Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
Encyclopedia
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 via Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...

. In conjunction with the proposed Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway
Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway
The Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway was an early British railway company which opened in 1849 between Sheffield and Gainsborough and Lincoln...

 and Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway
Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway
The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway was an early British railway company which existed between 1845 and 1847 with the intention of providing rail services between Grimsby, New Holland and Gainsborough in the county of Lincolnshire...

, it was renamed the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...

 in 1847.

Origins

At the end of the eighteenth century the need for improved transport links between Manchester and Sheffield was increasing. The canal route involved a long northwards detour through the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...

, a journey taking eight days; the more arduous direct route by horse and cart took two days.

By the 1820s a number of proposals had been made for canals, and cable railway had been proposed costing upwards of £500,000, but all these ideas had come to nought. Then the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...

 and the authorisation of the Cromford and High Peak Railway
Cromford and High Peak Railway
The Cromford and High Peak Railway in Derbyshire, England, was completed in 1831, to carry minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal wharf at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge -Origins:...

, both in 1825, caught the interest of a land surveyor in Sheffield, Henry Sanderson. In 1826 he published a comparative account of the previous proposals, with one of his own for a line via Edale
Edale
Edale is a small Derbyshire village and Civil parish in the Peak District, in the Midlands of England. The Parish of Edale,area ,is in the Borough of High Peak....

 to meet the Peak Forest Tramway
Peak Forest Tramway
The Peak Forest Tramway was an early horse- and gravity-powered industrial railway system in Derbyshire, England. Opened for trade on 31 August 1796, it remained in operation until the 1920s. Much of the route and the structures associated with the line remain...

. He was initially ignored; but the building of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...

 attracted greater interest locally, and with the support of some Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 financiers, a prospectus of the line - to be called the "Sheffield and Manchester Railway" - was issued in August 1830, with George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...

 appointed to be the engineer.

Sanderson became concerned at the severity of the proposed route via Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately south of Manchester, north of Buxton , east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,226 at the 2001 census. This...

 and over Rushup Edge
Rushup Edge
Rushup Edge is a ridge in the Derbyshire Peak District of England. The ridge's highest point is Lord's Seat at , while Mam Tor lies at its eastern end, beyond which the Great Ridge runs.-References:...

 into the Hope Valley
Hope Valley
Hope Valley could refer to:*The Hope Valley, Derbyshire*The Hope Valley, Shropshire*Hope Valley, Rhode Island, a village*Hope Valley, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth*Hope Valley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide...

. He suggested another, via Penistone, that would involve less tunnelling, and have gentler gradients which could be worked by adhesion locomotives. After much indecision the project was abandoned, and the Sheffield and Manchester company was wound up.

However, in 1835 Charles Vignoles was asked to examine another route, this time via Woodhead and Penistone; and a new company, the "Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway" was formed. The new line could be worked by adhesion, and required only a two mile tunnel. Vignoles and Joseph Locke
Joseph Locke
Joseph Locke was a notable English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway projects...

 were asked to make independent surveys, and in October met to reconcile any differences, at which time they decided that a longer tunnel would reduce the gradients involved.

The line obtained its Act of Incorporation in Parliament in 1837, the only opposition coming from the Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...

, with whom it was agreed that the line from Ardwick
Ardwick
Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...

 would be shared as it passed into a joint station in Manchester.

Construction

Vignoles set to work on the tunnel arranging for it to be marked over the ridge and for the boring of a series of vertical shafts followed by a horizontal driftway along the line of the first bore. Enough land was purchased for two tunnels but only one would be built initially.

For the line itself, the first ground was ceremonially cut near the western end of the tunnel on 1 October 1838. The following year the line had been marked out, land purchase was proceeding well, and construction had begun with Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about one-third of the railways in Britain, and by time of his death in 1870 he had built one...

 as contractor. However a number of shareholders were defaulting on their payments. Moreover, the relationship between the Board and its engineer were becoming increasingly strained. Vignoles resigned and Joseph Locke was asked if he would take over. Locke replied that he was already well occupied with two other railways and that he would act in a consultative capacity if the Board would appoint resident engineers for the day to day supervision of the work.

In 1841 Locke reported that the tunnel would probably cost £207,000,about twice the original estimate, because the amount of water encountered required the purchase of more powerful pumps. However, the line as far as Godley Toll Bar was ready for use and was opened on 11 November using a temporary terminus at Travis Street in Manchester.

