91-648: The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in North West England with sea ports in South West Wales . The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and it was only able to build a line between Llanidloes and a junction with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway 5 miles (8 km) east of Brecon . The line
182-583: A 30%+ Black British population. In contrast, the town of St. Helens in Merseyside, unusually for a city area, has a very low percentage of ethnic minorities with 98% identifying as White British. The City of Liverpool, over 800 years old, is one of the few places in Britain where ethnic minority populations can be traced back over dozens of generations: being the closest major city in England to Ireland, it
273-544: A Sunday. Goods traffic on the line had always been varied. Although timber had been handled at two of the private sidings and stone at the Llanelwedd siding, there were no important industries along the route itself; it was through traffic, apart from some local sheep transfers. Kidner quotes a foreman on the line from 1920 to 1964: there was slate from the Cambrian's northern lines going to South Wales; dolomite from
364-441: A definite plan, and when implemented it was one of the greatest projects of municipal dam building. The nearest station was Rhayader and the area was remote, and would need a railway connection to reach all the dam sites. By October 1893 a junction had been made just south of the tunnel near Rhayader ; the Cambrian erected a 40-lever signal box by the junction, controlling access to a loop. The Birmingham Water Works Committee worked
455-465: A direct service with the other "Wells" towns, Llandrindod, Llanwrtyd and Llangamarch , but this would have required a double reverse at Builth Road. In fact shuttle trains operated and passengers changed at the junction. In the early 1890s Birmingham Corporation determined that the Elan Valley could be dammed to make a reservoir to supply some of Birmingham 's needs. In 1892 the idea became
546-529: A further summit at Tir Celyn was next, then falling for 6 miles (10 km) to Boughrood , in the Usk Valley . From Three Cocks there was another steep climb of 7 miles (11 km) to Talyllyn . There were two short tunnels. North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of Cheshire , Cumbria , Greater Manchester , Lancashire and Merseyside . The North West had
637-623: A junction at a place later known as Three Cocks , and continuing to Talyllyn to join the Brecon and Merthyr Railway there. This had been merely a proposed branch so far as the Mid-Wales was concerned, but having lost Llandovery a second time, the MWR now treated this as its main line. This was authorised by an act of Parliament, the Mid Wales Railway (Extensions) Act 1860 ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. cxxxiii), on 3 July 1860. The connection to
728-463: A level that it was impossible for a company the size of the Cambrian, which had limited potential, to meet expenses out of revenue." The new Great Western Railway was formed from its seven constituents from 1 January 1922. Due to the amalgamation tribunal not giving its assent until March, the actual date of amalgamation was 25 March 1922. During the 1930s the GWR made great efforts to stimulate traffic on
819-684: A population of 7,417,397 in 2021. It is the third-most-populated region in the United Kingdom, after the South East and Greater London . The largest settlements are Manchester and Liverpool . The official region consists of the following subdivisions : After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the metropolitan boroughs , making them equivalent to unitary authorities. In April 2011, Greater Manchester gained
910-578: A similar return train ran on Saturday afternoons. The government decided to merge most of the numerous independent railways of Great Britain into one or other of four new large companies, in a process called the "grouping of the railways" under the Railways Act 1921 . The Cambrian Railways , of which the Mid-Wales Railway network was now a part, was to be a constituent of the new Great Western Railway group. Summary statistics prepared for
1001-473: A summit near Pantydŵr , at 947 feet (289 m) above sea level. The line then descended into the Wye Valley at similar gradients, with only a short respite at St Harmons and a short climb at Rhayader . This descent continued to milepost 18 (29 km) beyond Doldowlod , after which the line undulated, ending in another steep descent to Builth , 27 miles (43 km). A three-mile (5 km) climb to
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#17327797453301092-755: A top-tier administrative body in the form of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority , which means the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs are once again second-tier authorities. North West England is bounded to the east by the Pennines and to the west by the Irish Sea . The region extends from the Scottish Borders in the north to the West Midlands region in the south. To its southwest is North Wales . Amongst
