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84-529: The Methley Joint Railway (or Methley joint line ) was a short English railway line constructed by the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway company, connecting its Leeds direction line with other companies' eastward routes to York, the north-east, and Goole. The line connected collieries along its route. The BW&LR changed its name to the West Yorkshire Railway at the same time. The line

168-514: A branch led to the MR Nottingham station. The Great Northern Railway by then passed through Grantham and both railway companies paid court to the fledgling line. Meanwhile, Nottingham had woken up to its branch line status and was keen to expand. The MR made a takeover offer only to discover that a shareholder of the GN had already gathered a quantity of Ambergate shares. An attempt to amalgamate

252-763: A few miles north of Matlock in 1849. However the M&;BR had become part of the LNWR in 1846, thus instead of being a partner it had an interest in thwarting the Midland. In 1863 the MR reached Buxton, just as the LNWR arrived from the other direction by the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway . In 1867 the MR began an alternative line through Wirksworth (now the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway ), to avoid

336-579: A link between Wakefield and Leeds . It was worked by the Great Northern Railway , and gave that company a much improved access to Leeds. Although worked by the GNR, the company took the initiative in seeking extensions to its network, and in the 1863 session of Parliament the BW&;LR sought powers for a branch from Lofthouse to Methley and another to Low Moor , and to change its name to

420-655: A minimum dividend of 6%. On 1 February 1866 the West Riding and Grimsby Railway was opened, jointly owned by the Great Northern Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway . Part of the line formed a direct link between Doncaster and Wakefield, leading on to the former BW&LR line. At last the GNR had a direct route under its own control from Doncaster to Leeds. The West Yorkshire Railway network had become an integral part of

504-569: A proposal that the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway and the BW&LR should amalgamate, but the idea came to nothing. In fact both lines were dependent on the Great Northern Railway for the majority of their income. The BW&LR obtained an act of Parliament on 23 July 1860 for a branch to Ossett . It was single line, and left the main line at Wrenthorpe [south] junction, just north of Wakefield. It ran as far as Roundwood colliery, carrying mineral traffic from 6 January 1862. Soon after it

588-424: A third route between Wakefield and Bradford. In the 1863 session of Parliament the BW&LR sought powers to change its name to the West Yorkshire Railway, and this was sanctioned by an act of Parliament of 21 July 1863. Also in the 1863 session of Parliament the BW&LR sought powers for a branch to Methley , and this too was sanctioned by the act of Parliament of 21 July 1863, giving running powers over

672-545: Is a marvel of Gothic Revival architecture , in the form of the Midland Grand Hotel by Gilbert Scott , which faces Euston Road , and the wrought-iron train shed designed by William Barlow . Its construction was not simple, since it had to approach through the ancient St Pancras Old Church graveyard. Below was the Fleet Sewer, while a branch from the main line ran underground with a steep gradient beneath

756-636: The Bedford to Hitchin Line , joining the GN at Hitchin for King's Cross. The line began its life in a proposition presented for the shareholders by George Hudson on 2 May 1842 as: "To vest £600,000 in the South Midland Railway Company in their line from Wigston to Hitchin." a full decade before realisation. The delay was partly due to the withdrawal of GN's interest in the competing scheme,

840-639: The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway found a place elsewhere in Hudson's empire with the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway , though he later returned. The MR was in a commanding position having its Derby headquarters at the junctions of the two main routes from London to Scotland, by its connections to the London and Birmingham Railway in the south, and from York via the York and North Midland Railway in

924-477: The Great Northern Railway was authorised in 1846 to build a railway line from London to York . York was already reached from London by linked railways in the group controlled by George Hudson , the so-called Railway King. His business methods were tough and effective, but they were also underhand and dishonest, and eventually he was found out and disgraced. The Great Northern Railway promoters had wanted branches to Sheffield and Leeds , but these were cut out of

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1008-563: The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway in 1912. It had running rights on some lines, and it developed lines in partnership with other railways, being involved in more 'Joint' lines than any other. In partnership with the GN it owned the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway to provide connections from the Midlands to East Anglia, the UK's biggest joint railway. The MR provided motive power for

1092-763: The Midland Counties Railway , the North Midland Railway , and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway , the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway joined two years later. These met at the Tri-Junct station at Derby, where the MR established its locomotive and later its carriage and wagon works. Leading it were George Hudson from the North Midland, and John Ellis from the Midland Counties. James Allport from

