Damems railway station

Damems railway station serves the village of Damems near Keighley, and within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. It is used for heritage trains on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and trains do not stop unless requested.

Damems
Station on heritage railway
Damems railway station in 2011
General information
LocationDamems, City of Bradford
England
Coordinates53.8459°N 1.9245°W / 53.8459; -1.9245
Grid referenceSE050388
Managed byKeighley and Worth Valley Railway
Platforms1
Key dates
1 September 1867Station opened
23 May 1949Station closed
29 June 1968Station re-opened

History

The station opened on 1 September 1867, several months after the others on the line; but it closed on 23 May 1949, some years before the line closed. It reopened with the line on 29 June 1968.[1]

It claims to be Britain's smallest standard-gauge railway station,[2] although it is no longer part of the main rail network. Damems has the distinction of being a station rather than a halt because in its original form it included a stationmaster's house and a siding to serve the mill in the village. The stationmaster's house remains, and is owned by the heritage railway, although the siding has been removed. The level crossing at the station is controlled from a gate box originally from Earby on the Colne-Skipton line. The box was installed since preservation. The crossing was originally worked from a groundframe in the stationmaster's garden. The last crossing keeper at Damems was Annie Feather who lived in the stationmaster's house and received her wages which were thrown to her from the footplate of a passing locomotive.

Stationmasters
  • T. Dawill until 1874[3]
  • William Cliff 1874[3]
  • J. Clark 1874 - 1880[3]
  • J. Preece 1880[3] - 1889[4]
  • T. Hudson 1889[4] - ca 1908
  • John Edward Sykes 1913 - 1934[5]
  • E. Bird from 1938[6] (also station master at Oakworth)
Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Oakworth   Keighley and Worth Valley Railway   Ingrow (West)

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 76. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. "Keighley and Worth Valley Railway - Keighley, Haworth, Oxenhope". Archived from the original on 30 March 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  3. "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 27. 1871. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  4. "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 87. 1881. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  5. "Familiar Figure Damems Station will miss". Leeds Mercury. England. 4 December 1934. Retrieved 29 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Appointed Station Master". Shipley Times and Express. England. 31 December 1938. Retrieved 29 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.


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