Shipley and Windhill Line

Shipley and Windhill Line
The former GNR Shipley and Windhill Station viewed looking south east from the present Shipley railway station (former Midland railway owned)
Overview
Type	Branch
Status	Closed
Locale	West Yorkshire
Termini	Shipley and Windhill railway station Laisterdyke railway station (Bradford Exchange railway station)
Stations	4
Operation
Opened	1874/1875
Closed	1931/1964/1968
Owner	Great Northern Railway
Operator(s)	Great Northern Railway
Technical
Line length	6.5 miles
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The Shipley and Windhill Line was a railway line that ran east, south and then westwards from Shipley to Bradford in West Yorkshire. The route was opened in 1874 to goods traffic and then to passengers in 1875 by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and looped around the eastern edge of Bradford. The GNR arrived after other railways had been established in the West Yorkshire area and many of their lines were heavily reliant on tunnels and grand viaducts, the Shipley and Windhill line being an exception to this, although it did have some steep gradients. The branch extended for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) between the two termini of Shipley Windhill and Bradford Exchange. The route as built from Laisterdyke to Shipley was actually only 6.5 miles (10.5 km) as the initial section from Bradford Exchange to Laisterdyke was already in existence as part of the Great Northern Railway's line to Leeds.

The Midland Railway Company offered a shorter route between Shipley and Bradford (Forster Square) due southwards via Bradforddale on the valley floor at a distance of only 2.5 miles (4 km). The Shipley and Windhill Line was amalgamated into the London North Eastern Railway in 1923 and became part of the North Eastern Region of British Rail in 1948.

The line was promoted by two separate railway companies; The Bradford, Eccleshill & Idle Railway and the Idle & Shipley Railway. Whilst the necessary Acts of Parliament were granted for these railways in 1866 and 1867 respectively, with no progress on either 4 years later, the Great Northern Railway stepped in and built the railway in its entirety from its two parliamentary constituent parts. Complaints from the Idle Local Board noted that the combined population of the Idle, Eccleshill and Shipley conurbation had increased by nearly 9,000 people since the 1861 census and the Great Northern were losing traffic as a result. The Great Northern had an understanding that they would run the line(s) when opened anyway and with an act of parliament granted on the 24 July 1871 they assumed control of the enterprise.