Skipton–Ilkley line
The Skipton–Ilkley line is the route that the Midland Railway took to link the towns of Skipton and Ilkley via the villages of Embsay, Bolton Abbey and Addingham. First proposed in 1846, the line was opened in 1888, and then closed between 1965 and 1969, though a short section at the west end of the line remains open as a freight line, and the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway operate a heritage railway between and.
History
The first line to be proposed through the valley gained parliamentary approval in 1846 under the ' with the spelling of missing the first 'e'. This followed the same route as the eventual line from Skipton to connect with the Leeds and Thirsk Railway at, but was never constructed. Another scheme, promoted by the people of Ilkley, went before parliament in 1881, but with strong vocal opposition from the Duke of Devonshire, the line did not gain approval. Powers to build the line were granted to the Midland Railway under the ', however, work on the line did not begin until 1885. The route was opened by the Midland Railway in 1888 as an extension of the former Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway through the upper part of Wharfedale to rejoin the main line along the Aire valley at. The railway crosses the watershed between the Aire and Wharfe valleys, and reaches its highest point east of Skipton were slightly elevated at the west end to accommodate the gradient out of the town and the clearance for Brook Street Bridge. Whilst the line was double track throughout, a single line section was implemented during the First World War between Addingham and Bolton Abbey. The line was replaced in 1921.Local services along the line around 1910, consisted of eleven westbound workings from Ilkley, seven of which continued as far as Skipton, the other four terminating at Bolton Abbey. Most of these either terminated at, or originated from, Bradford and Leeds; however, the line did see some longer-distance trains such as Manchester to Ilkley and in the post-grouping era, an LNER train from Hartlepool to Blackpool or Southport.
The line was built and operated by the Midland Railway, which at the Grouping of 1923, became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. In 1948, it was nationalized into British Railways as part of the London Midland Region, and then in 1950, it was moved into the North Eastern Region apart from a small section at the west end into Skipton.
Closure
The route was closed as the result of the Beeching Axe in 1965 – passenger services were withdrawn on 22 March, whilst the remaining through goods services ended on 5 July; the route eventually closed to all traffic east of Embsay Junction in January 1966. The last section west of there was retained as part of the freight-only branch line from Skipton to Swinden Quarry and remains in operation to this day.The bridge over Brook Street in Ilkley was demolished soon after closure, being removed by January 1969. The two platforms of 3 and 4 were abandoned, and eventually the space they occupied was cleared to create a car park for the station. Much of the trackbed east of Addingham itself, as also been redeveloped, with little trace remaining of the line's course through the western part of Ilkley – as the old embankments, bridges and viaducts were demolished in 1972–73.
Heritage railway
Since its closure in 1965, a stretch of the disused railway line has been restored and reopened as the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.The remainder of the old route beyond Bolton Abbey is disused but mostly intact as far as the outskirts of Addingham, but the former station there has been demolished, levelled and the site redeveloped for housing.
West of Embsay, the section of the line down to Skipton is still open, serving the branch line to Swinden Quarry.