Leeds New Line

The Heaton Lodge and Wortley Railway was constructed by the London and North Western Railway, to provide a duplicate route between Huddersfield and Leeds, leaving the existing line at Heaton Lodge junction, east of Huddersfield and rejoining it at Farnley junction, south west of Leeds. During construction it became known as the Leeds New Line and following nationalisation it was referred to as the Spen Line. Passenger services ceased in the 1950s with full closure in stages between 1960 and 1990.

Leeds New Line
The site of Battyeford station in 1961
Overview
OwnerLondon and North Western Railway
LocaleWest Yorkshire
Termini
  • Heaton Lodge junction
  • Farnley junction
Stations8
History
Opened1 October 1900
Closed1960 to 1990
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leeds New Line
to Leeds
to Batley
 Gildersome
Great Northern Railway
to Bradford │ to Morley
Gildersome tunnel
Great Northern Railway
to Bradford │ to Batley
 Birstall Town
 Gomersal
Gomersal tunnel
 Cleckheaton Spen
 Liversedge Spen
 Heckmondwike Spen
Spen Valley Line
Ravensthorpe branch
Spen Valley Line
Mirfield branch
 Northorpe Higher
 Battyeford
Huddersfield line
to Dewsbury
Calder Valley line
Huddersfield line
to Huddersfield

History

An early casualty of the construction of the railway was Mirfield Cricket Club, who stated in the Report and Balance sheet of the Annual General Meeting held at the Black Bull Hotel on Wednesday 18 December 1895:

Owing to the construction of the Heaton Lodge and Wortley Railway; it became necessary at the end of the season 1894, to select a new ground, lay a new cricket pitch, and erect a new pavilion.[1]

The line was opened on 1 October 1900.[2]

Route
Bridge of the former line between Farnley & Wortley and Gildersome

Leaving the existing LNWR Huddersfield to Leeds line at Heaton Lodge junction, the line curved north, crossing the River Calder and Huddersfield Road on overbridges, to where Battyeford was reached. The line then crossed Mirfield viaduct before entering a cutting crossed by a series of road overbridges. The next station was Northorpe Higher which was originally built of wood, north of the bridge over Shillbank Lane. This station burnt down in 1921 and was replaced by a new station south of the overbridge.[3] The line then ran parallel to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Mirfield Branch, crossing it and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Ravensthorpe Branch before entering Heckmondwike in a series of cuttings and a short tunnel. Heckmondwike Spen was itself in a cutting and was followed by a section of walled cutting with many overbridges, before passing through another cutting and reaching Liversedge Spen. The line then began a gentle curve to the east, passing through Cleckheaton Spen before reaching Gomersal shortly after exiting Gomersal Tunnel. The line then passed through Birstall Town and Gildersome Tunnel before reaching Gildersome East.

Spen Valley Ringway

In 2007 the Spen Valley Ringway was a 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) greenway route linking two schools at Littletown and Millbridge.[4] In 2010 it was extended along 500 yards (460 m) of the old Leeds New Line into Heckmondwike. This was part of a diversion of the Spen Valley Greenway whilst it was closed for water main construction[5] and was financed by Yorkshire Water.[6]

References
  1. "Mirfield Cricket and Athletic Club – Report and Balance sheet of the Annual General Meeting" (PDF). 18 December 1895. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  2. "Lost Railways of West Yorkshire – Heaton Lodge – Farnley Junction (Leeds New Line)". lostrailwaysofwestyorkshire.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. "Mirfield's Railways". Mirfield Memories. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  4. "Developing a Green Network in Kirklees" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  5. "The story of Heckmondwike's bridges: Size isn't everything!". 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  6. Noel Feather; Philip Press; Peter Caldwell (2010). "Yorkshire Water's Large FFD Scheme Programme - YW's £300m fresh water fish directive programme" (PDF). Retrieved 3 May 2013.
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