Final picture of the day incorporating the factory opposite Westgate and some history of the line. As my Bradford Station was a very late comer, completed in 1902, so it had to be shoe horned into what little space as was available, jammed in amongst the mills and factories that would supply its business and income. But horse drawn traffic gave way to the internal combustion engine, and, as industry grew, so the congestion worsened. In modern times this would be further exacerbated by the short sighted closure of both Bradford Exchange and Bradford Forster Square in early 1967 as part of the Beeching cuts. Westgate had never been considered the main station, given its location outside the city centre, but its moment had now come. Suburban and parcel services would have to share the cramped track layout with the frequent through trains. Resignalling to colour lights, and bi-directional running did little to improve matters, whilst the stiff climb to Horton Junction often reduced traffic to a crawl as trains waited for a path. And on this day, Thursday, 23 rd of November, 1967, heavy rain further north had conspired to close both the East Coast and West Coast main lines, following major land slips. This left only the Settle and Carlisle available as a through North-South route for the immediate future. Couple this with major track and signalling work in the Aire Valley, then most traffic was destined to be diverted via Bradford Westgate and not Leeds. Although the pioneers who had championed the building of the cross Bradford link in the late 19th century would have had a quiet chuckle at Leeds' expense at the turn of events, it wasn't supposed to have turned out like this. Who knew then what was likely to pull into Westgate today from Carlisle, or be sent north, over the hills and far away? Oh, and to cap it all, British Rail had chosen the 23rd of November to inaugurate the Bradford-London Pullman, using the redundant Midland Pullman stock as a sop to placate the angry Bradfordians who had now been condemned to a trek out to a cramped and rundown Westgate. Things could only get worse!

Posted by Mojo1 at 2024-12-02 21:18:06 UTC