IT seems a very long time since there were two railway stations in Barnsley town centre but a fantastic series of photographs brings the memory of those days back to life.
The Court House Station has long been a pub. It was at one time run by comedian and BBC Radio Sheffield presenter Toby Foster who established it as a fine venue for stand up comedy.
But back in the 1950s it was a busy thriving station just a stone’s thrown from the other one which operates today.
The Court House Station, and the rest of Barnsley’s rail network as it was in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, will be the subject of an illustrated talk to be held at Barnsley Town Hall.
Barnsley and District Railways In The Age of Steam will be presented on Monday November 20 in the council chamber from 11am by David Green, a leading authority in the field.
Through his collection of more than 100 photographs, he will look at the role of our local steam railways and their relation to both local and national industries.
Roger Walton is chairman of the Friends of Barnsley Archives and is looking forward to the talk, especially as he has his own fond memories of the station.
“Young ones today won’t remember having to go upstairs to the ticket booth,” said Roger, 76.
“Some of the old photographs are fantastic and bring back so many memories.
“I remember when I was young I used to use the Court House for trips out to Derbyshire. I remember great trips out that way, to Jacob’s Ladder and down into Edale with the St Paul’s Church Youth Club from Old Town.
“There used to be thousands of people heading out there, and the Court House Station would be packed full of youth clubs.
“There’s an old film you can find in the Barnsley Archives at Experience Barnsley. It’s from 1955 and it’s been digitised now, where you can see all these youth groups getting on the train at the old Court House. Technology is a marvellous thing in many ways.”
The history of Barnsley’s railways is also explored in a new book released earlier this year by former BBC Look North transport correspondent Alan Whitehouse.
He described Barnsley as having once been at the centre of a railway network almost as complicated as the London Underground, although many of the trains never carried passengers.
There was a maze of semi-unknown branches which served every colliery in the district and a ‘railway bypass’ around the town had to be built to prevent everything grinding to a standstill. Rails Through Barnsley, A Photographic Journey is available now from the Barnsley Chronicle bookshop.
To book a place for David Green’s talk call Roger on 281941.