1176-728: The North British Railway had built the Waverley Line through the Scottish Borders from Carlisle to Edinburgh. The MR was obliged to go ahead and the Settle to Carlisle opened in 1876. The Nottingham direct line of the Midland Railway opened for goods traffic on 1 December 1879 and for passenger traffic on 1 March 1880. By the middle of the decade investment had been paid for; passenger travel

1260-615: The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway , and was a one-third partner in the Cheshire Lines Committee . In 1913, the company achieved a total revenue of £15,129,136 (equivalent to £1,880,400,000 in 2023) with working expenses of £9,416,981 (equivalent to £1,170,440,000 in 2023). With the onset of the First World War in 1914, unified Government control of the Midland, and all the main line railways,

1344-482: The BW&LR gave the GNR direct access to Leeds without running over the rival Midland Railway, and without the necessity to reverse direction on the approach to Leeds itself. This was a very considerable advantage for the GNR, and from 12 November 1857 the company transferred most of its long-distance trains on to the route. From November 1857 the GNR complained about poor permanent way conditions between Wakefield and Leeds, and threatened to transfer its traffic back to

1428-608: The Bedford and Leicester Railway, after Midland purchased the Leicester and Swannington Railway and the Ashby Canal and Tramway, which were to have been the feeder lines. With the competition thwarted there was less rush to have this line as well as its branch lines to Huntingdon (from Kettering) and Northampton (from Bedford) finished. Both these branches were subsequently built by independent companies. While this took some of

1512-578: The Bristol to Birmingham route. While the two parties were bickering over the price, the MR's John Ellis overheard two directors of the Birmingham and Bristol Railway on a London train discussing the business, and pledged that the MR would match anything the Great Western would offer. Since it would have brought broad gauge into Curzon Street with the possibility of extending it to the Mersey, it

1596-505: The GNR using the two faces on the east side. A permanent station with an island platform was provided at Dewsbury. The new double-track line was 1 mile 74  chains (1.93 miles, 3.10 km) in length, from a new Dewsbury junction on the Ossett-Dewsbury line, leaving the temporary Dewsbury terminus station at the end of a 31 chains (620 m) branch, thereafter used only for goods and minerals. General traffic began on

1680-413: The Great Northern Railway system in the area. The Ossett and Batley line passed Dewsbury by, and the GNR decided to make a new line connecting Dewsbury into the system. An act of Parliament of 24 July 1871 authorised this. Work started on 9 April 1872; the project included doubling the line from Wrenthorpe junction to Ossett; this was completed to Runtlings Lane junction by August 1873. A new north curve

1764-654: The Great Northern Railway, which operated their trains, and the occasional talk of absorption by the GNR became serious. In the face of strenuous L&YR opposition, the West Yorkshire Railway (former BW&LR) as well as the LB&;HJR passed into GNR possession. The GNR took over working of the WYR on 1 January 1865, ratified by an act of Parliament of 5 July; the one third share of the Methley Joint line became GNR property from 5 September. The WYR shareholders were guaranteed

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1848-724: The L&;YR. There was a fourteen span viaduct in its 49 chain length. Goods traffic began in 1887; the curve was sanctioned by the Board of Trade for passenger operation in October 1887, but no regular service was run until 1893, when a joint GNR/L&YR Leeds-Pudsey-Cleckheaton-Batley-Leeds circular service was introduced. The passenger service from Wakefield to Dewsbury (and on to Drighlington ) closed from 8 September 1964. The entire line from Adwalton through Batley to Wrenthorpe Junctions, near Wakefield, closed on 15 February 1965, except for

1932-634: The LNWR was settled before the Settle and Carlisle was built, but Parliament refused to allow the MR to withdraw from the project. The MR was also under pressure from Scottish railway companies, which were eagerly awaiting the Midland traffic reaching Carlisle as it would allow them to challenge the Caledonian Railway 's dominance on the West Coast traffic to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Glasgow and South Western Railway had its own route from Carlisle to Glasgow via Dumfries and Kilmarnock, whilst

2016-540: The LNWR, in what became known as the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee . Continuing friction with the LNWR caused the MR to join the MS&;LR and the GN in the Cheshire Lines Committee , which also gave scope for wider expansion into Lancashire and Cheshire, and finally a new station at Manchester Central . In the meantime Sheffield had at last gained a main-line station. Following representations by

