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Ribblehead railway station

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Ribblehead
General information
LocationCraven
Managed byNorthern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeRHD
Key dates
1876opened
1970closed
1986reopened

Ribblehead railway station is located at the southern end of the famous Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, England. It is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services.

The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders.[1]

It was re-opened in 1986 by British Rail with only one platform (the southbound one) in place - the northbound one having been demolished after the station's original closure in May 1970 to allow for the construction of transfer sidings for a nearby quarry (these still exist and have recently been restored to use for timber trains - see below). A replacement second platform was opened in 1993 a short distance south of the original site.

In previous years, Ribblehead served as a meteorological station, with the stationmaster transmitting coded reports to the Air Ministry.[2] In 1957, the task was carried out by a former Royal Air Force navigator.[2] Monthly services were held in the station's waiting room by the Vicar of Ingleton.[2] These were accompanied by a harmonium concealed behind a billboard in the waiting room, which was brought to the station by a missionary who came as a minister to the construction gangs when the railway was being constructed through the moors in the early 1870s.[2] British Rail charged 2 shillings for the use of the waiting room, which saw as many as 50 worshippers at harvest festivals.[2]

This station is now leased by the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust, who have completely restored and refurbished it (reopened to public use in 2000).[3] There are resident caretakers, a small shop selling memorabilia, and its Visitor Centre includes exhibits about the history of the line and the fight to keep it open. One exhibit in the Visitor Centre is the original station sign and a small exhibition about the Midland Railway company, builders of the line and originally the train operators.

Facilities

The platforms both have level access, but the northbound one is linked to the rest of the station by a barrow crossing and is not recommended for use for disabled passengers without assistance. Train running information is available via telephone & information posters.

Passenger services

Generally there is a train every two hours northbound to Carlisle (six departures on Mondays to Saturdays - one service runs through non-stop) and southbound to Leeds (seven Mon-Fri, plus one extra on Saturdays).[4] One service each day also terminates and starts back from here (the last train of the day from Leeds) - this runs empty across the viaduct to reverse at Blea Moor signal box, where the driver changes ends before returning south.

Three trains each way call on Sundays all year round, with an additional DalesRail service each way also serving the station in the summer.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Horton-in-Ribblesdale   Northern
Settle-Carlisle Line 		  Dent

Freight services

Colas Rail Freight began hauling timber from the transfer sidings adjacent to the station in August 2010. The timber arrives by lorry from the local fells and is transported to a woodchip and board plant at Chirk in North Wales.[5]

Roadstone from Ingleton Quarry has also occasionally been railed out of the sidings.[6] All services leaving must head north over Ribblehead Viaduct due to the lack of Run-round facilities at the station. Southbound trains can then reverse at Blea Moor Loop.[7]

  • Northbound platform at Ribblehead station
    Northbound platform at Ribblehead station

References

  1. ^ "Notes by the Way". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Chapel in a station". Trains Illustrated. X (101): 59. February 1957.
  3. ^ Stations - Ribblehead Settle Carlisle Railway; Retrieved 23 November 2016
  4. ^ GB National Rail Timetable May 2016, Table 42
  5. ^ Buck, Martin (2010). Loco Review 2011. Swindon, United Kingdom: Freightmaster Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-9558275-4-9.
  6. ^ Shannon, Paul (February 2014). "Freight Review - Gains & Losses 2013". Railways Illustrated. Key Publishing. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. ^ Bridge, Mike (2013). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 4; Midlands & North West. Bradford-On-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-7-4.
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