1183-559: Is home to a significant ethnic Irish population, with the city being home to one of the first ever Afro-Caribbean communities in the UK, as well as the oldest Chinatown in Europe. The table below is not how many people belong to each ethnic group (e.g. a BBC News article in 2008 claimed there are over 25,000 ethnic Italians in Manchester alone whilst only 6,000 Italian-born people live in
1274-600: Is still predominant throughout the county, and stretches as far north as Furness in South Cumbria to parts of north Greater Manchester and Merseyside in the south of the region. The region boasts some of the most distinctive accents in the form of the Scouse accent, which originates from Liverpool and its surrounding areas, and the Manc accent, deriving from the central Manchester district. Both of these descend from
1365-653: The 2019 United Kingdom general election , the Labour Party won a plurality of seats in the North West. It is one of the two regions (along with Yorkshire and the Humber ) that were expected to hold a referendum on the establishment of an elected regional assembly . However, when the North East region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, further referendums were cancelled and
1456-690: The Brecon and Merthyr Railway , a triangular layout was adopted, and the Mid-Wales Railway built a station at the North Junction, with platforms for trains to Brecon and also to Dowlais , the latter being on the East Loop. The B&MR built a station by the West Junction. As a result Talyllyn had two stations to serve a tiny population: in 1900 Brynderwen had nine houses and Talyllyn eleven. A length of line extending 29 chains (580 m) east from Three Cocks Junction towards Hereford
1547-486: The Cambrian Railways Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. cclxii) preserved the MWR rights concerning running powers over parts of the other lines. The directors of the Mid-Wales Railway still hoped to get part of the traffic they had anticipated if they had reached Llandovery, as they had originally proposed. A spur connection at Llechryd to the proposed Central Wales Extension Railway would at least give
1638-456: The Indices of deprivation 2007 , the region has many more Lower Layer Super Output Areas in the 20% most deprived districts than the 20% least deprived council districts. Only North East England shows more indicators of deprivation than the North West, but the number of affluent areas in the North West is very similar to Yorkshire and the Humber . The most deprived local authority areas in
1729-538: The Industrial Revolution hundreds of thousands of Welsh people migrated to the North West of England to work in the coal mines. Parts with notably high populations with Welsh ancestry as a result of this include Liverpool , Chester , Skelmersdale , Widnes , Halewood , Wallasey , Ashton-in-Makerfield and Birkenhead . The Mixed Race population makes up 1.3% (93,800) of the region's population. There are 323,800 South Asians , making up 4.7% of
1820-586: The Llynclys quarry to Ebbw Vale and Dowlais , one train per day for many years. Some structural steel, fabricated or semi-fabricated, came off the Cheshire Lines railway and down through the Mid-Wales for export at Cardiff. Details emerged in early Spring of 1962 of proposals to be put to the Transport Users' Consultative Committee to close all the three lines into Brecon. The last train on
1911-584: The Manchester , Liverpool , Swansea & Milford Haven Junction Railway". This went to Parliament, competing for approval with other schemes. It was passed, but in a much truncated form, with the title the Mid-Wales Railway, to construct a line from Llanidloes to Newbridge-on-Wye by way of Rhayader . At Llanidloes it would connect with the L&;NR, and from there to the national railway network. The Mid Wales Railway Act 1859 ( 22 & 23 Vict. c. lxiii)
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#17327797453302002-669: The Scandinavian influence throughout the North West. Through the Middle Ages the dialects of the North West would have been considerably different from those spoken in the Midlands and south. It was only with the spread of literacy (particularly with the publication of the King James Bible ) that Standard English spread to the region. Even so, local dialects continued to be used and were relatively widespread until
2093-553: The Solway Coast , and almost all of the Forest of Bowland ). Weather in this part of England is typically classified as maritime, moist and temperate, with a moderate annual temperature range. Average annual precipitation in the UK typically ranges from approximately 800 mm to 1,400 mm. Temperatures are generally close to the national average. Cumbria usually experiences the most severe weather, with high precipitation in
2184-404: The electromagnet in 1825. Sydney Chapman , a mathematician from Eccles , in 1930 explained the ozone–oxygen cycle in the stratosphere , being the first to propose that atmospheric oxygen or ozone molecules absorb (harmful UVB and UVC) ultraviolet wavelengths of light in photolysis , to produce reactive single atoms which accumulate to form the ozone layer . Graphene was discovered at
