Volunteers celebrate 175th anniversary of station on one of the country's most scenic rail lines
Volunteers working to make improvements for Northern customers at a station in Yorkshire came together to celebrate the 175th anniversary of its opening.
Passengers have been travelling to and from Bentham station since it opened in May 1850 and it remains a popular stop on the scenic Bentham Line, which runs between Leeds and Morecambe.
Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS), the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership, Mytholmroyd Station Partnership and staff from Northern marked the milestone during an event at the station last week.
Gerald Townson, chairman of FOBS, said “Passenger services first came to Bentham on May 2 in 1850 and it was pleasing to welcome so many guests for our 175th anniversary celebrations.
“Bentham station and the line are vital transport resources for our small community, with the number of passenger journeys growing from 11,000 to 37,000 over the past 15 years.”
Darren Allsopp, stakeholder manager for Northern, said: “We were delighted to be part of the celebrations for this historic moment.
“We’re incredibly proud to be running services along a line which has provided a vital transport link to passengers for 175 years, allowing them to travel into West Yorkshire and enjoy fantastic destinations in the Yorkshire Dales and Lancashire Coast.
"I’d like to thank all of the volunteers who work so hard throughout the year to improve stations for our customers and promote rail travel.”
It comes after Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2025 guide named the Bentham Line as one of the top 10 best 'train-hopping' trips in the world.
It states: “Enjoy the Bentham Line as a scenic day out in itself, or use it as a gateway to cosy pub stays and walks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park from Clapham and Giggleswick stations.”
The 75-mile railway line is one of the oldest in the country, as passengers have been using it since 1850. It was also used to transport raw materials to local silk mills from 1880, as well as livestock, coal and stone.
Services were operated by British Railways when the nation’s railways were nationalised in 1948 and Bentham station was demolished and rebuilt six years later.
It was renovated with funding from North Yorkshire County Council in 2008 and the lease was then transferred to Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership and FOBS five years later.
The station is currently operated by Northern and it was used by many of the passengers who made more than 37,000 journeys on the line last year.
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.