Haworth and Oakworth to feature in television series

                                                            

Haworth and Oakworth are due to feature in a television series exploring Britain’s complex, enduring relationship with the railways. The Bronte Parsonage Museum and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway will appear in an episode of Great British Railway Journeys, presented by former Conservative politician Michael Portillo. The programme, which will include footage from Haworth and also Oakworth Railway Station, will be broadcast on BBC2 at 6.30pm on January 9.

Professor Ann Sumner, executive director of the Bronte Society, said the filming took place in May last year. She added: “I did an interview with Michael about the Brontes’ relationship with the railways, and his visit has prompted us to have a new display on this subject in 2014.
“Mr Portillo was charming, very enthusiastic and it was a pleasure to welcome him to the Parsonage on what was a beautiful, sunny day.” She said the interview examined subjects such as the Bronte sisters’ experience of travelling on what was then a novel form of transport, Branwell Bronte’s stint as a railway employee, and the role the railway played in making Haworth a tourist destination. keighleynews

 

Emily Bronte was good at investing in the stock market.
Try to get your head around the fact that the real Emily Bronte was good at investing in the stock market. Not only that, but she invested her own and her sisters' money in railway shares - the dotcom stocks equivalent of the 1840s - and managed the investment attentively. A surviving letter from supposedly more worldly Charlotte is full of praise for Emily's careful reading of the newspapers for items of railway industry news. theguardian

The British Railway Mania of the 1840s was a giant event.

At its height, individual capital- ists, in pursuit of private profit, were plowing more than twice as much into the construction of a public infrastructure as their nation was spending on the military. (It should be noted that the Pax Britannica was not cheap. Among other foreign adventures, Britain had just a few years earlier been involved in the First Opium War and the First Afghan War.) During the peak year for spending, 1847, their investments came, as a fraction of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to the equivalent of over $1 trillion dollars for the United States today. (If we compare their expenditure to total government spending, federal, state, and local, and not to GDP, it was equivalent to over $3 trillion dollars. Taxes, which might be thought of as proportional to discretionary incomes, were far lower at that time than today.) All the funding came from individuals making private decisions to commit their funds to the new enterprise. Those investors, most new to share markets, involved such scientific and literary luminaries as Charles Darwin, Charles Babbage, John Stuart Mill, the Bronte sisters and William Makepeace Thackeray, as well as such prominent politicians (directly or through their close families) as Disraeli, Gladstone, Palmerston, and Peel. Many famous figures were involved with the Mania.

Charlotte Bronte could afford a relatively calm view of the situation, since by the time of that letter she had achieved literary success, with her novel Jane Eyre one of the best- sellers of 1847. But most railway shareholders could not, and neither could she have had a few years earlier. There was wide dismay among railway investors, who once had had high hopes for riches, and instead were faced with ruin. Although railway shares did recover from the depths reached in late 1849, they were not regarded as having properly rewarded those who bought them and made the railway system possible4.  google/Britisch railway mania

Branwell Bronte obtained employment with the Manchester and Leeds Railway

 

Initially as 'assistant clerk in charge' at Sowerby Bridge railway station,^[3] where he was paid £75 per annum (paid quarterly).^[9] Later, on 1 April 1841, he was promoted to 'clerk in charge' at Luddendenfoot railway station,^[3] where his salary increased to £130.^{[wiki/Branwell}

luddenden-foot-and-branwell-bronte
kleurrijkbrontesisters

I am always surprised, when I read how free, without male escort, the Bronte Sisters could travel by train

or by carriage through the country and abroad. I always thought it was not allowed in the Victorian period. I'll search the Internet for an answer. What was the situation in the period 1800 - 1900 when a woman wanted to travel? Part 1
/i-am-always-surprised-when-i-read-how

Branwell and the station of Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge

 

The Jubilee Refreshment Rooms, Sowerby Bridge, is in the old ticket office where Branwell Bronte, worked.

In 1840, Branwell was appointed assistant clerk at Sowerby Bridge’s recently opened railway station where he earned an annual wage of £75 working in a wooden and corrugated shack.

 

 

 

 

 Luddenden Foot

After a brief time at Sowerby Bridge, Branwell was promoted to clerk in charge of Luddenden Foot station where he earned £130 a year.

However, he found the position more taxing and when he was not idling away the hours sketching and doing freehand portraits of local characters, he often took himself off to the Lord Nelson, the village’s main inn.