2275-537: The 19th and 20th centuries. In modern times, English is the most spoken language in the North West, with a large percentage of the population fluent in it, and close to 100% conversational in it. To the north-east of the region, within the historic boundaries of Cumberland , the Cumbrian dialect is dominant. The historical county of Lancashire covered a vast amount of land, and the Lancashire dialect and accent
2366-537: The Brecon and Merthyr Railway would give access not only to Brecon, but also to the mineral areas of Dowlais and Merthyr Tydfil over that line. The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway (HH&BR) would build from Hereford to Glasbury only, with the Mid-Wales Railway to adopt its powers for a line southward from Glasbury as far as Talyllyn. This was to be over the old Hay Tramway , which was to be upgraded and realigned to make it suitable for locomotive operation. However,
2457-561: The Brecon and Merthyr Railway) was authorised, and the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway in 1857. The Mid-Wales Railway had no intention of terminating at Newbridge, and the company tried again to get access to Llandovery . In Parliament in the 1860 session it lost out against the Central Wales Extension Railway, and had to make do with powers to join the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway at Glasbury , making
2548-555: The Central Wales Extension Railway opened from Llandrindod to Builth Road . The rest of the CWER to Llandovery was not opened until 1 June 1868. The spur was transferred to the London and North Western Railway when it took over the CWER on 4 July 1870. In 1864 the Mid-Wales Railway was receiving mineral traffic from Dowlais over the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, but the connection to Merthyr, which would be more productive of through traffic,
2639-634: The Conservatives four, whilst Lancashire is competitive between Labour and Conservative (8 seats each); the Labour seats in Lancashire are concentrated in the south of the county along the M65 . For the region, the Labour gained 3 seats; there was a 5.2% swing from Conservative to Labour. In the 2015 general election, Liverpool Walton was the safest seat in the UK, with a 72% majority, and in 2017 this
2730-475: The Conservatives have 20, and the Liberal Democrats have 1. The Lib Dems' North West seat is in south Cumbria; Labour dominates Greater Manchester, and the Conservatives' vote is concentrated in affluent suburban areas such as Cheadle , Hazel Grove and Altrincham and Sale West . Labour seats also predominate in Merseyside. In Cheshire the 2015 result was reversed, with Labour winning seven seats and
2821-541: The HH&;BR powers and construct that part of the route. On 23 July 1860, the Manchester and Milford Railway (M&MR) was authorised by the Manchester and Milford Railway Act 1860 ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxv), also to start from Llanidloes and to run to Pencader . Although Parliament passed the Manchester and Milford Railway Act 1860 and the Mid Wales Railway (Extensions) Act 1860 a few weeks apart, it
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2912-691: The Lake District. Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Blackburn and Preston are among the region's many English place names. In the 9th to the 11th centuries, Danes from the east and Norsemen from Ireland and Scotland began settling in the area. The North West is really the only area of England where Norse settlement was significant and their influence remains in the place names and dialect of the region. Elements like fell , thwaite and tarn , which are particularly common in Cumbria, are all Norse. The numerous Kirkbys and place names with "holm" and "dale" show
3003-502: The Lancashire dialect but have some distinctions from it, especially Scouse. The region's accents are among those referred to as ' Northern English '. Large immigrant populations in the North West result in the presence of significant immigrant languages. South Asian languages such as Urdu , Hindi and Punjabi are widespread, with the largest number of speakers residing in Preston , Blackburn and Manchester. The Chinese once made up
3094-454: The Mid-Wales Railway paid the B&;MR £400 per annum plus £400 for working expenses for both the Brecon and Talyllyn stations. The B&MR built a new station at Talyllyn; it opened on 1 October 1869. While it was being built the B&M's old station, called Brynderwen, could not be used, so trains from Brecon to Dowlais set back from the east junction to the platform of the Mid-Wales station on
3185-612: The Mid-Wales Railway ran on 30 December 1962. Rhayader yard was left open for coal concentration (not rail connected) until 5 April 1965, as were the depots at Builth Wells and Talgarth. Builth Road low level yard continued to be served by the curve from the Central Wales until 6 September 1965. The Mid-Wales Railway ran through hilly country. From a zero mileage at Llanidloes in the Severn Valley it climbed almost continuously at typically 1 in 77 for 7 miles (11 km) to
