Britannia railway station
Encyclopedia
Britannia railway station served Britannia near Bacup
in Rossendale
, Lancashire
, England
, from 1881 until closure in 1917. The station was just to the west of the summit of the line, which was also the highest point on the entire LYR system.
(LYR) branch line from to had opened for goods on 5 October 1870, and to passengers on 1 November 1870. On 18 July 1872 the LYR was authorised to extend the line to . There were to be two intermediate stations: one was at ; the other, 7+1/4 mi from Rochdale, was named Britannia after a nearby public house
, the Britannia Inn, which was built in 1821 at the junction of the old and new roads from Bacup. The station was built by Samuel Warburton, who was contracted for the work on 28 July 1880; it had an island platform. The line opened on 1 December 1881, and with it, Britannia station. The station was situated 962 feet (293.2 m) above sea level, and just to the east of the station was the summit of the line, which at 965 feet (294.1 m) above sea level was also the highest point on the entire LYR system.
To the west of the station was a skew arch bridge built to carry the Lee Moor Colliery tramway over the railway line.
On 29 August 1891 a goods train of 24 wagons carrying stone from Britannia ran away on the falling gradient of 1 in 34 (3%) and collided with a passenger train at Facit station. Three passengers died and six were injured.
In 1940 a passenger train became stuck in snow for five days at Britannia.
The station closed on 2 April 1917 as an economy measure, although passenger services on the line continued until 16 June 1947. Goods traffic between Facit and Bacup ceased around the same time, but the line was not lifted until at least August 1963.
Bacup
Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
in Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, from 1881 until closure in 1917. The station was just to the west of the summit of the line, which was also the highest point on the entire LYR system.
History
The Lancashire and Yorkshire RailwayLancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
(LYR) branch line from to had opened for goods on 5 October 1870, and to passengers on 1 November 1870. On 18 July 1872 the LYR was authorised to extend the line to . There were to be two intermediate stations: one was at ; the other, 7+1/4 mi from Rochdale, was named Britannia after a nearby public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, the Britannia Inn, which was built in 1821 at the junction of the old and new roads from Bacup. The station was built by Samuel Warburton, who was contracted for the work on 28 July 1880; it had an island platform. The line opened on 1 December 1881, and with it, Britannia station. The station was situated 962 feet (293.2 m) above sea level, and just to the east of the station was the summit of the line, which at 965 feet (294.1 m) above sea level was also the highest point on the entire LYR system.
To the west of the station was a skew arch bridge built to carry the Lee Moor Colliery tramway over the railway line.
On 29 August 1891 a goods train of 24 wagons carrying stone from Britannia ran away on the falling gradient of 1 in 34 (3%) and collided with a passenger train at Facit station. Three passengers died and six were injured.
In 1940 a passenger train became stuck in snow for five days at Britannia.
The station closed on 2 April 1917 as an economy measure, although passenger services on the line continued until 16 June 1947. Goods traffic between Facit and Bacup ceased around the same time, but the line was not lifted until at least August 1963.