A Queensbury historian is staging an exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of the closure of the village's railway station to passengers.

The exhibition organised by Mark Neale, of Ambler Thorn, coincides with the opening of the first stage of the Great Northern Trail. The walking, cycling and horseriding route will eventually follow the line of the former railway between Queensbury and Cullingworth.

"It is wonderful to see that a part of the old route will be brought back to life and see people using it again," said Mr Neale.

The station was on the former Great Northern Railway line which linked Bradford Exchange with Keighley and Halifax.

"The line was commonly known by the train drivers as the alpine route because of the hills," explained Mr Neale.

"At certain times of the day trains would stand on all three sides of the station and there would be lots of hustle and bustle as people caught connections to all directions," said Mr Neale.

"The station was central to most people's lives in Queensbury and people really relied on it."

But Mr Neale said passengers alighting at Queensbury would face a daunting climb up Station Road to reach the village.

Mr Neale said one of the main reasons for the demise of the station was that it could not compete with the quicker routes operating to Halifax and Keighley.

"The journey took about 45 minutes and was twice as long as the Midland Railway trains' trip from Forster Square via Shipley to Keighley," he said.

The arrival of the tramcar was another factor, he said.

"It eventually fell to the powers that be in the mid 1950's," said Mr Neale.

The former station is now used as a landfill site.

The exhibition includes photographs, maps and artefacts relating to the station.

"I have a signalman's flag, a station guard's whistle and even the death certificate of a man who tragically lost his life whilst working on the railways," he said.

It is on display at Queensbury Library until Friday. It will then move to Clayton Library for another week. Entry is free.