Funeral Train from Ilkley to Scholemoor Cemetery 1902?

[charlotteCH]

  In Feb 1902 the Bradfrord Observor carried an article about the funeral of my grandfather Charles Henry Hargreaves.    It says,

" A short servive was conducted at the deceased residence, Sunnybank Ilkey, by the Rev. F.H.Blanchford- who subsequently officiated at the graveside- and the remains were afterwards conveyed to Bradford by train."   There followed a long list of those who had assembled at the station and accompanied the cortege to the cemetery.

Was there a special funeral trainused for this and what was it like?

Did it operate along the same lines as the ordinary Bradford-Ilkley train? If this was so, it would have had to be scheduled to run at times between ordinary trains.

Did the train go to a special station at Scholemoor?

I assume the estate of the deceased paid for the train.. any idea what it would have cost?

On another ppoint,l was the holding of a service at the house usual or unusual? why not at their church?

  Any info about this is of interest..
Thanks,
charlotte

[kiwihalfpint]

Hi Charlotte,

Do you mind if I sit quietly in the corner and listen in?    I have a few in my tree where the train was used and would like to know the answer.


Cheers
KHP

[charlotteCH]

Hi khp, Delighted

 Presumably from the house or church to the station there would have been horse drawn vehicles- hearse I suppose- with horses decked out in black with plumes on their heads...

I wonder if the cemeteries had mortuary station into which these trains came?   Then how was the coffin moved from the station to the graveside? More horse drawn vehicles? And all the mourners walking? The distances may have been quite large as the cem were big.
Whole topic is interesting as it is a bygone era for us with motor cars.
let's hope we get lots of info to help understand this.

charlotte

[bikermickau]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_train

[charlotteCH]

That's an interesting link and thanks for that, bikermickau. 

I wonder how much it all cost...

charlotte

[kiwihalfpint]

Very interesting to read.   

As you say the cost ..... was there a different rate for the different classes?





Cheers
KHP

[charlotteCH]

khp, do you mean different classes of carriage as in 1st class,2nd class etc... ie tickets on the train?

That brings a new thought to mind about funeral trains... were they regular trains- ie say run twice a week on a declared schedule between places- in this instance Ilkley and Bradford or were they hired by the family of the deceased and only that one body and its mourners travelled on the train?

I'd assumed the later to be the case..
charlotte

[kiwihalfpint]

Charotte I guess I wasn't  thinking straight when I typed it.

I was thinking more of status, as in upper class, middle class etc  Not everyone was in the money, but yet to get to a cemetery with the train, there had to be money that passed hands, but was it all one price?

This is one subject that I have never persued, so there are so many answers to questions to find out.




Cheers
KHP

[charlotteCH]

khp... who ever does think straight

Re who paid for the train?  I'd think the family of the deceased unless it was a scheduled funeral train that burials had to fit in with... but even then I'd guess the dec'd family paid to have the coffin transported and maybe paid for several carriages to accomodate the mourners...

In the case I quote at the beginning of this thread, money was not tight so the family would have paid and the mourners been taken free.  Of course there would have been a return trip by train after the interrment... so many things we never know about...

charlotte