Thornton, West Yorkshire was an important industrial centre, and in 1865 separate proposals were advanced by the L&YR and the GNR for lines to Thornton, but they were rejected by Parliament. During 1870 local businessmen put forward a scheme for a railway from Bradford to Thornton via Clayton and Queensbury; this would connect industrial locations hitherto not served by railways. The project had already been cut back in scope from an earlier project to reach Keighley, on the grounds that such a line would be unaffordable, due to the difficult terrain.