Index
Worth Valley Railway
(1867 - 1961 1968)
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) is a 5-mile-long (8 km) railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire,operating from Keighley to Oxenhope.
It connects to the national rail network at Keighley railway station
In 1861, John McLandsborough, a civil engineer, visited Haworth to pay tribute to Charlotte Brontė but was surprised to find that it was not served by a railway, so he built one
The railway was built as a single track but with a trackbed wide enough to allow upgrading to double track for expansion
The opening ceremony was held on Saturday April 13 1867 but unfortunately, the train got stuck on Keighley bank and again between Oakworth and Haworth, necessitating splitting it before carrying on with the journey. Finally, on April 15 1867, public passenger services on the Worth Valley commenced
British Railways operated the last scheduled passenger train on December 30 1961 and freight trains continued to run to Oxenhope until June 18 1962
A Preservation Society was formed in 1962 of rail enthusiasts and local people which bought the line from BR and reopened it on June 29 1968 as a heritage railway. The line is now a major tourist attraction operated by 500+ volunteers and about 10 paid staff carrying more than 100,000 passengers a year
In 1861, John McLandsborough, a civil engineer, visited Haworth to pay tribute to Charlotte Brontė but was surprised to find that it was not served by a railway, so he built one
The railway was built as a single track but with a trackbed wide enough to allow upgrading to double track for expansion
The opening ceremony was held on Saturday April 13 1867 but unfortunately, the train got stuck on Keighley bank and again between Oakworth and Haworth, necessitating splitting it before carrying on with the journey. Finally, on April 15 1867, public passenger services on the Worth Valley commenced
British Railways operated the last scheduled passenger train on December 30 1961 and freight trains continued to run to Oxenhope until June 18 1962
A Preservation Society was formed in 1962 of rail enthusiasts and local people which bought the line from BR and reopened it on June 29 1968 as a heritage railway. The line is now a major tourist attraction operated by 500+ volunteers and about 10 paid staff carrying more than 100,000 passengers a year
| Station name | Opened | Closed to passengers |
Goods closed |
Heritage |
| Keighley 1st | Mar 1847 | May 1883 | ||
| Keighley 2nd | May 1883 | Jun 1968 | ||
| Ingrow (West) | Apl 1867 | Jan 1962 | Jun 1962 | Jun 1968 |
| Damens | Sep 1867 | May 1949 | Jun 1968 | |
| Oakworth | Apl 1867 | Jan 1962 | Jun 1962 | Jun 1968 |
| Haworth | Apl 1967 | Jan 1962 | Jun 1962 | Jun 1968 |
| Oxenhope | Apl 1967 | Jan 1962 | Jun 1968 |
