Harrogate Railway’s History

Harrogate Railway was formed in 1935 by workers at the Starbeck LNER depot and joined the local Harrogate League with some success, winning the British Railways National Cup in 1946. They borrowed £1,500 from the LNER and more than 300 workers contributed one old penny per week to repay the loan. This money secured ownership of the current Station View site.

The 1950s saw the club progress through the West Yorkshire League to the Yorkshire League and they made the second round proper of the FA Amateur Cup in 1953, going out 3-2 at Harwich & Parkstone. Sadly, the loco sheds closed in 1959, subsequently affecting finances as many of the workers, and players, had to leave the area. Nevertheless, under the auspices of “Chick” Farr the club soldiered on through the sixties and they almost repeated their Amateur Cup exploits of the fifties when they made the first round proper in 1961 only to lose 4-2 at Whitley Bay.

In 1964 they won promotion to the first division of the Yorkshire League, then just three steps from the Football League itself, and made the Yorkshire League Cup Final, losing to Farsley Celtic after a replay. The late sixties and the seventies became a real struggle and Railway had to pull out of the Yorkshire League and return to the Harrogate League in 1973. This gave the club time to re-group and they were back in the Yorkshire League in 1980 becoming founder-members of the new NCEL League in 1982.

Freddie Cliff steered the club to promotion from the second division (north) and won the League Cup with a 5-0 victory over Woolley Miners Welfare in the final. Meanwhile a new junior structure was formed, thanks to the work of John and Mary Lindsay and now Railway can boast one of the best junior set- ups in the region. In the 1990-91 season Railway made their first major impression in the FA Cup, Denis Metcalf steering his team to the fourth qualifying round. Future manager Martin Haresign actually played in the 3-1 defeat at Chorley.

Floodlights were installed in 1991 and a strong Sheffield United side, including Vinnie Jones, provided the star opposition at the official opening. Management changes and more financial hardship hindered progress as the nineties wore on. However, Dave Fell joined as boss in 1998 and won the NCEL first division but he departed at the end of the same season. Paul Marshall took the job on and, although it was a struggle, he kept Railway in the premier division. The club’s faith in him culminated in two amazing back-to-back FA Cup runs. The fourth qualifying round was reached for a second time in 2001, the run ending with a 3-2 defeat at home to Morecambe, the winner coming deep into injury time.

A year later Railway went two better and, after a bewildering qualifying competition, the many who travelled to Berkshire witnessed a 2-1 win at Slough Town in the first round proper. The lowest-ranking club ever to reach the second round were drawn at home to Bristol City, top of the second division, the highest-ranking club in the competition at that stage. Railway opted to play the game at home and temporary stands adorned Station View. Sky TV beamed the game around the globe and the club was the focus of the football world for a couple of hours in December 2002.

Bristol City were made to fight for their 3-1 win, Steve Davey netting with 17minutes to go, but once again an injury-time goal sealed Railway’s fate. Despite winning the NCEL President’s Cup, Paul Marshall was not reinstated. Leeds duo Dave Harrison and John Francis were appointed but, after just one win in 11 games and early exits from the FA competitions they stepped down. Martin Haresign was brought in to steady the ship and retain NCEL status. Railway finished in the top three in 2006 and achieved Uni-Bond Northern Premier League status, the vital victory at Sheffield probably the best display of the season. History had been made and the club was set to play at the highest level of the pyramid in its history. The first season in the Uni-Bond League proved to confound the bookies who predicted a basement finish. A good start was built upon and the campaign ended in a mid-table finish.

Unfortunately Martin had to relinquish managerial duties for business reasons but Vince Brockie and new assistant Dave Morgan carried on the good work. The following season’s league form proved to be rather erratic but Railway finished well clear of the relegation zone in the end.

Incredibly, another mighty FA Cup run dominated and the little club from Yorkshire reached the second round proper for a second time. A battling home victory over then unbeaten rivals Harrogate Town was the undoubted highlight of the qualifying rounds before Blue Square side Droylsden were sent packing 2-0 in the first round. Mansfield Town came to Station View on a soggy Sunday and BBC Match Of The Day screened the game live this time, complete with Ray Stubbs. Mark Lawrenson and Jonathan Pearce. Mansfield won 3-2 but not before two second-half goals from Danny Davidson gave them late scares. Assistant manager Dave Morgan was promoted to manager for the following season but found life difficult, gleaning only 2 points from the first 36. He resigned and in his place came Phil Sharpe and Richard Chattoe. Between them they staved off fears of relegation and looked for consolidation in the future.

However, the start of the season was not one of the best and Christmas saw Railway again languishing at the bottom end of the table but an influx of good, battling players pulled the club away from the drop-zone. Richard Chattoe left mid-season and Nigel Danby came in as Phil’s assistant.

Phil resigned at the end of the season and Nigel was appointed as manager, bringing in Mick Norbury as his right hand man. Nigel and Mick’s reign lasted just short of two seasons as they flirted with relegation in both years. In came a management team of Alan Parkes, Dennis Metcalfe, Bob Moffat & Steve Donoghue to replace them. Despite valiant efforts in the last six League games Rail found themselves in the bottom two when the season finished. Thankfully Rail were reprieved due to Durham City taking voluntary relegation and Woodley Sports being relegated due to a Ground Regulation ruling.

The 2012-13 season started with the new management team of ex-Liversedge manager – Billy Miller and his assistant ex-Railway favourite Lee Ashforth in charge. Although most of the players were from a league below us it was a struggle to start with but things came good with a brand of football that hadn’t been seen at Station View for some time and by the end of that season Rail had finished in 18th position with a total of 41 points – well clear of the relegation zone. In addition Harrogate Railway finished with the best discipline record not only in the Northern part of the League but in all three Evo-Stik leagues.

