The Worth Valley branch out of Keighley climbs up the valley serving several small Pennine villages along the way. At Oakworth, the railway leaves the valley of the River Worth and enters the valley of Bridgehouse Beck, wherein lie Haworth and the line’s terminus at Oxenhope. The line has always terminated here, although press speculation of an extension to Hebden Bridge has at times been suggested. This has never been a serious proposition however.
The line opened in 1867, funded predominantly by local wealthy mill owners. Within a very short time, the railway became part of the Midland Railway until in 1923 at the Grouping, it was absorbed into the new London Midland and Scottish Railway. Upon Nationalisation in 1948, the line became part of British Railways, and with its fortunes declining with the rise of competition from the roads, the branch closed in 1962.
Much local opposition to this saw the rise of the KWVRPS and by their efforts, the railway reopened in 1968.
The railway has been used as a film location for nearly 50 years. Films such as Yanks and The Railway Children have featured it.
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