Thorp Arch Military Railway

Thorp Arch Military Railway

Notes: River Platform was one of four stops on the Thorp Arch circular railway. It was opened in 1941/2 during the construction of the Royal Ordnance Factory. The platform was initially used by construction workers and then by the regular workforce which, at its peak, reached 18,000. During WW2 the factory operated 24 hours a day with three shifts. River, and the three other platforms, allowed workers to disembark close to their actual place of work.

River consisted of a single platform on a sharp curve constructed of earth and cinders and faced with old sleepers. It had electric lighting and a nameboard but the 1962 map, below, shows no waiting shelters. It was sited at the south-east corner of the factory site, close to the River Wharfe and the east junction with the Church Fenton - Harrogate railway line.

Two of the platforms were brought into use in November 1941, whilst the other two were used from 19 April 1942. The regular passenger service ceased in 1957 but River Platform had ceased to be used by October 1946. No photographs of the platform in use or after closure have been found.

Source: ROF Thorp Arch by Mike Christensen - two articles in Archive (magazine) Nos. 22 and 23 June/September 1999.

To see other stations on the Thorp Arch Military Railway
click on the station name:
Ranges Platform, Roman Road Platform & Walton Platform

See also Thorp Arch station