Footplatemen and Guards This view of the “Up” platform, looking south towards Methley, would have been easily recognisable by train crews from when the station opened in 1840 right through to the late 1960s. The station was exactly 190 miles from St Pancras in London, a fact which is still marked by a Midland Railway milepost. The height of the line towards Methley and hence the platforms was raised in the late 1950s following mining subsidence caused by the underground workings at Water Haigh colliery. A Fowler 4F loco, 44099 of Royston shed, departs Woodlesford for Leeds with a stopping passenger train. Photographed from a passing DMU by Peter Rose.