Ribblehead is a railway station on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between Carlisle and Leeds via Settle. The station, situated 52 miles 17 chains (84 km) north-west of Leeds, serves the area of Ribblehead, Craven in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Ribblehead  | |||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Ribblehead, Craven England | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54°12′20″N 2°21′39″W / 54.2056018°N 2.3607019°W | ||||||||||
| Grid reference | SD765789 | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||||||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Station code | RHD | ||||||||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Original company | Midland Railway | ||||||||||
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway | ||||||||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region) | ||||||||||
| Key dates | |||||||||||
| 4 December 1876 | Opened as Batty Green | ||||||||||
| 1 May 1877 | Renamed Ribblehead | ||||||||||
| 4 May 1970 | Closed | ||||||||||
| 16 July 1986 | Reopened[a] | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2018/19 |  19,260 | ||||||||||
| 2019/20 |  23,102 | ||||||||||
| 2020/21 | 4,754 | ||||||||||
| 2021/22 | 20,032 | ||||||||||
| 2022/23 | 23,426 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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| Location | |||||||||||
.svg)  Ribblehead Location in North Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||
| Notes | |||||||||||
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |||||||||||
The station is located at the southern end of the famous Ribblehead Viaduct, which spans a length of 400 metres (1,300 ft) over Batty Moss.
History edit
The station was designed by Midland Railway architect, John Holloway Sanders.[1] It opened on 4 December 1876 as Batty Green, but was later renamed Ribblehead on 1 May 1877. It was closed, along with the other smaller stations on the line, on 4 May 1970.[2]
It was reopened on 16 July 1986 by British Rail with only one platform (southbound) in place. The northbound platform had been demolished after the station's closure in May 1970, in order to allow the construction of transfer sidings for a nearby quarry.[3] The sidings still exist and have recently been restored to use for timber trains. A replacement second platform was opened on 28 May 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.[4] In 1957, the task was carried out by a former Royal Air Force navigator.[4] Monthly religious services were held in the station's waiting room by the Vicar of Ingleton.[4] 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.[4] British Rail charged 2 shillings for the use of the waiting room, which saw as many as 50 worshippers at harvest festivals.[4]
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).[5] There are resident caretakers, holiday accommodation, a small shop selling memorabilia, and its visitor centre includes exhibits about the history of the line and the fight to keep it open. The visitor centre displays the original station sign and a small exhibition about the Midland Railway company, builders of the line and originally the train operators.
Stationmasters edit
- John James Shrives 1876 – 1880[6] (afterwards station master at Isham)
- Richard Heyward 1880[6] – 1882[7]
- D. Braden 1882 – 1886[7]
- S. Oughton 1886 – 1891[7] (formerly station master at Worthington, afterwards station master at Edwalton)
- George Tingle 1891 – 1893[7]
- William Brown 1893[7] – 1903[8] (afterwards station master at Newbiggin)
- Henry Dilley 1903[8] – 1913
- F. G. Collier from 1913
- Thomas William Whetten until 1930 (afterwards station master at Kirkby Lonsdale)
- William John Thomas 1931 – 1932[9] (afterwards station master at Holmes Chapel)
- J. W. Tate
- Joe Sheppard c. 1951
- Martin Elliott c. 1953 c. 1956
- William Sharpe
Facilities edit
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.[10] Train running information is available via telephone and information posters. The station is unstaffed and no ticket machine is provided, so passengers must purchase them on the train or before their journey. Train operator Northern is intending to install both a ticket machine and digital information screens in the near future as part of a rolling station upgrade programme across its network,[11]
Passenger services edit
Northern Trains Route 7 |
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Bentham Line and
Settle and Carlisle Line |
Generally, there is a train every two hours northbound to Carlisle (eight departures on Mondays to Saturdays) and southbound to Leeds (seven Mon-Fri, plus one extra on Saturdays).[12] One service each day (the last train of the day from Leeds) terminates and starts back from here: the train runs empty across the viaduct to reverse at Blea Moor signal box, where the driver changes ends before returning south. The track layout on the line does not allow the service to terminate further north at Garsdale, which has better connections for nearby settlements.
Five trains each way call on Sundays all year round. The "DalesRail" service from Blackpool via Preston that used to call here did not run in 2023 due to a lack of available train crew. A replacement two return-trip Saturday service to/from Rochdale via Manchester Victoria and Blackburn is to commence in June 2024, marketed as the "Yorkshire Dales Explorer". This will terminate/start from here, with connections for stations further north.[13]
Between February 2016 and March 2017 northbound trains terminated at Appleby or Armathwaite (with a bus link to Carlisle) due to repair works on the damaged embankment at Eden Brows. Services through to Carlisle resumed on 31 March 2017 upon reopening of the affected section to traffic.
Onward public transport links edit
A very occasional bus service is operated on summer Sundays and bank holidays, between Hawes and Settle via Ribblehead (in 2019, one journey each way). At other times there are no onward services available from this station. Passengers for Hawes and Wensleydale generally alight at nearby Garsdale railway station, and use the regular bus service operated by Upper Wensleydale Community Partnership, branded as the 'little white bus'. The last train of the day from Leeds terminates at Ribblehead, but the station has no onward links for passengers leaving that service.
Freight services edit
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.[14]
Roadstone from Ingleton Quarry has also occasionally been railed out of the sidings.[15] 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.[16]
Gallery edit
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Northbound platform at Ribblehead station -
158903 at Ribblehead with a service from Leeds to Carlisle
Notes edit
- ^ The Carlisle-bound platform was reopened later, on 28 May 1993.
References edit
- ^ "Notes by the Way". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Quick, Michael (2020). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain; a Chronology (PDF) (5 ed.). Market Drayton: The railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 362. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ Hitchon, Andrew (21 May 2015). "Take a closer look at what's around the spectacular Ribblehead Viaduct". Craven Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Chapel in a station". Trains Illustrated. X (101): 59. February 1957.
- ^ "Ribblehead". Settle Carlisle Railway. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ^ a b "1871–1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 747. 1871. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 53. 1881. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b "1899–1908 Coaching; Piece 1026". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 59. 1899. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Taking Over at Preston Station". Lancashire Evening Post. England. 19 November 1955. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Ribblehead station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 5 December 2016
- ^ "Better stations are coming to Northern"[permanent dead link]Northern news article; Retrieved 23 November 2019
- ^ GB National Rail Timetable May 2023, Table 35
- ^ Yorkshire Dales Explorer 2024 Ribble Valley Rail website news article; Retrieved 15 April 2024
- ^ Buck, Martin (2010). Loco Review 2011. Swindon, United Kingdom: Freightmaster Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-9558275-4-9.
- ^ Shannon, Paul (February 2014). "Freight Review - Gains & Losses 2013". Railways Illustrated. Key Publishing. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ Bridge, Mike (2013). Railway Track Diagrams – Book 4; Midlands & North West. Bradford-On-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-7-4.
External links edit
Media related to Ribblehead railway station at Wikimedia Commons- Train times and station information for Ribblehead railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station |  National Rail
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Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horton-in-Ribblesdale | Northern Trains Settle and Carlisle Line |
Dent | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Horton-in-Ribblesdale | Midland Railway Settle and Carlisle Line |
Dent | ||