3276-580: The Mid-Wales board feared that the HH&;BR might demand an unreasonable price to surrender its line, so they arranged for the acquisition to be authorised in Parliament, by the Mid Wales Railway Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. lxv) of 12 June 1861. The continuation from Talyllyn into Brecon was also to be mostly over the Hay Tramway route, and the Brecon and Merthyr Railway would adopt
3367-662: The Mid-Wales line by excursions and cheap tickets. Such events as the Brecon Agricultural Show, the Radnorshire Show, or the Shrewsbury Floral Fete were the occasion for cheap fares or special trains, though timetabled trains were more often used. There were some remarkable long distance excursions, such as Builth Wells to Liverpool , good value at 6 shillings. Another 6-shilling trip was an excursion from Llanidloes to Barry Island on
3458-467: The North West are as follows: Liverpool and Manchester are sometimes considered parts of a single large polynuclear metropolitan area , or megalopolis but are usually treated as separate metropolitan areas. In some studies, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester is considered part of the Liverpool metropolitan area. The North West of England has historically been held by the Labour Party . In
3549-582: The North West from around the 7th century AD, when the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria first appears to have made inroads west of the Pennines. The language at this time would have been the Northumbrian dialect of Old English . The high percentage of English place names in the region as a whole suggests English became almost ubiquitous over the coming centuries, particularly in the area south of
3640-476: The North West's population resides in Greater Manchester, 21.39% in Lancashire, 20.30% in Merseyside, 14.76% in Cheshire and 7.41% live in the largest county by area, Cumbria. According to 2009 Office for National Statistics estimates, 91.6% (6,323,300) of people in the region describe themselves as 'White': 88.4% (6,101,100) White British , 1.0% (67,200) White Irish and 2.2% (155,000) White Other . During
3731-529: The North West). The proportion of people residing in North West England born outside the UK was 11.7% in 2021, compared with 8.2% in 2011 and 5.1% in 2001. Below are the fifteen largest overseas-born groups in the region according to the 2021 census, alongside the two previous censuses: One in five of the population in the North West is Catholic , a result of large-scale Irish emigration in
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3822-695: The UK in 2019, 31.23% voted for the Brexit Party, with Labour polling 21.91%, the Liberal Democrats 17.15% and the Green Party 12.48%. The Conservatives came fifth in the region with 7.55% of votes cast. The earliest known language spoken in the North West was a dialect of the Brythonic language spoken across much of Britain from at least the Iron Age up to the arrival of English in the first millennium AD. Fragments of this early language are seen in
3913-597: The University of Manchester in 2004 under Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov . At the Calico Printers' Association in Manchester in 1941, John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson discovered polyethylene terephthalate , known as PET, a common polyester compound found in plastic bottles and food, and also known as Terylene or Dacron. Cheslene and Crepes of Macclesfield discovered crimplene ,
4004-401: The area served by the entire line; the largest town served by the Mid-Wales Railway (MWR) trains was Brecon with a population of 5,000. Llanidloes was an important centre, but its commerce was orientated more towards Newtown and Shrewsbury . Builth had a population of 1,200 when the line was opened; Rhayader had 1,000. In consequence local business on the line was always light. Emphasis
4095-740: The better known of the North West's physiographical features are the Lake District and the Cheshire Plain . The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike , Cumbria, at a height of 3,209 ft (978 m). Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, while Broad Crag Tarn on Broad Crag is England's highest lake. Wast Water is England's deepest lake, being 74 metres deep. A mix of rural and urban landscape, two large conurbations , centred on Liverpool and Manchester , occupy much of
4186-639: The company amalgamated with the Cambrian Railways in 1904. Use of the line declined from the 1930s onwards, and very limited use of the line resulted in closure on 30 December 1962. As the mainline network of England and Wales began to take shape in the 1840s, the centre of Wales remained without a railway. There were several proposals to cross the region by a trunk railway, in some cases to connect industrial England to coastal ports in West Wales. For some time none of these came into effect, and it
4277-494: The company carried in that period was iron ore from Northamptonshire to South Wales, routed forward over the B&MR, and the MWR share of the transit was only between Three Cocks and Talyllyn. Moreover, the MWR found it difficult to match the GWR's quoted rates for carrying coal from South Wales to Birkenhead; the only traffic which did grow was inwards carriage of lime: in 1865, 8,000 tons were carried. A crisis came when Watson & Overend gave up their lease and stopped working
