Sleepers consisted of sandstone blocks of about 4 cu ft each in cuttings, and Kyanised larch sleepers, 9 ft × 11 in × 5 in, on embankments. Opening On Wednesday 3 July 1839, the line was formally opened from Manchester to Littleborough and two trains conveying the directors and invited guests ran as far as Summit Tunnel. On the following day the line opened to the public over that section; 3,100 passengers were carried. The fare for the thirteen and a half miles from Manchester to Littleborough was 1st class 4s, 2nd class 2s 6d, and 3rd class 6d. The chief booking-clerk at Manchester was Thomas Edmondson who had invented a machine for printing railway tickets on cards of standard size, numbered progressively, and another machine for stamping the date on each ticket. Edmondson's ticket system and machines were used into the 1970s, almost identical with those first used on the M&LR in 1839. The next section that opened was from Normanton to Hebden Bridge on Monday 5 October 1840. The North Midland Railway had opened its line to Leeds, using its own terminus at Hunslet Lane on 30 July. As the eastern end of the M&LR was isolated by the uncompleted Summit Tunnel, the NMR provided locomotives for this section until the line was completed. Passengers could now book from Manchester to Leeds, the journey from Littleborough to Hebden Bridge was made in road coaches provided by the company. The line from Hebden Bridge to Summit tunnel opened on 31 December 1840. When Summit Tunnel was completed, the line was inspected by Sir Frederick Smith who sanctioned its opening to the public on behalf of the Board of Trade in February 1841. The main line opening took place on Monday 1 March 1841. The timetabled four trains each way on Sundays encountered strong opposition from religious bodies. The board was divided and the chairman and two directors resigned in protest against running Sunday trains. First train services The first timetable showed nine passenger trains each way except Sundays when there were four. The first weekday eastbound train started from Sowerby Bridge. The trains alternated between all stations and semi-fast, the latter calling at eight intermediate stations compared with 15 intermediate stops for all-stations trains. The stopping trains took about 3 hours and 20 minutes to and from Leeds, the semi-fast trains took 2 hours and 45 minutes. The fact