Robin Longbottom explains how the arrival of the railway in Keighley also brought two level crossings – and tragedies

WHEN the railway came through Keighley in 1846 it brought with it the inconvenience of two level crossings.

The most disruptive was in Bradford Road, between Cavendish Street and Dalton Lane. The other was at Thwaites, on the lane from Stockbridge through to Thwaites Brow.

The Bradford Road crossing was gated and manned by a gatekeeper, who lived in a cottage adjoining it. However, Thwaites was unmanned and required people and vehicles to cross with the utmost caution.

As industry developed along Bradford Road and Dalton Lane, the level crossing in the town became increasingly busy.

In October, 1868, the Keighley Local Board of Health wrote to the Midland Railway Company to ask for a footbridge to be built.

James ‘Pie’ Leach, a member of the board, complained that he had “nearly jiggered himself” when crossing one dark night. The company replied saying that footbridges were of little use because people refused to use them and preferred to wait at the crossing.

However, on Thursday, January 21, 1869, a mechanic called Albert Prince was knocked down and killed while crossing after the gates had been closed.

The footbridge was then built. But unfortunately, the fears of the company were proved right and pedestrians continued to chance their luck crossing as the gates were being closed.

A further fatality took place on July 28, 1871. George Alcock started to cross and found himself stranded in what was known as the ‘six foot’. The ‘six foot’ was the area in the middle between the two railway lines and as he was standing back for a train from Leeds to pass, a goods train shunting on the other line struck him and dragged him under a wagon.

The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death, with a recommendation that there should be a gatekeeper at either side of the line.

Perhaps because of these two deaths, the railway company proposed a road bridge in 1872 but progress was slow, and it was only towards the end of the decade – when the Settle to Carlisle line was nearing completion, with the anticipated increase in rail traffic – that a bridge was finally agreed, and work started.

It was a huge undertaking and required a bridge that extended for nearly a quarter of a mile. The structure was built with ten spans, seven arches and three girder-supported spans where it crossed the lines. An added complication was the requirement to raise the road levels at Low Mill Lane and Dalton Lane to meet the bridge.

Another tragedy struck when the bridge was under construction. Michael Ginty, who was working for the contractors, attempted to cross the line as a train was approaching. His clothing was caught on the engine, and he was dragged along for some 80 yards. He died shortly afterwards at the Cottage Hospital.

The bridge was finally completed in 1879 and for the first time in more than 30 years traffic was able to pass along Bradford Road unhindered.

Replacing the crossing at Thwaites with a bridge took another ten years. It was also the scene of tragedy. The crossing was both unmanned and badly lit and made worse by the fact that it was at an oblique angle to the line, making it difficult to see approaching trains.

Robert Charlton, of Thwaites, was knocked down and killed late one night in February, 1864. A recommendation had been made for a lamp to be placed at the crossing the previous November, but the railway company had not complied. A further tragedy occurred in 1875 when a six-year-old boy called John Clayton was killed.

In 1889 it was finally agreed that a bridge should be built and when it was completed, the last level crossing in Keighley was finally consigned to history.