In 1963, both stations on the line, (Clayton West and Skelmanthorpe), were listed for closure under the Beeching cuts, but the branch survived as a passenger carrying railway until 1983.

[1] The original Act of Parliament was granted to the Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway (H&SJR), which became part of the L&YR in 1847.

[9] A report from 1869 detailed how carts were carrying goods traffic along the proposed course of the branch to Shepley station.

One traffic manager of the L&YR stated that the cost of trafficking the goods by train would doubtless increase when the branch was built.

[13][8] Whilst Skelmanthorpe station was largely constructed of timber, Clayton West was built from local stone.

[20] At a meeting of the Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce in June 1898, the L&YR gave official notice that they had abandoned the idea of extending the branch as they could see no justification for the expense in comparison to expected traffic the line would generate.

[21][22] The engineering for the line was relatively simple, with only one major structure, the 511-yard (467 m) tunnel at Shelley Woodhouse,[23] which required the removal of 675,000 cubic yards (516,000 m3) of earth and rock.

[35] In March 1963, both stations on the line (Clayton West and Skelmanthorpe), were listed for closure under the Beeching proposals.

[45] The section of track from Emley Moor to Clayton West Junction (at Shepley) remained in use for coal being transhipped to Elland Power Station.

[56] By 1898, eight services operated on the line, with an early morning working from Hudersfield only stopping at Shepley and the two stations on the branch.

[58] The timetables for 1944 and 1946, under the LMS, show six workings to Clayton West, with extras on Saturdays, again with no Sunday service.