When the Manchester and Leeds Railway came to check its accounts for the year ending 1841, it discovered a discrepancy of more than £11 - a sizeable sum in those days - and he was subsequently dismissed for neglect of duty.
 

Brothers Andrew and Chris Wright

 

Railway enthusiasts and life members of the Campaign for Real Ale, had a dream. They wanted to open an old-style railway refreshment room with a new twist – the pub was to serve commuters, but it was also to be a mecca for railway and real ale aficionados.

 

 

lostrailwayswestyorkshire/Sowerby Bridge/Station

 

.beerintheevening/Jubilee_Refreshment_Rooms/Sowerby_Bridge

The place they found had been a Victorian station, built in 1876, at Sowerby Bridge. Most of it had been demolished, but there remained part of the structure, the old booking and parcels office. It took 12 years of negotiations, but finally a deal was done and financial help appeared, from the Railway Heritage Trust.

Train operators call for disused railway lines to reopenTwo years of hard work followed. Problems included dry rot, wet rot, asbestos and even a panic about anthrax. Excavation revealed treasures, too. There were no clues, however, about Branwell Bronte, the brother of the famous sisters, who was Clerk in Charge here in 1840, when the line opened.

The restoration is faithful to the 1876 design – the original paint scheme and sash windows.

So here it is, up and running since July. The pub opens a window – "the whistle-stop café" – from 7.30-9.30am for drinks and snacks, then offer bigger breakfasts indoors –"the fireman's shovel" – from 9.30am to noon. From midday to 11pm, the bar is open, offering at least six different real ales, all sourced from microbreweries within a 50-mile radius.
 

The Wrights want the Jubilee to become a convivial meeting place. Local breweriana collectors, plus local Camra branches, have already been. Earlier this month, the Sowerby Bridge Rushcart procession, with scores of Morris dancers, arrived and drank the place dry.  

Travelling Companion

Travelling Companion
Augustus Leopold Egg
1862

Oil on canvas

the Worth Valley from the Keighley terminus.

The steep gradient up the Worth Valley from the Keighley terminus has been a challenge for locomotives ever since the line opened on 15th April 1867. The sound of a steam engine tackling this climb echoes from the steep sides of the valley, while great clouds of steam and smoke add drama to the scene. Many of the woollen mills that once stood close to the line have been demolished, but a few remain as reminders that the textile industry was the reason why the line was built. Like the railway, the mills relied on coal, and the trains were able to bring hundreds of tons up the valley each week to keep the looms working by steam power. The five mile journey is a powerful reminder of our industrial heritage, as well as being a unique way of enjoying the beautiful countryside immortalised by Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë.

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The Brontes unfortunately did not enjoy the benefits of this branch line in their own time (it was not ready until 1867 and had been hampered by the floods of 1866), so they must have endured many trudges to Keighley to catch trains to transport manuscripts to publishers! In fact we know from Charlotte Bronte's letters in Elizabeth Gaskell's 'The Life of Charlotte Bronte' (see p.422) that Charlotte was often met by friends at Keighley Station to then make the long trudge back to Haworth - this must have been horrendous in the middle of winter!

De Brontes konden helaas nog niet genieten van de voordelen van deze treinlijn. De aanleg was pas klaar in 1867, de aanleg werd belemmerd door de overstromingen van 1866), dus zij hebben veel moeite moeten doen om op reis te gaan. We weten uit de brieven van Charlotte Bronte aan Elizabeth Gaskell ; "The Life of Charlotte Bronte "(zie p.422), dat Charlotte vaak werd gehaald op Station Keighley, om daarna de lange weg terug te sjokken naar Haworth - dit moet in de verschrikkelijke winters vreselijk zijn geweest!

Per trein naar Haworth

How to Get to West Yorkshire

GNER (Great North Eastern Railway) runs train services from London’s Kings Cross station to Keighley many times a day with a change to the Northern Rail line. From there, a Keighley & District bus takes visitors on a scenic route right up to the top of Haworth, within a three minutes walk to Ashmount Guest House. The train services are easy to navigate and make renting a car unnecessary.

Another option from Keighley to Haworth is the popular Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. This steam engine service runs through gorgeous stations with its’ fleet of historic trains.

Another of Haworth's main attractions is the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, a preserved steam railway which runs from Keighley station, via Haworth, to Oxenhope. The trains run every weekend, most days during the summer and also during school holidays, making it a fine olde-worlde way to arrive.