4368-449: The company, which would otherwise almost certainly have failed. On 2 September 1859 the first sod of the northern part of the Mid-Wales Railway was cut at Rhayader . There was the customary banquet afterwards, and some directors made adverse remarks about Davies and Savin's financial involvement, which was felt to compromise the board's authority. The truth was that without that money, there would have been no railway, but unnecessary friction
4459-589: The dominant party in the region by seat count, with the Conservatives total now standing at 27. The Conservatives made two gains in Cheshire, three gains in Lancashire, five gains in Greater Manchester, notably including Andy Burnham 's former seat of Leigh. In the 2017 general election , the area was dominated by the Labour Party. Fifty-five per cent of the region's electorate voted Labour, 36.3% Conservative, 5.4% Liberal Democrat, 1.9% UKIP and 1.1% Greens; however, by number of parliamentary seats, Labour have 54,
4550-461: The duplicated part of the lines and allow the two companies to use it. The point of divergence of the two southward routes was Penpontbren, about two miles (3 km) from Llanidloes. The M&MR built part of its line from Penpontbren to Llangurig , a distance of about two miles (3 km), and a single goods train traversed the stub of line , after which it became dormant. By this time the M&;MR
4641-399: The east loop. In 1879 the MWR's debenture holders went to court in the Chancery Division , and a receiver was appointed. The company had issued £275,706 in debentures and was unable to meet the interest. Nevertheless after lengthy hearings, the action was dismissed and the receiver was discharged. The company was allowed to raise a further £40,000 in debentures, and a scheme of arrangement
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#17327797453304732-485: The existence of the atomic nucleus . Sir J. J. Thomson of Cheetham Hill discovered the electron (given its name in 1891 by George Johnstone Stoney ) in April 1897 and received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906; his son George Paget Thomson would win the Nobel Prize for Physics 1937 for discovering electron diffraction (at the University of Aberdeen). John Dalton , from Cumbria and moved to Manchester, developed atomic theory . William Sturgeon of Lancashire invented
4823-490: The fabric that is now referred to as polyester. ICI Dyestuffs at Hexagon House , in Blackley in north Manchester, discovered Procion dyes. At the Winnington Laboratory on 27 March 1933, Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson discovered polythene in an ICI laboratory in Northwich, when reacting benzaldehyde with ethene at a pressure of 2,000 atmospheres ; the process was improved in 1935 by Michael Perrin . Llandovery Too Many Requests If you report this error to
4914-446: The inscriptions and place names of the Roman era. In some parts of the region, the Brythonic dialect developed into the medieval language known today as Cumbric , which continued to be spoken perhaps as late as the 12th century in the north of Cumbria. This early Celtic heritage remains today in place names such as Carlisle , Penrith and Eccles , and many river names such as Cocker , Kent and Eden . English may have been spoken in
5005-426: The largest minority in the region (as Liverpool has one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Europe), and still do to the far north where Chinese is spoken by small but significant communities. Since the enlargement of the EU, over one million Poles have immigrated to the UK, a large number of them settling in the North West. Places such as Crewe as well as larger cities make Polish written information available for
5096-473: The line as a result of the failure of Savin, who had backed Watson financially. At short notice the MWR company had to find an alternative way to work the line. In late February 1865 the directors tried to interest other companies in working it, including the Midland Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , both of which were known to be interested in expanding their activities into Wales; however both declined. Under an 1871 agreement
5187-406: The line itself after the initial setting-up period. The signal box and junction loop were opened in June 1894; the exchange sidings were not completed until August 1895, although a press and VIP visit had been run on 10 July 1894. Some of the construction workers lived in Llanidloes, and for them a workmen's train was put on by the Cambrian early on Monday mornings, running non-stop to Rhayader; also
5278-591: The line on 23 August 1864. Remedial work was necessitated by the Board of Trade inspecting officer's refusal to sanction opening for passenger traffic earlier. Full goods services (apart from the east loop at Talyllyn) operated from 1 September 1864. The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway service from Hereford to Brecon was running by 19 September, traversing the MWR from Three Cocks Junction to Talyllyn. Ordinary Mid-Wales passenger trains probably started on 21 September, although special trains were run on 19 and 20 September for Brecon Races, with borrowed engines. Before long,
5369-463: The line would be passing through... one of the richest mineral districts in Britain", they would seek powers to exploit any minerals found during construction. The company's supporters still planned to reach Llandovery as part of the onward thrust towards south-west Wales, but Brecon was also considered to be a useful destination. Other railways were approaching Brecon: also in 1859 the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (usually referred to as
5460-466: The local minority populations. In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), North West is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKD", which (since 2015) is subdivided as follows: Population > 400,000 Population > 100,000 Population > 70,000 Population > 50,000 Population > 30,000 Population > 20,000 Population > 10,000 Population > 5,000 The five largest metropolitan areas in
5551-406: The mountainous regions of the Lake District and Pennines. In winter, the most severe weather occurs in the more exposed and elevated areas of the North West, once again mainly the Lake District and Pennine areas. Source: Office for National Statistics Mid Year Population Estimates in 2008 North West England's population accounts for just over 13% of England's overall population. 37.86% of
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#17327797453305642-427: The national railway network. Next, the Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway made a connection to the O&NR at Buttington in 1862, forming a route from Newtown to the Midlands and London . After a number of false starts, a practicable route across Mid Wales gathered support in March 1859, when a meeting was held to further what became the Mid-Wales Railway. At that time it was described as "the Mid-Wales section of
5733-413: The nineteenth century as well as the high number of English recusants in Lancashire . Of the nine regions of England, the North West has the fourth-highest GVA per capita —the highest outside southern England. Despite this the region has above average multiple deprivation with wealth heavily concentrated on very affluent areas like rural Cheshire, rural Lancashire, and south Cumbria. As measured by
5824-486: The population, and 1.1% Black (80,600). 0.6% of the population (39,900) are Chinese and 0.5% (36,500) of people belong to another ethnic group. North West England is a very diverse region, with Manchester and Liverpool amongst the most diverse cities in Europe. 19.4% of Blackburn with Darwen 's population are Muslim, the third-highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London. Areas such as Moss Side in Greater Manchester are home to
5915-411: The possibility of reaching Llandovery, and from there onwards to south-west Wales. A connection was agreed near Builth where the lines intersected, and the MWR got powers on 30 June 1864 in the Mid Wales Railway Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. cxlii). It opened a station called Llechryd (for Central Wales) near the intersection in April 1866, and the spur was brought into use on 1 November 1866, when
6006-435: The process showed that the Cambrian Railway group were not paying a dividend in 1921. Semmens claims that the Cambrian Railways finished the year with a good balance on its books, which showed a profit of £122,970. Christiansen and Miller say "the increases in trade and fares were not sufficient to keep the small companies buoyant and everything was against them remaining independent any longer. Costs and wages had soared to such
6097-425: The proposals for elected regional assemblies in England put on hold. The regional leaders' forum, 4NW is based on Waterside Drive in Wigan . The former North West England European Parliament constituency had the same boundaries as the Region. Ten English regions were established by the government in 1994. At that time, Merseyside , which already had its own Government Office, formerly the Merseyside Task Force,
6188-519: The public, to much controversy. Other immigrant languages with a presence in the North West are Spanish, mainly amongst the Latin American communities in Liverpool and Manchester , as well as various other Eastern European and Asian languages. The most taught languages in schools across the North West are English, French and Spanish. German and Italian are available at more senior levels and, in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, even Urdu and Mandarin are being taught to help maintain links between
6279-416: The region (based on specific wards within those borough areas) are, in descending order—Liverpool, Manchester, Knowsley, Blackpool, Salford, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rochdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Halton, Hyndburn, Oldham, Pendle, St Helens, Preston, Bolton, Tameside, Wirral, Wigan, Copeland, Sefton, and Rossendale. In 2007 when Cheshire still had district councils, the least deprived council districts in
