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104 - Leeds City Station

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In Folder: Historical Engineering Collection

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104 - Leeds City Station

Leeds began its relationship with the railway in 1758, when parliamentary authority was granted for a wooden wagon-way to haul coal from Middleton to Leeds. In the early days of railway development, six different companies developed competing lines and different stations in and around Leeds. historical plan of the new Leeds railway station. A temporary station called Wellington Station was built by the Leeds and Bradford Railway in 1846.This Company became part of the much larger Midland Railway, who built a permanent Wellington Station in 1850, resting on top of arches over the River Aire on which part of Leeds Station is built to this day. Functional in design, it had a low, three-span train shed with its station building opening onto City Square and containing refreshment rooms, waiting rooms and a booking office. To compliment its station, the Midland Railway built the first Queens Hotel in 1863. In 1869 the London North Western and North Eastern railways jointly opened Leeds New Station. On the south side of the Midland’s Wellington Station, New Station was built at a higher level and on a wider collection of arches crossing the River Aire and with a wrought iron and masonry bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal basin which allowed it to have a more spacious train shed than its neighbour. Thomas Prosser, the North Eastern Railway’s architect designed the station building and train shed, Thomas E Harrison as Consulting Engineer for the Joint Station Committee was responsible for the arches which supported the New Station, and do to this day. The vaults created a series of tunnels, each about 80 yards long, running beneath New Station and connecting with the vaults beneath Wellington, running parallel between the River Aire and the basin of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Further side vaults, running east to west, connected many of the underground arches making a railway maze. These arches beneath the stations soon became important to local industry for storage and business premises and are still used in this way today. After railway ‘grouping’ in 1923, and with increasing traffic through Leeds in this period, New and Wellington Stations were joined in 1939 to create Leeds City Station. Very much a station designed for its time these two stations were connected by a spacious north concourse built from modern reinforced concrete with an art deco tall panelled ceiling, square skylights, and stylish lighting pendants. It also directly connected the station with the rebuilt art deco LMS Queens Hotel. Leeds City Station was completely rebuilt in 1967 when the nearby Leeds Central Station closed, and its services transferred to Leeds City Station. Bridges taking the railway over the Leeds and Liverpool canal were replaced, a new roof over the station was constructed and the newly created south concourse was the chief location for shops, refreshment rooms and the ticket office. Between 1999 and 2002, Leeds City Station underwent significant rebuilding and refurbishment in a programme called Leeds First. This project brought back into action the largely abandoned Wellington side of the station, increased the number of platforms from 12 to 17 and built a new footbridge with modern escalators and lifts. The North Concourse was also restored to its former art deco glory.

Network Rail Corporate Archive

Level of Description: Series

Reference Code: NRCA110076 - NRCA163197

Title: Leeds City Station

Extent and Medium: 15 drawings

Creator: Midland Railway

Date: 1850-1938

Scope and Content: Drawings showing Leeds City Station.

Contract Number: Leeds City Station

Drawing Number: n/a

Drawing Office Number: n/a

Keywords (Country): England

Keywords (Structure Name): Leeds Station

Keywords (Structure Type): Station

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Title

Description

Date

London Midland and Scottish Railway Leeds City Station – Wellington Station Proposed Offices

LMS Leeds Wellington Station proposed offices North Elevation, showing details of floor levels and entrances to station, LMS offices and cinema.

05 August 1936

British Transport Commission Leeds City Station – Proposed South Concourse View From New Station Street

Sketch showing Leeds City Sation south concourse and the view from New Station Street. Showing buildings and cars outside the station.

06 October 1958

LNWR and LNE Joint Leeds Station – Leeds New Railway Station

Plan of Leeds New Railway Station site showing dark arches in relation to the River Aire. Includes the position of Wellington Station, the Queen's Hotel and the surrounding streets.

1869

British Railways Board Leeds City Station – Elevation to New Station Street

Leeds City Station, elevations to New Station Street, including existing office block (City House), the new BR concourse, new BR office block (behind), north concourse and the Queen's Hotel.

1962

British Transport Commission Leeds Station – Combination of Leeds Central and Leeds City Station Plan at Concourse Level

One drawing on one sheet showing full concourse of the new Leeds Station, from New Station Street through the south and north concourses as well as station amenities.

1959

British Railways Board Leeds City Station – Leeds North Concourse Proposed Exhibition Space

Artists impression of exhibition space in the north concourse of Leeds station

1980-1989

North Midland Railway Leeds Station – Low Level Plan of Leeds Station Complex

North Midland Branch, Leeds Station Low Level Plan showing arches underneath Leeds Station along with the names of businesses occupying space in the arches. Also shows Queens Hotel, River Aire and the Canal Basin.

1840-1870

Leeds New Station Joint Line – Bridge no. 1, 5 and 9

9 drawings, including elevations and sections, of the bridges that form the approach to Leeds Station. Section of the plan missing at top left hand side

circa 1867

Wellington Station Leeds

3 drawings, plan showing column foundations, longitudinal sections showing position of columns, elevation of wall on arches

circa 1848

Leeds City Station – South Reconstruction – Key Plan

Key plan of the recontruction of the south side of Leeds City Station, sheet 3 of 3

1962

Leeds New Station – Details of columns

14 drawings of the columns and roof of the Joint Leeds station, including section of girder showing corbel at the end, plan, elevations of columns, sections, section, through column base, section of fascia, elevation of end column showing finish to fascia, and plan of detatched column

9th September 1886