The history of Leeds station
Today’s Leeds station is a historical combination of the former Wellington and Leeds New stations.
Leeds’ railway history began in 1758 when permission was granted to build a wooden wagon-way to haul coal from Middleton to Leeds. In the early days of railway development, six different companies built competing lines and stations in and around Leeds.
Wellington Station
A temporary station called Wellington Station was built by the Leeds and Bradford Railway in 1846. This company later became part of the larger Midland Railway, which built a permanent Wellington Station in 1850. The station was built on arches over the River Aire, where part of Leeds Station still stands today.
The station had a functional design with a low, three-span train shed. And the station building opened onto City Square and included refreshment rooms, waiting rooms, and a booking office. To complement the station, the Midland Railway built the first Queens Hotel in 1863.
New Station
In 1869, the London North Western and North Eastern railways jointly opened Leeds New Station. It was built on the south side of the Midland’s Wellington Station, at a higher level and on wider arches crossing the River Aire. It also had a wrought iron and masonry bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal basin, giving it a more spacious train shed than Wellington Station.
Thomas Prosser, the North Eastern Railway’s architect, designed the station building and train shed. Thomas E. Harrison, the Consulting Engineer for the Joint Station Committee, was responsible for the arches that supported the New Station, which still stand today. The vaults created a series of tunnels, each about 80 yards long, running beneath New Station and connecting with the vaults beneath Wellington Station. These tunnels ran parallel between the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal basin.
Additional side vaults, running east to west, connected many of the underground arches, creating a railway maze. These arches soon became important for local industry, providing storage and business premises, and are still used for these purposes today.
City Station
After the railway ‘grouping’ in 1923 and increasing traffic through Leeds, New and Wellington Stations were joined in 1938 to create Leeds City Station. The two stations were connected by a spacious north concourse made of modern reinforced concrete with an art deco ceiling, skylights, and stylish lighting. It also connected directly to the rebuilt art deco LMS Queens Hotel.
Leeds City Station was completely rebuilt in 1967 when Leeds Central Station closed, and its services were transferred to Leeds City Station. Bridges over the Leeds and Liverpool canal were replaced, a new roof was constructed, and the new south concourse became the main area for shops, refreshment rooms, and the ticket office.
Between 1999 and 2002, Leeds City Station underwent significant rebuilding and refurbishment in a project called Leeds First. This project revitalized the mostly 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.
Did you know?
The arches beneath New Station were named the ‘Dark Arches’ by Leeds’ Victorian residents, and the name remains in use today.