2100-682: The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. For the first time a direct communication from Halifax to London without break of journey was created. Although the LB&HJR was independent, the beginnings of a Great Northern Railway network in West Yorkshire were visible. Nevertheless, there were still some significant gaps in the railway system, and another independent company, the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway secured its authorising act of Parliament on 10 July 1854. Authorised share capital

2184-463: The Leicester and Hitchin railway cost £1,750,000 (equivalent to £222,460,000 in 2023). By 1860 the MR was in a much better position and was able to approach new ventures aggressively. Its carriage of coal and iron – and beer from Burton-on-Trent – had increased by three times and passenger numbers were rising, as they were on the GN. Since GN trains took precedence on its own lines, MR passengers were becoming more and more delayed. Finally in 1862

2268-462: The MR joined with the Manchester and Birmingham Railway (M&BR), which was also looking for a route to London from Manchester, in a proposal for a line from Ambergate . The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway , it received the Royal Assent in 1846, in spite of opposition from the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway . It was completed as far as Rowsley

2352-672: The MR was a connection between Sheffield and Manchester, by a branch at Dore to Chinley , opened in 1894 through the Totley and Cowburn Tunnels, now the Hope Valley Line . In the 1870s a dispute with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) over access rights to the LNWR line to Scotland caused the MR to construct the Settle and Carlisle line, the highest main line in England, to secure access to Scotland. The dispute with

2436-454: The Methley route of the Midland Railway. In October the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway gave notice that from 1 January 1858 it would appoint its own station staff. The GNR abruptly withdrew its engines and coal wagons, in effect ceasing to work the line. The BW&LR hurriedly had to acquire engines and wagons of its own. For a few months it hired wagons from the GNR. In 1859 there was

2520-720: The Midland's infrastructure remains in use and visible, such as the Midland Main Line and the Settle–Carlisle line , and some of its railway hotels still bear the name Midland Hotel . The Midland Railway originated from 1832 in Leicestershire / Nottinghamshire , with the purpose of serving the needs of local coal owners. The company was formed on 10 May 1844 by the Midland Railway (Consolidation) Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. xviii) which merged

2604-432: The Midland, but it still had designs on Manchester. At the same time the LNWR was under threat from the GN's attempts to enter Manchester by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway . In 1850 the MR, though much more secure, was still a provincial line. Ellis realised that if it were to fend off its competitors it must expand outwards. The first step, in 1853, was to appoint James Allport as general manager, and

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2688-593: The NER as far as Milford junction, and started a goods service to that point from Bradford on 8 June 1866. The GNR began running a passenger service over the Joint Line from 1 May 1869, and from 13 May GNR trains started to work through to the NER station at Castleford from both Wakefield and Leeds. In reply the Midland Railway commenced a Leeds-Castleford service on 1 August, but despite the more direct route it

2772-528: The North Eastern Railway at Methley Joint Line junction; there was a spur at Methley connecting to the L&YR. The line opened in August 1865 for goods traffic, but passenger working was delayed until 1 June 1869. The south curve at Lofthouse was brought into use on 1 May 1876. The West Yorkshire Railway, together with the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway, had become dominated by

2856-534: The North Eastern Railway from Methley to Castleford . The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the North Eastern Railway had opposed this line, but they had acquiesced on the promise of its being made joint with them. This was ratified by an act of Parliament of 23 June 1864, and the line became known as the Methley joint line, or the Methley Joint Railway. The railway diverged from the West Yorkshire Railway at Lofthouse North junction, and joined

2940-495: The West Yorkshire Railway (former BW&LR), L&YR, and NER. The L&YR and the NER subscribed £25,000 of capital each, so that the Joint Line capital of £75,000 was equally shared. A Methley Joint Committee was set up, each company appointing two directors: the first meeting was on 8 August 1864. Stations were to be at Stanley and Methley, also at Lofthouse, (at the junction with the main line). In addition, sidings were provided at Lofthouse Alum Works, and at several collieries;

3024-537: The West Yorkshire Railway. The Lofthouse to Methley branch and change of title were sanctioned by an Act of 21 July 1863, but the Low Moor branch was rejected. The Act also authorised running powers over the North Eastern Railway from Methley to Castleford (and towards York ) and over the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from Pontefract to Leeds. The L&YR and the North Eastern Railway had strongly resisted