2013-14 Billy & Ash consolidated our position within the League forging a strong relationship with Simon Weaver and Harrogate Town, dual registering players to boost the player pool at Railway. As a result, Railway finished 13th on 48 points for the season. 2014-15 season saw Railway finish with a record points tally and eigth - a record high. Nathan Cartman wont the golden boot for being the league’s top scorer.

Lee Ashforth took the managerial reigns when Billy left during Summer 2015 and we look foward with excitement to the new season.

Monday 29th August 20:00 Barcelona v Villarreal Spanish La Liga Sky Sports 3 (19:55-22:00)

Thursday 1st September 19:30 England U21 v Azerbaijan U21 International Football ESPN (19:00-21:45)

Friday 2nd September 18:30 Bulgaria v England Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 1 (18:30-20:30) 19:30 Northern Ireland v Serbia Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 4 (19:30-22:00) 19:30 Republic Of Ireland v Slovakia Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 3 (19:30-22:00) 19:30 Wales v Montenegro 19:45 Stockport v Luton Town 19:45 Germany v Austria F S Euro 2012 Qualifiers Blue Square Premier Euro 2012 Qualifiers amous Fish & Chips eafood Restaurant Sky Sports 2 (19:30-22:00) Setanta Ireland (19:30-22:00 Ireland Only) ESPN (19:30-21:30) Saturday 3rd September & Take-away LIVE FOOTBALL IN THE DAGGA... 17:30 Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers Friday 26th August Airtricity League Setanta Ireland (17:15-19:30 Ireland Only) 19:00 Braintree Town v Lincoln City FIXTURE TIME FIXTURE 19:45 Fleetwood Town v York City Blue Square Premier Setanta Sports 1 (18:45-21:15 Ireland Only) TOURNAMENT CHANNELS & BROADCAST TIMES Blue Square Premier Setanta Sports 1 (19:30-22:00 Ireland Only) Monday 5th September 19:00 England U21 v Israel U21 Saturday 27th August 12:00 Aston Villa v Wolverhampton 15:00 Chelsea v Norwich City 17:00 Liverpool v Bolton 8-12 Cheltenham Parade, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1DB International Friendly ESPN (18:30-21:15) Barclays Premier League Sky Sports 2 (12:00-14:00) Barclays Premier League Setanta Sports 1 (14:30-17:30 Ireland Only) Barclays Premier League Sky Sports 2 (17:00-19:00) . Tuesday 6th September 19:45 Cagliari v AC Milan 21:00 Granada v Barcelona Serie A Spanish La Liga Tel: 01423 507093 F ESPN (19:45-21:45) Sky Sports 4 (20:55-23:00) ax: 01423 530320 5 Cambridge Road www.graveleysofharrogate.com 19:30 Denmark v Norway Euro 2012 Qualifiers ESPN (19:15-21:15) 20:00 England v Wales Euro 2012 Qualifiers Setanta Ireland (19:55-22:00 Ireland Only) Sunday 28th August 12:30 St. Mirren v Celtic Scottish Premier League Sky Sports 4 (12:30-15:00) 12:45 Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City Barclays Premier League ESPN (12:45-15:45) Harrogate HG1 1PB Tel: 01423 525354 / 521066 Relax, Eat, Drink, Enjoy. BIG SCREEN LIVE FOOTBALL 13:00 Nottingham Forest v West Ham United npower Championship Sky Sports 1 (13:00-15:00) 16:00 Manchester United v Arsenal Barclays Premier League Sky Sports 1 (15:30-18:30) 16:00 Hearts v Hibernian Scottish Premier League ESPN (15:45-18:00) 18:30 Real Zaragoza v Real Madrid Spanish La Liga Sky Sports 1 (18:30-21:00) 19:45 Udinese v Juventus Serie A ESPN (19:45-21:45) Monday 29th August 20:00 Barcelona v Villarreal Spanish La Liga Sky Sports 3 (19:55-22:00) Soccer BACK IN THE DAGGA... Thursday 1st September 19:30 England U21 v Azerbaijan U21 International Football ESPN (19:00-21:45) Friday 2nd September Shop Shop DON’T MISS A KICK OF ANY GAME 18:30 Bulgaria v England Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 1 (18:30-20:30) 19:30 Northern Ireland v Serbia Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 4 (19:30-22:00) 19:30 Republic Of Ireland v Slovakia Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 3 (19:30-22:00) 19:30 Wales v Montenegro Euro 2012 Qualifiers Sky Sports 2 (19:30-22:00) 19:45 Stockport v Luton Town Blue Square Premier Setanta Ireland (19:30-22:00 Ireland Only) 19:45 Germany v Austria Euro 2012 Qualifiers ESPN (19:30-21:30)

5 Cambridge Road Harrogate HG1 1PB Tel: 01423 525354 or 01423 521066 SCREENED LIVE WE’VE GOT EM ALL Saturday 3rd September 17:30 Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers Airtricity League Setanta Ireland (17:15-19:30 Ireland Only) 19:00 Braintree Town v Lincoln City Blue Square Premier Setanta Sports 1 (18:45-21:15 Ireland Only) Monday 5th September 19:00 England U21 v Israel U21 International Friendly ESPN (18:30-21:15)

Tuesday 6th September 19:30 Denmark v Norway 20:00 England v Wales Euro 2012 Qualifiers Euro 2012 Qualifiers ESPN (19:15-21:15) Setanta Ireland (19:55-22:00 Ireland Only)