A former regional journalist has co-authored a book about a defunct railway on his old patch of which has father was once station master.

Former Bradford Telegraph & Argus journalist Alan Whitaker has written Great Northern Outpost Volume 2: The Halifax, Thornton and Keighley Railway with chartered engineer Jan Rapacz.

The book focuses on the so-called Queensbury Lines, which closed to passenger services in 1955.

The end of the lines came too early for the advent of mainstream colour photography, but research by Alan and Jan has unearthed enough material to illustrate the last years of this railway in colour for the first time.

A train running on the Queensbury Lines

Much of the information presented in the new book, and the vast majority of the images, have never been published before.

Alan, who is the son of the last station master on the Queensbury Lines, said: “I saw the line closed to passengers in 1955 and to goods in 1965, so felt a responsibility to ensure the history of this particular network of lines was preserved. I was in a unique position to witness the last years of operations.

“Also, I have access to quite a sizeable archive of papers, letters and other documents that my father had during this time at Thornton. I’ve used this material as primary source material, as well as putting in my own anecdotal contributions.

“No one else is in a position to provide these details, and I realised that as age catches up with me it was about time I did it.

“I knew Jan was doing his own research on this subject so I contacted him and suggested we pool our resources. The book covers the period of the line’s decline, which has never been covered before, and never in colour.”