Harrogate (Brunswick) railway station: Difference between revisions

Disused railway station in North Yorkshire, England

Harrogate (Brunswick) railway station served the town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England from 1848 to 1862 on the Leeds and Thirsk Railway.

The station, named after the nearby Brunswick Hotel, opened on 20 July 1848^[1] by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway. The station was situated on the north side of Trinity Road, where Trinity Methodist Church now stands. There were two sidings to the west, one serving a small engine shed. When the North Eastern Railway opened the current Harrogate station, this station was considered obsolete and closed on 1 August 1862; it was going to be retained for goods traffic but this idea was short-lived.^[2]

The tunnel which formerly served the station still exists, running from a branch just north of Hornbeam Park railway station up toward St Mark’s Church, Harrogate. The tunnel was used as an air raid shelter during World War II, and steps leading up to the surface were constructed at the now closed north end of the tunnel, near St Mark’s Road.^[3]

During a snowstorm exacerbated by strong winds in December 1949, mayor Mary Fisher unveiled a plaque on The Stray near the original site of Brunswick station. The plaque commemorates the centenary of the station, and the inscription says: “Site of Brunswick station of the York N. Midland Railway. Opened 20th July 1848, closed 1st August 1861”.^[4]