Long Preston railway station

Long Preston is a railway station on the Bentham Line, which runs between Leeds and Morecambe via Skipton. The station, situated 37+1⁄2 miles (60 km) north-west of Leeds, serves the village of Long Preston in North Yorkshire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Long Preston
National Rail
General information
LocationLong Preston, Craven
England
Coordinates54°01′00″N 2°15′19″W
Grid referenceSD833579
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeLPR
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
2017/18Decrease 11,830
2018/19Decrease 11,670
2019/20Increase 13,624
2020/21Decrease 1,678
2021/22Increase 8,974
Location
Long Preston is located in North Yorkshire
Long Preston
Long Preston
Location in North Yorkshire, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Heading west, it is the last station before the Bentham Line and Settle and Carlisle Line diverge at Settle Junction, situated to the north of the village.

History

The station was opened on 30 July 1849 by the "Little" North Western Railway. It was later taken over by the Midland Railway.[1]

Stationmasters
  • Samuel Shaw ca. 1851
  • W. Cooke until 1860[2]
  • Thomas Cheetle 1860 - 1861
  • S. Hargreaves 1861 -
  • Henry Lewis ca. 1871
  • J. Clementson until 1873[3] (afterwards station master at Shottle)
  • A. Nowell 1873 - 1874[3]
  • H. Wright 1874 - 1881[4]
  • Edwin Belfield 1881 - 1883[4] (formerly station master at Cotehill)
  • William George Mitchell 1883[4] - ca. 1914
  • H.H. Heelis before 1931
  • D. Lazonby until 1945[5] (afterwards station master at Clapham, Yorks.)

Facilities

Facilities at the station are somewhat basic. The original wooden station buildings were demolished in the early 1970s, and there are now just simple waiting shelters on each platform. There is an operational help point to obtain timetable information or emergency assistance. There is also a small car park.

The station is unstaffed, but a ticket machine was installed in 2019 to allow travellers to buy tickets before travelling. There is level access to the southbound platform only - the opposite side has a ramp, but this is quite steep and is not recommended for use by disabled travellers.[6] Train running information is provided by telephone, digital information screens and timetable posters.

Services
Northern Trains
Route 7
Bentham Line and
Settle and Carlisle Line
 Carlisle Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access
 Armathwaite Parking
 Lazonby & Kirkoswald
 Langwathby Parking
 Appleby Parking
 Kirkby Stephen Parking
 Garsdale Parking
 Dent Parking
 Ribblehead Parking Bicycle facilities
 Horton-in-Ribblesdale Parking Bicycle facilities
 Settle Parking Bicycle facilities
Heysham Port ferry/water interchange
 Morecambe Parking Bicycle facilities
 Bare Lane Parking
 Lancaster Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access
 Carnforth Parking
 Wennington Parking
 Bentham Parking Bicycle facilities
 Clapham Parking Bicycle facilities
 Giggleswick Parking Bicycle facilities
Long Preston Parking Bicycle facilities
 Hellifield Parking
 Gargrave
 Skipton Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access
 Keighley Parking Bicycle facilities Heritage railway
 Bingley Parking Bicycle facilities
 Shipley Parking Bicycle facilities
 Leeds Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access

Generally, there is a train at least every two hours from Long Preston southbound towards Leeds (thirteen departures per day in total) and northbound. All services from Leeds to Lancaster (eight per day) stop there, along with four Leeds to Carlisle trains. There is also one train each day that runs north only as far as Ribblehead, whilst five Lancaster trains continue to Morecambe and the last southbound train terminates at Skipton.[7]

For many years on Sundays, only Leeds - Morecambe trains stopped at Long Preston. However, since 2009, certain Carlisle trains have also served the station on Sundays. As a result, there are now five trains to Lancaster/Morecambe and two to Carlisle northbound and nine trains to Leeds southbound (the two morning/early afternoon services on the Morecambe line that formerly ran in summer only up until 2010 now run throughout the year). The station also now has an afternoon departure that runs through to Sheffield and Nottingham and a single service to Heysham Port in the late morning.

References
  1. Bairstow, p. 96
  2. "1859-1866". Midland Railway Miscellaneous Depts: 8. 1914. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  3. "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 15. 1871. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  4. "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 62. 1881. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. "L.M.S. Railway Staff Changes". Lancaster Guardian. England. 9 November 1945. Retrieved 14 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. Long Preston station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 29 November 2016
  7. GB eNRT May 2023 Edition, Table 35 (Network Rail)

Sources
  • Bairstow, M. (2000), The 'Little' North Western Railway, Martin Bairstow, Leeds, ISBN 1-871944-21-X
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Hellifield   Northern Trains
Bentham Line		   Giggleswick
Hellifield   Northern Trains
Settle and Carlisle Line		   Settle
  Historical railways  
Hellifield   Midland Railway
"Little" North Western Railway		   Settle Junction
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