Stainland branch


The Stainland branch was built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and linked Greetland with Stainland and Holywell Green. It served the villages of Greetland, West Vale, Holywell Green and Stainland.

History

Traffic

This branch was built to serve the local textile works with coal and woollen yarn going up the valley to the mills in Holywell Green and Stainland, with stone and cloth coming down to Greetland. Six passenger trains a day were provided between Stainland and Halifax when it opened in 1875 and these were converted to railmotor operation in 1907.

Closure

At the grouping, the service had increased to 16 each way but competition from trams led to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway withdrawing the service in 1929 with the branch remaining open for goods services until 1959.
Stretches of the line have been overbuilt since. The viaduct in West Vale is still standing. Its roadway has been paved for inclusion in a regional hiking path.