historical atlas. p. 411. ISBN 0711030030. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Backing for restoring rail link". BBC News Online. BBC. 11 May 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  19. ^ "Railway plan may be back on track". The Northern Echo. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Campaigners call on MPs to restore Ripon railway link". The Yorkshire Post. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
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