followed by an M&LR Act on 1 July, which also authorised branches to Oldham and Halifax. There was considerable controversy because a southern route was strongly advocated; the L&MR in particular was attracted to a connection to the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, giving better connections southwards, at the cost of failing to connect the Bolton line at all, and of requiring some form of transshipment for Leeds traffic, because of incompatibility in the levels. It took some time to pacify the dissenters, but a new L&MR Act was obtained on 30 July 1839, finalising the matter. The M&LR part of the construction was beset by accidents, but it was opened on 1 January 1844. The extension descended to Hunt's Bank with gradients from 1 in 47 to 1 in 59. A stationary engine was provided at Miles Platting to work the incline by rope. The Hunt's Bank station was named Victoria from the beginning, and at the time of its completion was the largest station in the country. Even so, a single platform was considered sufficient for all the traffic, the west end for the Liverpool trains and the east for the Leeds trains: it was 852 ft long. The trains were hauled up to Miles Platting by a wire rope; descending trains were controlled by brake wagons in front. In the Railway Chronicle 3 May 1845 (p 500), Hawkshaw is reported as saying that the use of the stationary engine had been largely discontinued, the ordinary engines taking up passenger and goods trains weighing over eighty tons. It thus seems that the rope haulage might have been in operation for only a year and a half. With the opening of Victoria station, Oldham Road station was closed to passengers after only four and a half years of use, and became a goods station. Leeds station The first terminus in Leeds used by the Manchester and Leeds Railway was at Hunslet Lane situated to the south of the City centre and shared with the Midland Railway. In 1846, the Midland Railway transferred most of its services to the centrally situated Wellington Station which was built by the Leeds and Bradford Railway. The Manchester and Leeds Railway stayed at Hunslet Lane after 1846, but diverted most of its trains via the LNWR route through Batley in 1848. This crossed over the Midland Railway Leeds and Bradford line at Holbeck and terminated