3108-562: The authorisation in Parliament. Leeds was an important commercial centre, and the GNR had to take alternative steps to reach it. For a time the only possibility was over the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from Askern Junction (north of Doncaster ) to Knottingley and Methley , and from there over the Midland Railway to Gelderd Junction, immediately outside the Leeds Central station. GNR trains making that journey finally reached

3192-521: The authorisation of the line, but an agreement was made with those companies to admit them to joint ownership of the line, in return for their not opposing the absorption of the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway and the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway by the GNR. By an Act of 23 June 1864, the Methley Railway (as the branch had now been named) transferred to the joint ownership of

3276-518: The cities concerned were provided with a rail service, it would make it more difficult to justify another line. They were approved while the bill for the direct line was still before Parliament, forming the present day Lincoln Branch and the Syston to Peterborough Line . The Leeds and Bradford Railway had been approved in 1844. By 1850 it was losing money but a number of railways offered to buy it. Hudson made an offer more or less on his own account and

3360-532: The coalfields that became its major source of income. Passengers from Sheffield continued to use Rotherham Masborough until a direct route was completed in 1870. Meanwhile, it extended its influence into the Leicestershire coalfields, by buying the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1846, and extending it to Burton in 1849. After the merger, London trains were carried on the shorter Midland Counties route. The former Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway

3444-471: The council in 1867 the MR promised to build a through line within two years. To the MR's surprise, the Sheffield councillors then backed an improbable speculation called the Sheffield, Chesterfield, Bakewell, Ashbourne, Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway. This was unsurprisingly rejected by Parliament and the Midland built its "New Road" into a station at Pond Street. Among the last of the major lines built by

Methley Joint Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3528-660: The decision was taken for the MR to have its own terminus in the Capital, as befitted a national railway. On 22 June 1863, the Midland Railway (Extension to London) Bill was passed: The new line deviated at Bedford, through a gap in the Chiltern Hills at Luton , reaching London by curving around Hampstead Heath to a point between King's Cross and Euston. The line from Bedford to Moorgate opened for passenger services on 13 July 1868 with services into St Pancras station starting on 1 October 1868. St Pancras station

3612-488: The eastern extremity of the line, it bifurcated, platforms being provided on both forks at Methley station, and a 30 chain spur connected with the L&YR at a junction at Methley named Lofthouse junction. The double track line needed three Board of Trade inspections before it was approved, in 1865. On 19 September it was passed for passenger traffic. Goods traffic was begun in June or August 1865. The GNR's account for working

3696-431: The fork to Lofthouse Junction (L&YR), but no regular passenger service appears to have used them. The West Yorkshire Railway (formerly Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway) was absorbed by the Great Northern Railway, effective from 1 January 1865. This was confirmed by an Act of 5 July, and the one third share of the Methley Joint line passed to the GNR from 5 September 1865. The GNR soon obtaining running powers over

3780-482: The former NER line. The line closed completely on 23 February 1981. Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway The BW&LR later built a branch line from near Wakefield to Batley, opening in stages to 1863. In that year it changed its name to the West Yorkshire Railway , and planned a branch line from Lofthouse to Methley, forming an eastwards link to other companies' lines. It agreed to make

3864-455: The line for the first half of 1867 was £510. The NER stated that the charges were 20% too high, to which the GNR retorted that if the NER desired to work the line for 20% less it was welcome to do so. Passenger operation was delayed despite agitation from the local population: it was not until 1 June 1869 that a passenger service was run. Lofthouse South fork was not in regular passenger use in its early years. Platforms were provided at Methley on

3948-584: The line gave the MR an exit to the north, which became the start of the Settle and Carlisle line, and it gave the MR a much more convenient station at Leeds Wellington . In spite of the objections of Hudson, for the MR and others, the "London and York Railway" (later the Great Northern Railway ) led by Edmund Denison persisted, and the bill passed through Parliament in 1846. In 1851 the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway completed its line from Grantham as far as Colwick , from where

4032-566: The line jointly with the North Eastern Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , and the branch line became the Methley Joint Railway , opening in 1865. In that year the West Yorkshire Railway (former BW&LR) was absorbed by the Great Northern Railway. The original main line is part of the present-day electrically operated Doncaster to Leeds main line. At the conclusion of a Parliamentary struggle,

4116-517: The line was double track. A fixed toll on all traffic would be paid into a joint fund. Up to 18 March 1867 each company had subscribed £34,500 for the joint line. The railway diverged from the West Yorkshire Railway at Lofthouse [North] junction; at first the access was from the north alone. The line was 5 miles 3 chains (8.1 km) long, and joined the former York and North Midland Railway line (now North Eastern Railway) at Methley Joint Line junction. At Methley High Level junction, close to

