Holywell Junction railway station

Holywell Junction railway station was a junction station located on the north-eastern edge of Holywell, and Greenfield, villages in Flintshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Dee.

Holywell Junction
Holywell Junction station
Location
Place	Greenfield
Area	Flintshire
Coordinates	53.2922°N 3.2065°W / 53.2922; -3.2065
Grid reference	SJ195779
Operations
Original company	Chester and Holyhead Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms	5
History
1 May 1848	Opened[1]
14 February 1966	Closed to passengers[1]
c.1970	Closed for goods traffic
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History

The station was opened on 1 May 1848 as part of the Chester and Holyhead Railway (now the North Wales Coast Line) and was named simply Holywell.[1] A brick built signal box was opened in 1902 to replace an earlier wooden one. The station initially had two platforms but as the line grew busier the number of tracks doubled from one each way to two and the number of platforms followed suit. The main station building was positioned on the down platform and a subway connected them all. In 1912 Holywell Branch Line was opened just east of the station which linked the mainline to the centre of Holywell.[2] Therefore, Holywell station was renamed Holywell Junction on 1 May and the new station called Holywell Town.

The branch line lasted 42 years before being closed and Holywell Junction was closed to passengers on 14 February 1966.[3] as part of the Beeching Axe, although it was open to freight until 1970. The Italianate station building designed by Francis Thompson[4] was listed Grade II* in 1970[5] and is a private dwelling. The signal box was listed Grade II in 1991.[6]

References

1. "Station Name: Holywell Junction". Disused Stations. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
2. Rhyl & District Model Railway Club website
3. Transport Heritage website
4. Transport Heritage website page
5. The stations entry on britishlistedbuildings.co.uk
6. The signal box's entry on britishlistedbuildings.co.uk

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2011). Chester to Rhyl. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 53-62. ISBN 9781906008932. OCLC 795178960.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Mostyn Line open; station closed		London and North Western Railway North Wales Coast Line		Bagillt Line open; station closed
Terminus		London and North Western Railway Holywell Branch Line		St Winefride's Halt Line and station closed