(All photos © Stephen Prior except Old Lane & Lee Bank tunnels © Phill Davison and Ovenden Station © Four by Three)

The Halifax & Ovenden Junction Railway Act was passed in 1864 but it was not until 1874 that the two-and-a-half mile line opened to freight. The route, which was backed jointly by the Great Northern and Lancashire & Yorkshire railways, included a substantial viaduct of 35 arches at its southernmost end and two tunnels.

Four years later, the GN opened an extension of a little over two miles from Holmfield to Queensbury via a 59 feet deep cutting at Strines – around 1000 yards in length – and a tunnel of 2501 yards, climbing a 1 in 100 gradient in the process.

Withdrawn in 1955, the passenger service operated to and from Bradford but connections to Keighley were available at Queensbury’s triangular station. Goods traffic over the northern part of the route survived for another year and continued as far as Holmfield until 1960, serving the high level branch to St Pauls. Freight services between North Bridge and Halifax’s GN/L&Y joint station continued until April 1974.