4200-562: The line with the GN was foiled by Ellis, who managed to obtain an Order in Chancery preventing the GN from running into Nottingham. However, in 1851 it opened a new service to the north that included Nottingham. In 1852 an ANB&EJR train arrived in Nottingham with a GN locomotive at its head. When it uncoupled and went to run round the train, it found its way blocked by a MR engine while another blocked its retreat. The engine

4284-626: The merger of the standard gauge Birmingham and Gloucester Railway and the broad gauge Bristol and Gloucester Railway . They met at Gloucester via a short loop of the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway . The change of gauge at Gloucester meant that everything had to be transferred between trains, creating chaos, and the C&;GWU was owned by the Great Western Railway , which wished to extend its network by taking over

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4368-415: The new Wrenthorpe curve, increased to eight each way on weekdays in June. A collapse in the financial markets caused the GNR to defer proceeding to Batley, and the parliamentary powers to do so lapsed; they were authorised once again by an act of Parliament of 12 July 1877. An agreement was made with the London and North Western Railway to rebuild Batley station: the new station had two island platforms,

4452-495: The new line on 12 April 1880; most of the trains which had used the old West Yorkshire single line between Ossett and Batley were diverted via Dewsbury. The old line was now referred to as the Chickenley Heath branch. A railmotor operated a shuttle service between Ossett and Chickenley Heath, but a parallel tram service killed that off: it closed on 1 July 1909. A connecting line was built at Dewsbury from Dewsbury Goods junction (formerly Dewsbury junction) to Headfield junction on

4536-550: The next was to shake off the dependence on the LNWR to London . Although a bill for a line from Hitchin into King's Cross jointly with the GN , was passed in 1847 it had not been proceeded with. The bill was resubmitted in 1853 with the support of the people of Bedford, whose branch to the LNWR was slow and unreliable, and with the knowledge of the Northamptonshire iron deposits. The Leicester and Hitchin Railway ran from Wigston to Market Harborough , through Desborough , Kettering , Wellingborough and Bedford , then on

4620-421: The north. Almost immediately it took over the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway and the Erewash Valley Line in 1845, the latter giving access to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coalfields. It absorbed the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway in 1847, extending the Erewash Valley Line from the latter between Chesterfield and Trent Junction at Long Eaton , completed to Chesterfield in 1862, giving access to

4704-432: The pressure off the route through Rugby, the GNR insisted that passengers for London alight at Hitchin, buying tickets in the short time available, to catch a GNR train to finish their journey. James Allport arranged a seven-year deal with the GN to run into King's Cross for a guaranteed £20,000 a year (equivalent to £2,410,000 in 2023), . Through services to London were introduced in February 1858. The construction of

4788-435: The problem of the Ambergate line. The section from Wirksworth to Rowsley, which would have involved some tricky engineering, was not completed because the MR gained control of the original line in 1871, but access to Manchester was still blocked at Buxton. At length an agreement was made with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) to share lines from a branch at Millers Dale and running almost alongside

4872-421: The section from Roundwood Colliery (near Flushdyke) to Wrenthorpe North Junction, which closed on 31 October 1965. In the 1980s a major project of electrification was implemented on the East Coast Main Line and associated routes. The Doncaster to Leeds line was included, and the first electric train ran from Doncaster to Leeds in August 1988. The original main line of the BW&LR continues in use as part of

4956-545: The station by reversing over a short length of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway . The first GNR trains reached Leeds by this route on 1 October 1849. The Midland Railway was firmly under the control of George Hudson and was therefore hostile to the GNR, but Hudson was at the final stage of his powers and his initial antagonism became ineffective. On 1 August 1854, the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway opened its line between Leeds and Bowling, near Bradford . Great Northern Railway trains ran over it, reaching Halifax over

5040-420: The station to join the Metropolitan Railway , which ran parallel to what is now Euston Road. The construction of the London Extension railway cost £9,000,000 (equivalent to £1,022,840,000 in 2023). From the 1820s proposals for lines from London and the East Midlands had been proposed, and they had considered using the Cromford and High Peak Railway to reach Manchester ( See Derby station ). Finally