Manchester Store Street (now Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...

) was brought into use in 1842, with Gorton and Ardwick shortly after. The line then comprised Ardwick
Ardwick railway station
Ardwick railway station serves Ardwick in Manchester, England. It is about one mile south of Manchester Piccadilly. It was opened by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1842.-History:...

, Gorton
Gorton railway station
Gorton railway station serves Gorton district of the city of Manchester, England. The station is on the Manchester-Glossop Line and the 4 km east of Manchester Piccadilly....

, Fairfield
Fairfield railway station
Fairfield railway station serves the Fairfield area of Droylsden, Tameside, Greater Manchester and is east of Manchester Piccadilly station. It was opened by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1892, when the branch to Chorlton-cum-Hardy opened, and replaced an earlier station...

, Ashton
Guide Bridge railway station
Guide Bridge railway station serves Guide Bridge, a part of Audenshaw, Tameside in Greater Manchester, England and is operated by Northern Rail. The station is 4¾ miles east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Glossop Line.-History:...

, Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...

, Newton & Hyde
Newton for Hyde railway station
Newton for Hyde railway station, serves the Newton area of Hyde, Greater Manchester in Greater Manchester. Newton for Hyde is east of Manchester Piccadilly station and managed by Northern Rail. The station unusually features both a covered subway underneath the platforms and a larger viaduct...

, Broadbottom
Broadbottom railway station
Broadbottom railway station serves the village of Broadbottom in Greater Manchester, England. It is on the Manchester-Glossop Line, east of Manchester Piccadilly. It was opened by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1842...

 and Glossop.
Dinting railway station
Dinting railway station serves the village of Dinting near Glossop in Derbyshire, England. The station is on the Manchester-Glossop Line 20 km east of Manchester Piccadilly. Prior to the Woodhead Line closure in 1981 Dinting was a station on a major cross Pennine route...



The line was opened as far as Woodhead in 1844, with stations at Hadfield
Hadfield railway station
Hadfield railway station serves the village of Hadfield in Derbyshire, England. The station is one of the twin termini at the Derbyshire end of the Manchester-Glossop Line, the other being Glossop. It was opened by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1844.The line formerly...

 and Woodhead
Woodhead
Woodhead is a small and scattered settlement at the head of the Longdendale valley in Derbyshire, England, situated 18 miles from Manchester and 17 miles from Barnsley. It lies on the River Etherow and the Trans Pennine Trail...

. Meanwhile sufficiently powerful pumps had been installed to make good progress in the tunnel, and work on the track to the eastern end from Sheffield was proceeding. This part of the line finally opened on 14 June 1845 with stations at Dunford Bridge
Dunford Bridge railway station
Dunford Bridge railway station was a railway station on the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway situated immediately east of the Woodhead Tunnel, west of Penistone, within the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England....

, Penistone
Penistone railway station
Penistone railway station is a railway station in Penistone, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Train services are provided by Northern Rail...

, Wortley
Wortley railway station
Wortley railway station was a railway station on the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway lying between Deepcar and Penistone. It was built to serve the village of Wortley, near Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...

, Deepcar
Deepcar railway station
Deepcar railway station, originally "Deep Car", is a disused railway station near Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The station, situated on the line built by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, opened on 14 July 1845...

, Oughty Bridge, Wadsley Bridge
Wadsley Bridge Station
Wadsley Bridge railway station was a station in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on the Great Central Railway's core route between Manchester and Sheffield.-History:...

 and Sheffield
Sheffield Victoria Station
Sheffield Victoria was the main railway station in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on the Great Central Railway, between Chesterfield and Penistone.-Early history:...

.

Finally in December of that year the tunnel was ready for the Inspector of Railways. Meanwhile tests were carried out on the Ashton Viaduct which had collapsed during construction, killing seventeen workers. The formal opening of the completed line took place on 22 December 1845 including the tunnel which was then the longest in the country. Two extra stations were added at the site of previous coal sidings at Oxspring
Oxspring
Oxspring is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,048.- History :...

 and Thurgoland
Thurgoland
Thurgoland is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,801. The village has one primary school, the Holy Trinity and a Methodist Chapel. There are four public houses: The Monkey,...

.

