Old railway bridge near Otley

Image: © John Winder Taken: 27 Dec 2015

This was on the line between Ilkley and Arthington. Ilkley was passed over by the early railway builders - various early schemes failed for want of capital or because of squabbling among the two big railway companies in the area - but in 1860 the same two companies met and thrashed out a deal whereby the Midland Railway (MR) would build a branch from its Leeds to Bradford line, with a junction at Burley in Wharfedale to connect to Otley, and the North Eastern Railway (NER) would build a connecting branch from its Leeds - Harrogate line to meet the MR branch end - on at Otley. The line was run as a joint line right up until nationalisation in 1948, with the LMS and the LNER taking over the Midland and North Eastern sections of the line respectively. Following the usual pattern of declining traffic revenues and post war service cuts, the line closed between Burley in Wharfedale (well, Milnerwood Junction, but it's near Burley) and Arthington in March 1965. However, it was initially proposed that all Wharfedale lines would close under Beeching but due to pressure from the Ilkley Railway Supporters' Association the Guiseley - Ilkley section of the line was reprieved and still operates today. There's talk of reopening a line to Otley, but whether it will ever happen is anyone's guess.

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