5124-400: The symbols of Birmingham, Derby, Bristol, Leicester, Lincoln and Leeds. The wyvern , a legendary bipedal dragon, was used extensively as an emblem by the Midland, having inherited it from the Leicester and Swannington Railway . The MR, which used a wyvern sans legs (legless) above its crest, asserted that the "wyvern was the standard of the Kingdom of Mercia", and that it was "a quartering in

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5208-406: The town arms of Leicester". The symbol appeared on everything from station buildings and bridges down to china, cutlery and chamber pots in its hotels, and was worn as a silver badge by all uniformed employees. However, in 1897 the Railway Magazine noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia". It has been associated with Leicester since

5292-438: The tracks was a perpetual hazard; in 1892 it was recommended that the line be lifted by as much as four feet for a length of 500 yards. By an agreement of 20 October 1870, the GNR was allowed 33% of gross receipts for working the Methley Joint passenger service, altered on 1 January 1885 to 1s per mile for "all trains necessary to the branch". Several new collieries were opened along it and suitable sidings put in. The signalling

5376-424: The trunk electrified Doncaster to Leeds line. The short section between Wakefield Kirkgate and Wakefield Westgate has not been electrified, but carries an approximately hourly passenger service between Knottingley and Leeds. The Ossett and Batley line, and the Methley joint line, are closed. Midland Railway The Midland Railway ( MR ) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 . The Midland

5460-432: The whole system was so overloaded that no one was able to predict when many of the trains would reach their destinations. At this point Sir Guy Granet took over as general manager. He introduced a centralised traffic control system, and the locomotive power classifications that became the model for those used by British Railways. The MR acquired other lines, including the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway in 1903 and

5544-585: Was a viaduct with three brick arches of 30 feet span. A new platform at a higher level was provided at Flushdyke, although to reach it passengers had to cross the rails of the earlier line. The BW&LR had obtained an act of Parliament on 17 May 1861 to further extend the line to Batley , a distance of 3 miles 55 chains. The new line was to make a junction with the LB&HJR line at Batley. The works were considerable, including two tunnels: Chickenley Heath (47 yd) and Shaw Cross (209 yd). The single line route opened on 15 December 1864. The combined branches formed

5628-528: Was altered for interlocking in preparation for installation of the block system, ready for two new services beginning on 1 May 1876. A south curve at Lofthouse, making a triangular junction there, and a new joint station were brought into use on 1 May 1876. Lofthouse Joint station was built on the curve, and was located on a 1 in 90 gradient. The station and curve carried a service of six trains each way on weekdays and two on Sundays between Wakefield (Kirkgate) and Milford Junction via Methley. Lofthouse Joint station

5712-410: Was closed. At the grouping of 1923 the line passed to the joint ownership of the LMS and the LNER. The passenger service using the Lofthouse south curve was discontinued from 17 June 1957. On 5 May 1958 diesel multiple unit trains began working from Leeds Central over the Methley Joint Line into Castleford Central (as the NER station had been renamed), and then continued to Pontefract. This service

5796-402: Was discontinued from 2 November 1964, when the Methley Joint Line was closed to all passenger traffic. The western end of the line from Lofthouse junctions to Newmarket (Silkstone) Colliery was closed completely from 5 April 1965; the colliery traffic was accessible to and from the Methley end only; the connection at Methley to the L&YR was closed from 27 March 1967, leaving only the route to

5880-408: Was double track and stations were at Wakefield (Westgate), Lofthouse, and Ardsley. The new line was opened on 5 October 1857, following a ceremonial opening on 3 October; it was worked by the Great Northern Railway which already worked the majority of trains on the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction line. GNR trains could already run from the south to Wakefield over the L&YR. The opening of

5964-518: Was double track, just over five miles in length, between junctions at Lofthouse and Methley. The connected Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the North Eastern Railway were brought in to joint ownership of the line in 1864, and the line opened in 1865; passenger traffic was delayed, starting in 1869. A variety of passenger train services operated over the route, but the line closed to passenger trains in 1964, and completely in 1981. The Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway had opened in 1857, forming

6048-523: Was extended to a station named "Ossett", in fact at Flushdyke, opening on 7 April 1862, but minerals had been carried between Roundwood Colliery sidings and Wrenthorpe since 6 January. Captain Rich of the Board of Trade inspected the new line on 12 March 1864 and found it satisfactory, and the remainder of the line to Ossett was opened for traffic on 2 April 1864. It was a single line, 65 chains long, and there

