Station Name: BRADFORD ADOLPHUS STREET[Source:
Chris Armour]
Bradford Adolphus Street Station Gallery 1: July 1937 - October 1970 Bradford Adolphus street Goods station seen from the air in July 1937. The trainshed of the original Leeds, Bradford & Halifax Junction Railway terminus is seen top right. On the far right the access ramp from Dryden Street can be seen, this was the main entrance to the original goods yard and is still in use today as a public footpath. Click here to see a larger version
Reproduced with the kind permission of Simmons Aerofilms Ltd. 1852 6" OS map showing Bradford Adolphus Street station and adjacent goods yard as built. This map doesn't shows Adolphus Street (parallel to Frederick Street), but it is shown on the map below which is based on the same 1847 survey. 1852 1:1,056 OS Town Plan shows the layout of Adolphus Street station as built. There are four platform faces comprising two side platforms and a central island. There is a central road between the two pairs of platform roads. There is a concourse at the west end of the platforms. There are waiting rooms accessed from the concourse and steps up to the booking and telegraph office. A break in the wall to the north of the trainshed is the bottom of the ramp up to the goods yard. Click here for
a larger version. 1908 1:2,500 OS map shows the layout of Adolphus Street station after after closure to passengers. The original goods yard has been extended into the former passenger trainshed with a new 12-road engine shed replacing the earlier shed, carriage shed and sidings to the south. Passenger trains now diverge to the south and Hammerston Street Junction, curving round to join the Lancashire
& Yorkshire line into Bradford Exchange at St. Dunstan's Junction. Click here for a larger version
Adolphus Street station entrance in 1956; substantial offices and passenger facilities front onto the trainshed. The entrance to the booking office is in the centre of the building, from there two sets of steps led down to the station concourse.
The original passenger platforms have not been retained. The platform on the left is probably original but the other side platform and the island have been replaced with a wider island platform. At this time only one line was still running into the trainshed.
A major accident occurred on 10 November 1964 when 43072, an Ivatt 4F, was working a train of twenty-one empty wagons from Ardsley. The driver lost control at Laisterdyke and ran into Adolphus St. goods yard at an estimated speed of 50 mph. Before demolishing the buffers the crew jumped clear and the train crashed through a wall to fall 30ft into Dryden Street below. The 14 year old locomotive was considered beyond economic repair was cut up in the road 4 days later by G.W.Butler of Laisterdyke.
Beneath the train shed c 1970. The station looks very run down by this time. Final closure
would come in 1972 The Adolphus Street goods offices c1970.
Adolphus Street station seen from Wakefield Road in May 1970. The words across the top of the building say 'Great Northern Goods & Coal Department'.
Looking east along the south side of the Adolphus Street trainshed in October 1970.
Photo by MA King Adolphus Street entrance in October 1970. Photo by MA King Click here for Bradford Adolphus Street Station Gallery 2: Home Page
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