Clapham railway station

Clapham is a railway station on the Bentham Line, which runs between Leeds and Morecambe via Skipton. The station, situated 48 miles (77 km) north-west of Leeds, serves the village of Clapham in North Yorkshire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Clapham

Clapham (North Yorkshire)
National Rail
General information
LocationClapham, Craven
England
Coordinates54°06′19″N 2°24′38″W / 54.1054160°N 2.4104509°W / 54.1054160; -2.4104509
Grid referenceSD732678
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeCPY
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original company"Little" North Western Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
30 July 1849Opened
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 6,576
2019/20Increase 8,492
2020/21Decrease 1,188
2021/22Increase 6,158
2022/23Increase 9,140
Location
Clapham is located in North Yorkshire
Clapham
Clapham
Location in North Yorkshire, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Immediately to the east of the station, the line crosses the River Wenning on a tall, eight-span viaduct.

The station was formerly known in the national timetable as Clapham (Yorkshire), to distinguish it from Clapham (London). The latter was renamed Clapham High Street in 1989.

History

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The station was opened by the "little" North Western Railway (NWR) on 30 July 1849 on their line from Skipton to Ingleton and became a junction the following year when the link along the Wenning Valley from Bentham was completed on 1 June 1850[1] to finish the route from Lancaster to Skipton.

The Ingleton route was subsequently extended northwards, as the Ingleton Branch Line, through Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh to join the West Coast Main Line at Low Gill (near Tebay) by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&C) in 1861, but disagreements between the L&C's successor, the London and North Western Railway, and the Midland Railway (who had leased the NWR in 1859) over running rights and the subsequent construction of the Settle-Carlisle Line, meant that it never became the major Anglo-Scottish route that the NWR had originally intended.

The Ingleton Branch was closed to passenger traffic on 1 February 1954 and completely in July 1966,[2] although regular goods traffic had ended some months earlier. Lifting of the track followed in April 1967. A sharp curve (with a permanent 35 mph speed restriction) marks the site of the former junction, immediately west of the station.

The station ceased to handle goods traffic in 1968, when the remaining sidings were taken out of use & dismantled and the station signal box closed. It then became an unstaffed halt in October 1970 - the old station house still stands, but is now a private residence.

The proximity of the old station platforms to the Wenning viaduct (and resulting safety concerns due to the steep drop) saw infrastructure operator Railtrack change the layout here in 1998. The eastern platform was refurbished, resurfaced and shortened at its eastern end, whilst a new wooden westbound platform was constructed on the opposite side of the footbridge to its predecessor (which was then demolished) and the bridge steps modified. As a result, the station is similar to neighbouring Giggleswick in having a wooden platform for westbound trains and a stone one for eastbound services.[3]

Facilities

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Waiting shelters are present on each platform, along with train information notice boards, but there are no toilets. At present, no ticket machine is available, so tickets can only be purchased on the train or in advance. The footbridge linking the platforms does not have ramps, so the westbound (trains heading towards Lancaster) platform is not accessible for disabled passengers: step-free access is possible on the eastbound (trains heading towards Leeds) side.[4]

Northern Rail have successfully applied for planning permission to install a ticket machine and electronic customer information screens, and also to provide a public toilet on the eastbound platform. The ticket machine and customer information screens were due to be installed in 2019, but as of 2021, only the customer information screens have been installed.

Services

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Northern Trains
Route 7
Settle & Carlisle
& Bentham lines
 
Carlisle
 
Armathwaite
 
Lazonby & Kirkoswald
 
Langwathby
 
Appleby
 
Kirkby Stephen
 
Garsdale
 
Dent
 
Ribblehead
 
Horton-in-Ribblesdale
 
Settle
 
 
Heysham Port
 
 
Morecambe
 
 
Bare Lane
 
 
Lancaster
 
 
Carnforth
 
 
Wennington
 
 
Bentham
 
 
Clapham
 
 
Giggleswick
 
 
 
Long Preston
 
Hellifield
 
Gargrave
 
Skipton
 
Keighley
 
Bingley
 
Shipley
 
Leeds

Service improvements were introduced in the May 2019 timetable. There are now eight trains each way Mondays to Saturdays and five trains each way on Sundays. Most trains run between Leeds and Morecambe, but some early morning and evening services terminate at Lancaster or Carnforth. The first Monday to Saturday westbound train starts from Skipton and the last Monday to Saturday eastbound train terminates there.[5]

There is no longer a through service to Heysham Port - passengers must change at Lancaster for onward connections.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Giggleswick   Northern Trains
Bentham Line
  Bentham
  Historical railways  
Giggleswick   Midland Railway
"Little" North Western Railway
  Bentham High
Disused railways
Giggleswick   Midland Railway
"Little" North Western Railway
  Ingleton (Midland)

References

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  1. ^ Binns, p. 9
  2. ^ Marshall, p. 100
  3. ^ Clapham (North Yorkshire) railway station in 2011 Thompson, N, geograph.org.uk; Retrieved 21 April 2020
  4. ^ Clapham Station Information National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 25 November 2016
  5. ^ Table 35 National Rail timetable, May 2023

Bibliography

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  • Binns, D (1982) The 'Little' North Western Railway, Wyvern Publishing, Skipton. ISBN 0-907941-01-X
  • Marshall, J (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6
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