6370-399: The region by council district, in descending order, were—Congleton, Ribble Valley, Macclesfield, and South Lakeland. These areas have Conservative MPs, except South Lakeland has a Lib Dem and Labour MPs. At county level, before it was split into two, Cheshire was the least deprived, followed by Trafford, and by Warrington and Stockport. In March 2011, the overall unemployment claimant count
6461-502: The several networks centred on Newtown decided that they needed to join up with one another, and in July 1864 the Cambrian Railways company was formed by the amalgamation of four existing companies: the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway , the Oswestry and Newtown Railway , the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway , and the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway (the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway would join soon after). The Mid-Wales Railway did not participate in this amalgamation, but
6552-626: The single line were at Builth Wells or Three Cocks. In 1874 a service was begun of three trains a week from Llanidloes to Neath ; a Mid-Wales engine worked through to Neath. From 1880 in summertime through carriages were run from Cardiff over the Rhymney Railway via Bargoed and on over the B&MR to Talyllyn Junction, then over the Mid-Wales and Cambrian Railways to Aberystwyth . Mid-Wales carriages were also kept at Cardiff Queen Street and Newport High Street stations. Much of this traffic went through to Cambrian Railway resorts, but some
6643-629: The south of the region. The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is largely rural, as is the far south which encompasses parts of the Cheshire Plain and Peak District. The region includes parts of three National parks (all of the Lake District , and small parts of the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales ) and three areas of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (all of Arnside and Silverdale and
6734-554: Was 3,425 compared with the national average of 10,095. Through goods services should have been lucrative, but the company found that the big companies, the Great Western Railway and the London and North Western Railway in particular, which had their own established trunk routes in Wales, were not prepared to quote through goods rates in competition with their own business. Half of the 36,000 tons of mineral traffic that
6825-556: Was 4.2% for the region. Inside the region the highest was Liverpool with 6.8%, followed by Knowsley on 6.3%, Halton with 5.5% and Rochdale with 5.1%. The lowest claimant count is in Eden (Cumbria) and Ribble Valley (Lancashire) each with 1.3%, followed by South Lakeland with 1.4%. In the 2019 general election , the Conservatives gained ten seats, from the Labour Party, with no other seats changing hands. Labour held 42 of their 52 seats, albeit many with slimmed down majorities. They remain
6916-469: Was 70 miles (110 km) long and opened in 1864. The company found it impossible to raise the share subscription, but the contractor partnership of Davies and Savin agreed to build the line and take shares in payment, The line passed through terrain requiring steep gradients and sharp curves in a sparsely populated area with little local traffic, and the limited long distance business was costly to operate. Finding continued independence impossible to sustain,
7007-525: Was a local line, the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway , that first occupied part of the area. It was 17 miles (27 km) long, it opened in 1859, and it was not connected to any other railway. Newtown was a centre of the flannel manufacturing industry. The Oswestry and Newtown Railway (O&NR) followed in 1861; it connected to the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway at Oswestry , giving access to
7098-469: Was declared to be Mid-Wales property: the intention had been to make a triangular junction here, as at Talyllyn; there would have been an East Junction where the line entered the cutting to go under the Glasbury road. This was not proceeded with, but the Mid-Wales company owned what would have been the south-to-east arm of the triangle. The Mid-Wales Railway operated a special demonstration train throughout
7189-407: Was drawn up under which holders of 'A' stock would receive 4 per cent from 1 July 1879 and of 'B' stock 3.5 per cent. Most of the new capital would of course be consumed in paying back interest to existing debenture holders; it was a delaying operation, and it did not resolve anything. In 1887 an agreement was concluded whereby the Cambrian Railways took over the working of the Mid-Wales Railway; it
7280-585: Was effective from 1 July. During its independent days the Mid-Wales Railway did not alter its basic passenger train service from three trains per day each way down the whole line. There were in addition short workings from Builth Wells , and sometimes other stations south, to Llechryd to make connection with the Central Wales line trains. The early timetables of the Mid-Wales Railway showed Dowlais (and Merthyr when opened) as if they were its own stations; in fact all stations from Talyllyn to Dowlais Top and Merthyr were listed. All regular passenger train crossings on
