Westwood railway station

Westwood railway station

Company type	Railway station
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	4 September 1854
Defunct	28 October 1940
Headquarters	High Green , England

Westwood railway station was situated on the Blackburn Valley route of the South Yorkshire Railway, positioned between and . It mainly served a pair of miner housing rows known as "Westwood Row," with the closest village being High Green, located just over away. To the north of the station lay Tankersley colliery, linked by an industrial siding, while another spur extended from Westwood via a switchback to Thorncliffe Iron Works and Thorncliffe Colliery.

The station initially commenced operations on 4 September 1854, located on a single track just north of the level crossing. Following the doubling of the line in 1876, the station was reconfigured around the crossing with staggered platforms and reopened on 9 October, featuring brick-built main structures on the Sheffield-bound platform, resembling other stations along the route.

On the Barnsley-bound side stood Westwood signal box, characterized by a tall M.S.& L.R. hipped roof design. Beginning in 1876, with the implementation of Absolute Block Working, a second signal box managed access to Newbegin Colliery. The Westwood box ceased operation in 1933 and was replaced by a 6-lever ground frame responsible for controlling sidings and crossing gates; thereafter, signal operations were transferred to Newbegin signal box.

Although passenger usage at Westwood was limited, it managed considerable freight activity connected to Newton, Chambers & Company. Their locomotive fleet utilized this section between Westwood and Chapeltown for transferring equipment across sites.

The station was closed on 28 October 1940. Today, remnants of platforms and station buildings can still be discerned amidst dense vegetation.

References

• "The South Yorkshire Railway", D. L. Franks, Turntable Enterprises, 1971.