Forty Years after the line was closed here are some recollections taken from the 2009 Pendle Walking Festival Leaflet entitled “Rail Track Trek”: The Trek was a 7.5 Mile Walk from North Yorkshire/Lancashire County Boundary at Thornton to Colne via Earby, Kelbrook and Foulridge along the Track-Bed of the old Skipton – Colne Railway.

Brief History: The Double Track Line between Skipton and Colne was opened on 2nd October 1848 by the Leeds & Bradford Railway Company [later the Midland Railway]. The route was dieselized on 4th January 1961.

The Line from Burnley to Colne was not opened by the East Lancashire Railway until 1st February 1849.

It was officially ordered to close by the Secretary of State for Transport, Barbara Castle, on 31st January 1970. The last train to run on the line was a chartered ‘Special’ dmu diesel train from Skipton – Colne (Return) on Sunday 1st February 1970.

It closed on 2nd February after British Rail had removed the Junction Points; then, during the next week, the rail tracks were ripped up.

Places of Interest Along the Route: 1.Thornton Limestone Quarry On the Skipton side of the Station, there is evidence of a branch line leading up to the Quarry under the main road.

2.Thornton Station There are the remains of the Platform, lamppost and sidings on the Skipton side of Booth Bridge Lane.

3.County Boundary Between the former 1974 North Yorkshire (West Riding)/Lancashire Boundary and Foulridge, the track-bed is owned and protected as a “Transport Corridor” [to Colne] by Lancashire County Council.

4.Earby Signal Box (A56) The first Signal Box was called “Earby Gate House” and was manned by a uniformed Midland Railway Officer. The second one: “Earby Crossing” opened in 1904.

5.Garden Extensions Some Residents in Earby and Sough have temporary renewable annual leases from LCC to extend their gardens onto railway land next to the track bed.

6.Barnoldswick Junction There are the remains of the Signal Box at Sough where the Branch Line went to Barnoldswick. This single track 2.75 mile line was opened by Midland Railway on 8th February 1871 and closed (under the Beeching Cuts) to Passengers on 27th September 1965.

This Branch Line was nicknamed the “Barlick Spud”, as the engine crew used to roast their potatoes in the fire in time to eat at Earby.

7.Kelbrook Cordite Railway In 1916, the Government War Department [MOD] constructed a Munitions Store at Salterforth Bottoms [Flood Plain], east of Shooterpit Bridge accessed by a single track railway line to 4 sidings from the main line. There was also access to the Store from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. It was closed in 1923. Part of this railway was covered when the new Kelbrook - Barnoldswick road was built in late 1929.

Due to its proximity to the Munitions Dump/Cordite Store, Foulridge Methodist Chapel gained the curious distinction of being one of the few buildings insured against zeppelin raids.

8.Foulridge Rail Viaduct over The Leeds and L/P Canal The first Viaduct Bridge was constructed entirely with wood; the second with a combination of steel and wood. It was quickly demolished in 1996 – a day before a Preservation Order was due to come into force. The remains of wooden pillars are still to be seen.

9.Foulridge Railway Station The Station, now a Housing Development: “The Sidings”, was opened in October 1848 and closed on 5th January 1959. In the 1980s, it was dismantled and taken to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway where it was rebuilt as Ingrow West Station.

10. Foulridge Canal Tunnel Between Foulridge and Slipper Hill is the ‘mile’ canal ‘cut & cover’ Tunnel (1640 yards long) and in places, goes under the railway line. It was opened on 1st May 1796 and ran alongside the railway – two of the main transport modes of the Industrial Revolution – water and steam. The Canal is 127.5 miles in length and was fully opened between Leeds and Liverpool in 1816. The ‘Aire Gap’ at Foulridge marks the summit of the Canal at 487.5 feet. However, the Railway was built along a route with the lowest crossing of Pennines and few rail gradients.

The Watershed provides the Canal with a number of nearby Reservoirs. Earby Beck flows East via Rivers Aire and Ouse into the North Sea while Wanless Water flows West via Colne and Pendle Waters, Rivers Calder and Ribble into the Irish Sea. ‘Leggers’ were employed to leg the boats through the Canal while horses were taken overland to meet the boats at the other end.

In 1912, a cow called Buttercup fell into the canal at the Barrowford end of the tunnel and swam through to the other end at Foulridge where she was dragged out and revived with spirits from the local ‘Hole in the Wall’ Pub.

11. Approach to Colne Station Between Barrowford Bridge, Vivary Way and the Station, the track bed widened to several tracks with sidings leading first to the Midland Railway Engine Shed (on right) and then to the Coal Depot, Travelling Crane, Goods Shed and Goods Station (on left).

12. Colne Station In August 1848, both East Lancashire Railway and Leeds & Bradford Railway agreed that each would work on its own line to Colne and share the joint Station to be built by the L & B Railway. After the closure of Colne- Skipton Railway in 1970, the Station was completely demolished by September 1971. At the moment, all that is provided for the end of a single track branch line from Burnley is a bus shelter and no Tannoy System of Communications!