Railway buff Alan Whitaker hopes Keighley News readers will put him on the right track.

The writer and former journalist is charting the history of the line which once linked the town with Halifax in a new book. He will follow in the footsteps of his father, the last stationmaster on the route which took in Ingrow, Cullingworth, and Denholme before heading over the hills into Queensbury and down into Halifax. The line - dubbed the Alpine Route by passengers because of its steep climbs - closed over 30 years ago. British Rail had scaled down the service since the mid-1950s, saying the line was unprofitable.

Little remains of the line now - Cullingworth station has been replaced by a poultry factory, Denholme is a timber yard and Ingrow East is now a builder's merchants - but Alan hopes our readers can provide memories, mementos and artefacts to produce a definitive history.

He has already gathered a mass of material on the railway after writing a concise history with the late Bob Cryer, a fellow train enthusiast, 14 years ago, but Alan believes there is still much to collect. "Anything relating to the old line, however trivial it might seem, would be of value," says Alan. "I am anxious to ensure I do not miss anything, so seemingly unimportant items such as tickets, leaflets, invoices and signs would be of immense value."

Anyone with material to help Alan's search should send it to him c/o Keighley News, 80-86 North Street, Keighley, BD21 3AG.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.