Haworth is no longer connected to the mainline rail network, and the only trains are those operated by the KWVR heritage railway. Their website has up-to-date details of train times. The nearest mainline station is Keighley on the Airedale Line, which has frequent connections to Leeds and Skipton. The modern station being adjacent to the heritage railway.
Arriving in Haworth by steam train, cross the footbridge and head uphill towards the upper part of the village. An alternative to walking up the cobbled street is to wander through the park area, which will bring you out on the main road. Cross at the pelican crossing, and proceed up the (very) steep cobbled road opposite, towards The Fleece pub.
Most of Haworth's bus services are provided by Keighley and District. Services 663, 664, 665 and 720 all serve Haworth, as does Firstbus service 500 which runs between Todmorden and Keighley (infrequent).
Service 665, also drops off on Rawdon Road, from where it is just a short walk up into the old village. This does away with the walk from the train station bus stop. On other routes, the best stop to get off at is Sun Street, opposite Weavers' Hill, as this also does away with the steep walk from the station area.

Visitors using Keighley & District's buses to travel to Keighley from further afield - eg from Leeds, Bradford, Skipton or Ilkley, and onward to Haworth, can take advantage of a "K-day" ticket which gives all day travel on all the company's bus services. This costs 2.50 for all-day travel (3.50 if purchased before 0930 Mon-Fri).

A further benefit for bus travellers interested in visiting East Riddlesden Hall, the KWVR, the Bront Parsonage Museum (Haworth) or the Museum of Rail Travel (Ingrow), should ask the driver for a "Heritage Voucher" which when presented with your valid Keighley & District ticket entitles you to discounted entry (special events excepted).

trein, railway

Introduction of steam

In 1812 the Middleton Steam Railway became the first commercial railway to successfully use steam locomotives. John Blenkinsop the colliery's viewer, or manager, had decided that an engine light enough not to break the cast iron track would not have sufficient adhesion, bearing in mind the heavy load of coal wagons and the steep track gradient. Accordingly he relaid the track on one side with a toothed rail, which he patented in 1811 (the first rack railway), and approached Matthew Murray of Fenton, Murray and Wood, in Holbeck, to design a locomotive with a pinion which would mesh with it. Murray's design was based on Richard Trevithick's Catch me who can, adapted to use Blenkinsop's rack and pinion system, and was called The Salamanca.
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Haworth Village is just a short walk away from the Railway station. The area is rather hilly and the easiest pedestrian route to the Parsonage and Old Village is to go out of the station, over the railway footbridge and straight up the cobbled lane.
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Step back in time and enjoy a train ride through the heart of Brontë country. Most services are operated by steam trains, but the railway also serves the local community, with many people using the morning diesel railcar services to do their shopping in Keighley.
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The steep gradient up the Worth Valley from the Keighley terminus has been a challenge for locomotives ever since the line opened on 15th April 1867. The sound of a steam engine tackling this climb echoes from the steep sides of the valley, while great clouds of steam and smoke add drama to the scene. Many of the woollen mills that once stood close to the line have been demolished, but a few remain as reminders that the textile industry was the reason why the line was built. Like the railway, the mills relied on coal, and the trains were able to bring hundreds of tons up the valley each week to keep the looms working by steam power. The five mile journey is a powerful reminder of our industrial heritage, as well as being a unique way of enjoying the beautiful countryside immortalised by Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë.




This 1812 locomotive was the first to use two cylinders. These drove the pinions through cranks which were at right angles, so that the engine would start wherever it came to rest.

The line thus entered the history books, in 1812, for it was first to operate successfully, and with three more locos built later, remained in use for another twenty years. In 1881 the railway was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.

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Keighley railway station serves the town of Keighley in West Yorkshire, England.

First opened in 1847 by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway (although rebuilt on the present site in 1875), the station is located on the Airedale Line 17 miles (27 km) north west of Leeds. It is managed by Northern Rail, who operate most of the passenger trains serving it. Electric trains operate frequently from Keighley towards Bradford Forster Square, Leeds and Skipton. Longer distance trains on the Leeds to Morecambe Line and Settle to Carlisle Line also call here.

Keighley is also the northern terminus of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. This is a heritage branch-line railway run by volunteers that was originally built by the Midland Railway and opened in 1867.




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