Wetherby Racecourse railway station

Wetherby Racecourse railway station was a railway station on the Harrogate to Church Fenton Line serving Wetherby Racecourse in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England.

For other railway stations in Wetherby, see Wetherby railway station. For the racecourse, see Wetherby Racecourse.

Wetherby
Site of the station in 2007
General information
LocationWetherby, City of Leeds
England
Coordinates53.930°N 1.358°W / 53.930; -1.358
Grid referenceSE420482
Platforms2 through
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyLondon and North Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
British Railways (N.E. region)
Key dates
1924Opened
18 May 1959[1]Last used
1962Demolished

When Wetherby's original station on York Road closed in 1902, for two decades the only rail access was via Wetherby's new station on Linton Road.[2] This was some distance from the racecourse, involving a walk of just over 2 miles.

There was therefore a station built at Wetherby Racecourse in 1924, with a ticket booth of wooden construction, starter signals, a ground frame and a footbridge. It even boasted electrical lighting and its own nameboard.[3] It was located on the line going south east towards Tadcaster and Church Fenton and had two platforms; one for each running line.[4]

Race specials would stop at this 'Racecourse station', about three quarters of a mile from Linton Road towards Thorp Arch. These specials came from Leeds, Doncaster and Bradford Exchange and Sheffield.[5]

Reports vary as to when it closed; one report says it stayed open until 1963 with Racecourse Specials running to the station from Bradford Exchange on racedays,[6] whilst another publication states that it was last used on Whit Monday 18 May 1959 and was demolished in 1962.[7] The line closed in 1964.[8]

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 247. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. "Disused Stations:Wetherby Station (1st site)". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Rudston: Bellcode. p. 97. ISBN 978-1871233-24-7.
  4. Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 137. ISBN 0-7153-8527-5.
  5. Chapman, Stephen (2011). Harrogate & Wetherby. Rudston: Bellcode. pp. 105–112. ISBN 978-1871233-24-7.
  6. The Archive Photograph Service-Wetherby page 71 ISBN 0-7524-0328-1
  7. Rogers. J. (2000) The railways of Harrogate and district, Manchester: North East Railway Association
  8. Suggitt, Gordon (2005). Lost railways of North and East Yorkshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-85306-918-5.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Wetherby (York Road)
Line and station closed		   LNER
Harrogate to Church Fenton Line
   Thorp Arch
Line closed; station closed
The rail network in Leeds showing the LNER Cross Gates to Wetherby and Harrogate to Church Fenton Lines
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