6132-497: Was imposed through the medium of the Railway Executive Committee. The Midland retained its private sector independence, being given income to match 1913 levels, but was required to undertake huge volumes of military traffic, largely freight, with little opportunity to maintain the network and rolling stock. At the end of the war, the railways were worn out and it was obvious that resumption of pre-war business

6216-530: Was impossible. The Government passed the Railways Act 1921 by which all the main line railways were amalgamated into one or other of four new large concerns, in a process known as the "Grouping". The Midland Railway was a constituent of the new London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) from the beginning of 1923; it was the largest joint stock company in the world. The MR operated ships from Heysham to Douglas and Belfast . The coat of arms combines

6300-420: Was increasing, with new comfortable trains; and the mainstay of the line – goods, particularly minerals – was increasing dramatically. Allport retired in 1880, to be succeeded by John Noble and then by George Turner. By the new century the quantity of goods, particularly coal, was clogging the network. The passenger service was acquiring a reputation for lateness. Lord Farrar reorganised the expresses, but by 1905

6384-436: Was left with the traffic to Birmingham and Bristol , an important seaport. The original 1839 line from Derby had run to Hampton-in-Arden : the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway had built a terminus at Lawley Street in 1842, and on 1 May 1851 the MR started to run into Curzon Street . The line south was the Birmingham and Bristol Railway , which reached Curzon Street via Camp Hill . These two lines had been formed by

6468-537: Was made at Wrenthorpe, opened to goods trains from March 1875 and passenger trains from 1 May 1876. The new line was 2 miles 1  chain (2.01 miles, 3.24 km) in length to a temporary Dewsbury terminus station. Goods traffic to Dewsbury began on 1 May 1874 and passenger trains on 9 September, when a service of 14 trains each way on weekdays and five each way on Sundays was put on between Wakefield and Dewsbury. On 1 May 1876 six trains each way on weekdays and three on Sundays began between Leeds and Dewsbury via

6552-696: Was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby , where it had its headquarters. It amalgamated with several other railways to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at grouping in 1923. The Midland had a large network of lines emanating from Derby, stretching to London St Pancras , Manchester , Carlisle , Birmingham , and Bristol . It expanded as much through acquisitions as by building its own lines. It also operated ships from Heysham in Lancashire to Douglas and Belfast . A large amount of

6636-595: Was progressing slowly through the Lake District, and there was pressure for a direct line from London to York. Permission had been gained for the Northern and Eastern Railway to run through Peterborough and Lincoln but it had barely reached Cambridge . Two obvious extensions of the Midland Counties line were from Nottingham to Lincoln and from Leicester to Peterborough. They had not been proceeded with, but Hudson saw that they would make ideal "stoppers": if

6720-691: Was renamed Lofthouse in the February 1881 timetable, and again renamed Lofthouse & Outwood in July 1888. After the withdrawal of the North Eastern Railway York to Leeds service via Methley, the portion of the Methley branch between Methley Joint Junction and Methley Junction fell into disuse for passenger services, but the track was not removed until 1943. On 4 October of that year the Methley Junction L&;YR station

6804-518: Was shepherded to a nearby shed and the tracks were lifted. This episode became known as the "Battle of Nottingham" and, with the action moved to the courtroom, it was seven months before the locomotive was released. The London and Birmingham Railway and its successor the London and North Western Railway had been under pressure from two directions. Firstly the Great Western Railway had been foiled in its attempt to enter Birmingham by

6888-464: Was something that the other standard gauge lines wished to avoid, and they pledged to assist the MR with any losses it might incur. In the event all that was necessary was for the later LNWR to share Birmingham New Street with the Midland when it was opened in 1854, and Lawley Street became a goods depot. The MR controlled all the traffic to the North East and Scotland from London. The LNWR

6972-599: Was soon taken off. An even shorter-lived experiment was a through GNR service from Bradford to York via the Methley Joint Line, which was operated only in the summers of 1876 and 1877. The Methley Joint station at Methley was the third in this locality, its nearest namesake being Methley Junction on the L&YR Pontefract line. At its eastern end the MJR crossed the floodplain of the River Calder, and inundation of

7056-531: Was £180,000. It was to be built from the Wakefield station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, via Ardsley, to Wortley Junction on the LB&HJR, near Leeds. Wortley Junction was to be formed as a triangular junction, enabling direct running from Wakefield towards Bradford and Halifax. The originating point was Ings Road Junction, immediately west of the Wakefield station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, later Wakefield Kirkgate station . The line

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