Barnoldswick railway station

Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick railway station in 1961
General information
LocationBarnoldswick, Pendle
England
Coordinates53°55′01″N 2°11′12″W / 53.9170°N 2.1867°W / 53.9170; -2.1867
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyBarnoldswick Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
8 February 1871 (1871-02-08)Station opened
27 September 1965 (1965-09-27)Station closed

Barnoldswick was the only railway station on the Midland Railway's 1-mile-64-chain (2.9 km) long Barnoldswick Branch in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England (now in the Pendle District of Lancashire); it served the market town of Barnoldswick. The line left the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway at Barnoldswick Junction 55 chains (3,600 ft; 1,100 m) from Earby. The line through the junction was on a 20-chain (1,300 ft; 400 m) radius after which it converged to a single track and ran in a straight but undulating line to Barnoldswick. The passenger train that ran back and forth between Barnoldswick and Earby was known locally as the Barlick Spud or Spudroaster.[1] The real reason for the name is lost in time, but the two versions that were commonly recited are that the original branch locomotive was so small it looked like a portable potato roaster used by a local vendor or that the journey time was the same as that taken to roast a potato in the locomotive's firebox.

  1. ^ Young 2015, pp. 34–35.