7371-455: Was for Llandrindod Wells , and this was handled by arranging connecting trains at Llechryd, with the Central Wales line of the LNWR. At about this time the connection at Builth Road with the Central Wales line was altered to take passenger traffic, but it seems that passenger trains did not operate for some time. From the tourism point of view, its only value would have been to put Builth Wells on
7462-561: Was generated by intemperate remarks. In fact Davies and Savin themselves fell out shortly afterwards, and parted company with each other and with the company before any construction was actually started. A fresh contractor, Alexander Thomas Gordon, took on the work. Little work was done by Gordon due to continuing money shortage, and he was followed by James Overend and John Watson on 26 March 1862. Like Davies and Savin, they were to be paid in shares: 223,000 ordinary shares, 117,000 debentures and 200,000 Lloyds bonds. At Talyllyn Junction , with
7553-420: Was having serious doubts about the wisdom of continuing construction over the difficult terrain to reach Llangurig from the south, and made the huge decision to divert the line to Aberystwyth instead. The Llangurig stub remained, disused, and the M&MR paid the L&NR interest charges and operating and maintenance costs on the enlarged Llanidloes station , which it would now never use. The effect of all this
7644-436: Was laid more on passenger than goods services as there were few freight originating points. Goods carried in the last half of 1865 amounted to some 12,000 tons which yielded about a quarter of the gross receipts. Figures for the first half of 1865 showed that working expenses of £6,550 represented nearly 58 per cent of the receipts of £11,312. The national average at the time was 46%. The number of trains run for each mile of route
7735-481: Was not noticed that for the first 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km) from Llanidloes, the two railways would occupy the same ground. This fact emerged as construction was being planned, and each company wanted to build the duplicated section, and permit the other to use the line for a fee. Both companies refused the other's idea, and finally a compromise was agreed: the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway would build
7826-486: Was not open until 1 August 1868. It provided a direct outlet to Cardiff and the Rhondda and Taff valleys, and from the opening day coal trains ran through from South Wales to Birkenhead . There was massive demand for coal at Birkenhead for bunkering steamships, and South Wales steam coal was particularly desirable for the purpose. The population of mid-Wales was tiny: there were probably under 20,000 people living in
7917-533: Was passed on 1 August 1859; authorised capital was £150,000. The line's supporters still saw it as part of a trunk express route, and the greatly reduced parliamentary powers were, they believed, a temporary setback. Despite the sharp curves and steep gradients, the Shrewsbury Journal repeated the promoters' publicity that "express trains at the highest speeds reached can be run with the greatest ease and perfect security". The directors believed that "as
8008-659: Was regarded as a separate region. In 1998, Merseyside was merged into the North West region. This action was controversial in some quarters. Regional Government Offices were abolished in April 2011 by the Coalition Government. Sir Ernest Marsden (of Blackburn) and Hans Geiger conducted the Geiger–Marsden experiment at the University of Manchester in 1909, where the Geiger counter was invented, which demonstrated
8099-454: Was repeated with a 77% majority for Dan Carden (Labour), when an astonishing 85.7% of the electorate voted for him (the Conservatives came second with 8.6%). In the by-election of 2012 , Manchester Central has the record for the lowest turnout in the UK—18%. Gwyneth Dunwoody , for Crewe and Nantwich, was the longest serving female MP until her death in 2008. In the final European Elections in
8190-457: Was that the MWR joined the L&NR end-on at Penpontbren, and not at Llanidloes, but had shared ownership (with the L&NR and the M&MR) of the Llanidloes station. The company had found raising the subscriptions for construction almost impossible, and the contractors David Davies and Thomas Savin , enjoying considerable success in railway building in Wales, had agreed to construct the line, taking shares as most of their payment. This saved
8281-409: Was to be effective from 1 January 1888. The working agreement proved a success and encouraged thought of amalgamation. Early in 1903 the decision was taken to do so, although it was not until 28 October 1903 that measures to present an authorising bill was finally taken. This was passed as the Cambrian Railways (Mid Wales Railway Amalgamation, &c.) Act 1904 ( 4 Edw. 7 . c. xxvi) of 24 June 1904, and
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