Manchester and Leeds Railway

Manchester and Leeds Railway
Industry Railway company
Fate Amalgamation
Successor Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Founded 4 July 1836
Defunct 9 July 1847
Headquarters Manchester and Leeds

Manchester & Leeds Railway

Legend
 miles year
York and North Midland Railway
 to York
North Midland Railway
 to Leeds
 51 Normanton 1840
North Midland Railway
 to Derby
 48 Wakefield Kirkgate 1840
 47 Horbury Junction
closed
1927
 46 Horbury Millfield Road
closed
1961
 44 Horbury and Ossett 1840
 41 Thornhill 1840
 Mirfield 1845
 36 Cooper Bridge 1840
 34 Brighouse for Rastrick 1840
 31 Elland 1840
 Greetland 1844
 28 Sowerby Bridge 1840
 26 Luddendenfoot 1840
 Mytholmroyd
 24 Hebden Bridge 1840
 21 Eastwood 1841
 20 Todmorden 1841
 Walsden 1845
 Summit Tunnel
 14 Littleborough 1839
 Smithy Bridge 1868
 11 Rochdale
1839
1889
 9 Castleton
1839
1875
 6 Mills Hill
1839
1985
 Middleton Junction 1842
 Moston
 Newton Heath 1853
 Miles Platting 1844
0 Manchester Oldham Road 1839
 Manchester Victoria 1844

The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton.

Its route now forms the backbone of the present-day Caldervale Line.

History

It was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1836, with a second Act in 1839 which authorised the extension from the original Manchester terminus at Oldham Road railway station[1] to join the Liverpool and Manchester Railway when the latter was extended to Hunt's Bank (later called Manchester Victoria). The Act also authorised branches to Oldham and Halifax with a diversion at Kirkthorpe. Superintended by George Stephenson, its engineer was Thomas Longridge Gooch, a brother of Daniel Gooch of the GWR.

The 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)[2] line was opened in 1839 as far as Littleborough, and from Normanton to Hebden Bridge in 1840. The final linking section opened on completion of the Summit Tunnel in 1841.

The line became the chief constituent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, which was incorporated in 1847. Several railways had earlier been absorbed by the M&LR:

Route

The line climbed out of Manchester with an average gradient of 1 in 260 (0.38%) until it arrived at the summit and a 2,860 yards (2,620 m) long tunnel at Littleborough. From there it descended towards Normanton.

It used the North Midland's line to run into Leeds since Parliament had refused to sanction two parallel lines. Not an easy line to build, there were eight tunnels in all, mostly through very difficult rock, a hundred and sixteen bridges and long cuttings and embankments. One tunnel, that at Charlestown, had to be given up due its collapse and the continued instability of the ground. This entailed a diversion with some tight curves at variance with the norm for the line of 60 chains (130.62 m). Two large bridges were avoided by diverting the course of the River Calder. In 1951 instability of the track on a retaining wall above the river required a 5mph speed limit until repairs were completed in 1953.[9] The rails were of 15 feet (4.6 m) lengths laid at a gauge of 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) with a mixture of stone blocks and, on the embankments, wooden sleepers.

Locomotives

The locomotives were provided by local manufacturers, to the six-wheeled Stephenson pattern. Carriages were all four-wheeled. First and Second had three compartments, the latter with wooden shutters instead of glazing. The third class was "Stanhopes," that is, without seats, each divided into four sections by lateral and longitudinal bars. There were also some mixed carriages having a first class centre compartment, with the end ones second class. The average weight of a train would be about 18 tons, with an average speed of about 25 MPH (40 km/h), reaching approx. 42 MPH (67.6 km/h) downhill.

The railway was an early user of Edmonsons Ticketing System. Tickets were checked en route, the guard presumably having to move from carriage to carriage by means of the external footboard - just as is described in Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.

Accidents and incidents

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Parkinson-Bailey 2000, p. 53.
  2. ↑ William Templeton - The Locomotive Engine Popularly Explained - Page 96
  3. ↑ Scrivenor 1849, pp. 145–156.
  4. ↑ Scrivenor 1849, p. 144.
  5. ↑ Scrivenor 1849, p. 148.
  6. ↑ Scrivenor 1849, p. 149.
  7. ↑ Scrivenor 1849, p. 150.
  8. ↑ Scrivenor 1849, p. 153.
  9. ↑ Cooke, B.W.C., ed. (June 1954), "Strengthening of River Calder Retaining Wall, N.E.R.", The Railway Magazine, Westminster: Tothill Press, vol. 100 no. 638, pp. 428–429
  10. ↑ Hewison 1983, p. 29.

Bibliography

  • Hewison, Christian H. (1983), Locomotive Boiler Explosions, Newton Abbot: David & Charles, ISBN 0 7153 8305 1 
  • Parkinson-Bailey, John (2000), Manchester: An Architectural History, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0-7190-5606-3 
  • Scrivenor, Harry (1849), The Railways of the United Kingdom, Smith, Elder, and co. 
  • Wells, Jeffrey (2000), The Eleven Towns Railway: The Story of the Manchester and Leeds Main Line, Railway and Canal Historical Society, ISBN 0-901461-21-0 
  • Whishaw, F, (1842) The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland London: John Wheale repub Clinker, C.R. ed (1969) Whishaw's Railways of Great Britain and Ireland Newton Abbot: David and Charles
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