Besides Woodhead, there were short tunnels at Audenshaw Road, Hattersley (two), Thurgoland
Thurgoland Tunnel
Thurgoland Tunnel is a double bore abandoned railway tunnel between Penistone and Wortley. Its total length is . It was opened in 1845 on the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway between Manchester Store Street and Sheffield....

 and Bridgehouses. Among the bridges the two most notable were the Etherow Viaduct and the Dinting Vale Viaduct, the latter with five central and eleven approach arches. The line initially terminated at a temporary station at Bridgehouses until Sheffield Victoria station
Sheffield Victoria Station
Sheffield Victoria was the main railway station in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on the Great Central Railway, between Chesterfield and Penistone.-Early history:...

 was built in 1851.

History

Even while the line was being built, the directors were looking at ways to extend the system. The original Sheffield and Manchester plan had been to connect to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...

; the SA&MR approached the L&M with the idea of making a connection, but were rebuffed. However, another approach in partnership with the London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....

 was accepted, and in 1845 the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway was a suburban railway which operated a 13.7 km route between Altrincham in Cheshire and London Road Station in Manchester....

 was put before Parliament, although it would be some years before it was completed.

In 1844 representatives of the proposed Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway (to run from the SA&MR at Sheffield to Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...

) met with the board, who agreed to lease and operate the S&LJR once constructed. Plans were also afoot for a Barnsley Junction Railway to connect Oxspring
Oxspring
Oxspring is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,048.- History :...

 with Royston
Royston
Royston is the name of several places:* Royston, South Yorkshire, England* Royston, British Columbia, Canada* Royston, Hertfordshire England** Royston Town F.C., an English football club* Royston, Glasgow, a district of Glasgow, Scotland...

 on the North Midland Railway
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...

. The Ashton to Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...

 branch, which had been part of the original plan but deferred due to lack of finances, was completed in 1845. In the same year a branch was built to Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...

, which needed no Act, since it was financed by the Duke of Norfolk and ran over his land; the original Glossop station being renamed Dinting
Dinting railway station
Dinting railway station serves the village of Dinting near Glossop in Derbyshire, England. The station is on the Manchester-Glossop Line 20 km east of Manchester Piccadilly. Prior to the Woodhead Line closure in 1981 Dinting was a station on a major cross Pennine route...

.

At about that time the Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...

 made tentative offers to lease the SA&MR line, in conjunction with the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

. Despite the Manchester and Leeds Railway
Manchester and Leeds Railway
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....

 making a counter offer, the directors agreed to take the proposal to Parliament. However, the Manchester and Birmingham was becoming closely associated with the London and Birmingham, and after an energetic intervention by one Dr. Holland, who suggested that the Midland had no real interest in the SA&MR's welfare, the Bill was cancelled.

It was obvious, however, to the SA&MR's directors that the way forward was to expand by amalgamating with other lines, after the pattern being set by the Midland under George Hudson
George Hudson
George Hudson , English railway financier, known as "The Railway King", was born, the fifth son of a farmer, in Howsham, in the parish of Scrayingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, north of Stamford Bridge, east of York. He is buried in Scrayingham...

. In 1845 they gained the shareholders approval for the MSJ&AR, the S&LJR, and the proposed Barnsley Junction Railway. They would also lease the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Company. Also contemplated was a line from Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...

 to New Mills
New Mills
New Mills is a town in Derbyshire, England approximately south-east of Stockport and from Manchester. It is sited at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, on the border of Cheshire. The town stands above the Torrs, a deep gorge, cut through Woodhead Hill Sandstone of the Carboniferous period...

 connecting with the Manchester and Birmingham, and an extension of the Barnsley Junction to Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

 joining the Wakefield, Pontefract and Goole Railway. Another proposed line was the Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway.

At a meeting at Normanton
Normanton
Normanton is the name of several places:In England:*Normanton, Derbyshire*Normanton, Leicestershire*Normanton, Lincolnshire*Normanton, Nottinghamshire*Normanton, Rutland*Normanton, West Yorkshire**Normanton...

 in September 1845, agreement was reached for the SA&MR to amalgamate with the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction, and the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction. To this would be added the Grimsby Docks Company and the East Lincolnshire Railway
East Lincolnshire Railway
The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848 and was closed to passengers in 1970.-History:...

, which was planned to run between Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

 and Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

, although in the end the latter would be taken over by the Great Northern
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....

. The merger received the Royal Assent in July 1846, and the company became the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway on 1 January 1847.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK