Station Name: DENBIGH

[Source: Paul Wright]
Date opened: 12.1860
Location: On the north side of Vale Street
Company on opening: Vale of Clwyd Railway
Date closed to passengers: 30.4.1962
Date closed completely: 4.5.1964
Company on closing: British Railways (London Midland Region)
Present state: Demolished but small sections of platform edge remain.
County: Denbighshire
OS Grid Ref: SJ057665
Date of visit: 21.5.2005
Notes: Denbigh Station was opened by the Vale of Clwyd Railway as part of its Rhyl to Denbigh line which opened to a temporary terminus at Denbigh on 22nd October 1858. The line ran south to a connection to the Chester and Holyhead Railway, to the west of Rhyl. An extension of the line from a point just to the south of the Chester to Holyhead Railway,
which became known as Foryd Junction, to Foryd Pier was opened in August 1864.

The Vale of Clywd Railway located their headquarters at Denbigh Station which was provided with a handsome stone built building which even had its own spire. Shortly after Denbigh Station opened the Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway began to build a line from Denbigh Station to Corwen. This new line, which made Denbigh a through station opened in its
entirety on the 6th October 1864. By this date services were being operated by the LNWR who assumed operational control of the both the Vale of Clywd and the Corwen line on 15th July 1867.

On 12th October 1869 another route was opened from Mold. This line connected to the Vale of Clwyd Line about 1 mile north of Denbigh Station. This completed the railway layout at Denbigh which now became an important junction station.

Denbigh Station only ever had one through platform although this was well able to cope with the general traffic levels on the lines that served the station. The station was also provided with a bay platform at its northern end which catered for Rhyl Services. Train services operated from Denbigh to Rhyl, Denbigh to Corwen and Chester to Denbigh. Some of the later

services continued through to Ruthin and a few services ran from Rhyl to Corwen. Services remained much the same throughout after the lines became part of the LMS in 1923. Denbigh was provided with extensive goods facilities at its northern end and it even had its own locomotive sheds.

The first shed opened on west side of station in 1864 by the Vale of Clwyd Railway, worked by LNWR and closed in 1870. It was replaced by a two road building sited north of the station; re-roofed in LMS 'louvre' style 1947/8 and closed 19th September 1955. It is still extant and in use as a plant-hire depot.


Shortly after nationalisation passenger services went into decline. The first casualty was the Corwen service which ended on the 31st January 1953. To compensate most Chester services were extended to run through to Ruthin which was still well used by passengers. The service along the Vale of Clwyd line to Rhyl was cut on the 19th September 1955. This left
the all stations Chester General to Ruthin service which usually consisted of only two coaches and by this date even some of these services only went as far as Denbigh.

However British Railways obviously thought that Denbigh had a future because in 1957 they invested heavily in the railway infrastructure at Denbigh. A new signalbox was opened which replaced two older boxes. The line from Denbigh to Mold was singled as far as Bodfari and as a result the lines out of the station to the north were altered so that they became two
bi-directional lines. One being the route to Mold and the other to Rhyl. Goods traffic at this time was still buoyant with services still running to Corwen, Chester and Rhyl.

The final service between Chester, Denbigh and Corwen ended on the 28th April 1962 and Denbigh station closed. The Mold line as far as Rhydymwyn was closed and lifted shortly afterwards. This left only the line from Rhyl to Ruthin which closed on the 1st March 1965 after which Denbigh disappeared from the Railway map for good.  Today very little remains
but sections of edge platform can still be seen and the bridge abutments show that a railway was once present here.


Source: From Rhyl to Corwen by Rail by J.M.Dunn - Railway Magazine: February & March 1957
From Chester to Holyhead, The Branch Lines, Bill Rear, ISBN 0 86093 569 8.
Encyclopedia of British Railway Companies by Christopher Awdry - Guild 1990 CN 8983

Further reading: Vale of Clwyd Railway: Rhyl to Denbigh Railway by Stephen Goodall.(1992)
ISBN 0 9520 1650 8

To see other stations on the Rhyl - Denbigh line click on the station name: Rhyl STILL OPEN, Foryd Pier, Foryd, Rhuddlan & St. Asaph, Trefnant

To see the other stations on the Chester - Denbigh line click on the station name: Saltney Ferry, Broughton & Bretton, Kinnerton,
Hope & Pen-y-ffordd, Hope Low Level, Padeswood & Buckley, Llong, Mold, Rhydymwyn, Star Crossing, Nannerch, Caerwys & Bodfari

To see stations on the Denbigh - Corwen line click on the station name: Denbigh, Llanrhaiadr, Rhewl, Ruthin, Eyarth, Nantclwyd, Derwen,
Gwyddelwern & Corwen


Denbigh Station in 1906
Copyright photo from John Alsop collection




Denbigh Station looking south in July 1935
Copyright photo from John Alsop collection

Denbigh Station looking south in August 1954
Copyright photo by H C Cassserley


Denbigh Station looking south towards Corwen on 28.4.1962
P
hoto by Bevan Price

Goods shed at Denbigh Station in October 1994
Photo by Nick Catford

Remains of the through platform at Denbigh Station seen from its back edge as it has been excavated to its brickwork. The edge slabs are still present in May 2005
Photo by Paul Wright