Longridge railway station (Lancashire)

Infobox UK disused station| name = Longridge| manager = Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway/London and North Western Railway| locale = Berry Lane, Longridge| borough = Ribble Valley| platforms = 1 |

caption = Remains of the station buildings in 2007, viewed from the east| line = Preston and Longridge Railway| latitude = 53.8316 | longitude = -2.6039 | gridref =
years = 1 May 1840| events = Opened| years1 = 1872| events1 = Station building erected| years2 = | events2 = | years5 = 31 May 1930| events5 = Closed to passengers
years6 = November 1967| events6 = Line closed to goods|

Longridge railway station was a passenger terminus of the Preston and Longridge Railway. It served the town of Longridge in Lancashire, England.

The line first opened in 1840 to carry stone from the recently opened Tootle Heights quarry on the northeastern side of the village of Longridge, as it then was. Wagons carrying quarried stone ran downhill to Preston and were hauled in the other direction by horses. [Till, pp.88–89; Pattinson, p.5] There were rudimentary passenger facilities at a level crossing in Burey Lane (later called Berry Lane) which at the time was a rural lane with only a couple of houses; the village of Longridge was at the southeast end of the lane. A hotel was built next to the station, and was known as the "Longridge Railway Tavern" and the "Station Hotel" before being renamed in 1853 the "Towneley Arms", as it is still known today. [Pattinson, p.19; Till, pp.127 & 158]

After the railway converted to steam power in 1848, [Suggitt, p.50; Pattinson, p.5; Till, p.92] Longridge expanded rapidly. Four cotton mills were built alongside the railway and Berry Lane became the town centre. [Pattinson, p.6]

By 1867, the railway was owned jointly by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the London and North Western Railway, and three years later the railway bought the "Towneley Arms". A station building was built on the side of the hotel in 1872. [Suggitt, p.51; Pattinson, p.6]

On the opposite side of Berry Lane were many goods sidings, for the local mills, gasworks and a coal merchant. [Pattinson, p.6] The line continued to the Tootle Heights quarries.

The line and the station closed to passengers on 31 May 1930. Goods traffic continued until November 1967; [Suggitt, pp.52–53] within the next year the tracks were lifted. [Pattinson, p.16]

Today the former station building and canopy still exist and are used as the headquarters of Longridge Town Council. [Suggitt, p.55; Pattinson, p.19] Where the tracks once ran through the station is a war memorial, erected in 1981. [Coppin, A, [http://www.longridgenews.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=9223&articleid=2903857 "War memorial links"] , "Longridge News" 25 May 2007, accessed online 11 July 2007.] Part of the goods yard opposite has become a supermarket car park. [Pattinson, p.16]

Notes

References

* Pattinson, M. (Ed.) (1999) "Longridge — The Way we Were", Hudson History of Settle, ISBN 0-9533643-4-8
* Suggitt, G. (2003, revised 2004) "Lost Railways of Lancashire", [http://www.countrysidebooks.co.uk Countryside Books, Newbury] , ISBN 1 85306 801 2
* Till, J.M. (1993) "A History of Longridge and its People", [http://www.carnegiepublishing.com/ Carnegie Publishing, Preston] , ISBN 0-947789-92-1 (paperback) (also available in hardback: ISBN 0-947789-86-7)

External links

* [http://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=1106&documentID=910 Longridge Heritage Plaques]

rail line
previous=stnlnk|Grimsargh
towards stnlnk|Preston
next=Terminus
route=Preston and Longridge Railway
col=964B00
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