EAW047339 ENGLAND (1952). Low Hall and environs, Dacre Banks, 1952. This image was marked by Aerofilms Ltd for photo editing.

The branch to Pateley Bridge from Ripley Junction on the "Leeds Northern" line between Harrogate and Ripon was opened by the NER in 1862. Closed to passengers in 1951 and completely in 1964.

Strictly speaking the 'Lofthouse-in-Nidderdale' branch was a completely separate railway set up by Bradford Corporation to transport labour and materials to the Angram Reservoir site further up Nidderdale. They took over a Light Railway Order originally obtained for a narrow-gauge railway line, and as a result also provided a public railway service from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse. The line continued on to the Angram site. There was a link between the two stations at Pateley Bridge for through goods traffic; passengers had to walk between the two stations. The Nidd Valley Light Railway, as it was known, opened in 1907 and closed to public traffic at the end of 1929. Traffic continued to the reservoirs until completion in 1936, with the railway being dismantled in 1937.

(See "Railways around Harrogate" by Martin Bairstow, published 1986, ISBN 0 9510302 3 X)