Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway

The Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway was incorporated in 1865 in order to connect the city of Wolverhampton, England with nearby towns such as Walsall, Willenhall and Wednesfield.
Overview.
The railway opened on 1 November 1872 and was initially operated jointly by the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway. The route was 8 miles long.
History.
Although the line was initially jointly run by the London & North Western & Midland Railway companies, disagreements between the partners soon developed, and the railway was bought outright by the London and North Western Railway in 1875. A year later, the L&NWR sold the line to the Midland Railway, who made an end-on connection via the short Walsall Avoiding Line to their Sutton Park Line at the line's western terminus near Ryecroft Junction, with additional south-facing connections added into Ryecroft Junction itself, allowing Midland Railway trains from Birmingham to access either Wolverhampton or Derby - mostly via their own lines.
Originally known as the Wolverhampton, Walsall & Midland Junction Railway the Sutton Park Line had been acquired by the MR on 30 July 1874, its eastern end connecting to the former Birmingham & Derby Junction Railway line at a triangular junction near Castle Bromwich. The acquisition of both the W&WR and the W,W&MJR provided the Midland Railway with a direct route into Wolverhampton from the east of Birmingham. Thanks to the main line connection at Wolverhampton, either or both sections of the combined line were able to be used as diversionary routes during engineering works elsewhere on Birmingham's railway network.
Route.
The line started at Wolverhampton High Level, and had the following stations:
Wednesfield Road terminus.
In 1878, the running powers for the Midland Railway into Wolverhampton High Level ceased, and so the company decided to build a new terminus on Wednesfield Road, just to the east of Wolverhampton Low Level. This would have led to the unusual situation of having three stations for three different companies next to each other, and an Act of Parliament to allow construction of the new station was passed on 28 June 1877. However, the London and North Western Railway also gained an Act on the same day to allow construction of the "Loop Line" between the Grand Junction Railway and Wolverhampton High Level (which would allow the LNWR access to Willenhall and Walsall via that route), and to allow the extension of the High Level station itself. This would have caused access problems for both the Low Level station, and the proposed station at Wednesfield Road. Eventually, the extension plan was dropped, and the Midland Railway managed to renegotiate the use of Wolverhampton High Level. As the proposed new terminal was no longer required, a large goods depot was built in its place which opened in November 1881. This depot was demolished in the 1990s, and is today the site of a large Royal Mail sorting office.
Closure.
Later known as the Walsall to Wolverhampton Line (not to be confused with the modern Walsall to Wolverhampton Line which is the former L&NWR route), it was never particularly successful as a passenger route and enjoyed only a meagre patronage at best. Some stations were closed within only a few years of the line's opening and all passenger services were withdrawn on 5 January 1931. However, the line remained open to goods traffic until 28 September 1964 when it was divided into two sections just west of the former Bentley station by construction work commencing on the Walsall to Stafford section of the M6 motorway.
Part of the western section of the line was closed to all traffic when Short Heath goods yard closed on 7 December 1964, after which the remaining goods traffic still using the line terminated at Willenhall.
The rest of the western section was closed to all traffic on 1 November 1965 when Willenhall goods yard closed. However, the section from Heath Town Junction to Noose Lane near Willenhall was reopened in 1970, although in reality it was little more than a very long siding for steel trains to run along from the former Round Oak Steelworks to the Weldless Tube Company works. When this traffic ceased after the closure of the steelworks on 23 December 1982, the line was closed again in 1983.
The first section of track to be lifted was between Bentley and Birchills Power Station and by 1977, most of the track between Noose Lane, Willenhall and Birchills Power Station had been lifted, though the section to the west of Noose Lane was still used to serve various industrial areas. However, these remaining sections of track were progressively removed during the 1980s.
The eastern section from Ryecroft Junction remained open to serve Birchills Power Station until this traffic ceased sometime in 1978, with the line remaining disused until official closure took place on 12 May 1980. The closure of this section robbed Ryecroft Junction of being the sole surviving four-way junction on Britain's railway network.
Although all scheduled passenger services were withdrawn on 18 January 1965, the former Wolverhampton, Walsall & Midland Junction Railway remains open in 2018 from Water Orton to Ryecroft Junction for freight, with the very occasional railway enthusiasts' charter train forming the only passenger services to use the line in recent years.
The short Walsall Avoiding Line from Lichfield Road Junction to North Walsall Junction which connected both the W&WR and the W,W&MJR together was closed to all traffic in 1967.
In the 1990s, a section of the W&WR trackbed was used for the route of the A4124 Wednesfield Way.
In 2011, the trackbed from Walsall to Bentley via North Walsall was filled in due to anti-social behavior and to preserve the route for possible future use.
Future.
The line was planned to form part of the proposed '5' Ws West Midlands Metro route which would have connected Walsall, Wednesbury, Willenhall, Wednesfield and Wolverhampton but Walsall Council pulled out of the scheme due to lack of funding and the plans were dropped.
The trackbed is still preserved in readiness for part of the Midland Metro scheme. However, the original plans for Line 3 of the Midland Metro which was to run from Wolverhampton to Walsall were officially abandoned in October 2015: the line’s original route being modified to run instead from Wednesbury to the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Brierley Hill, with a later extension planned to Stourbridge via Brettel Lane.
In 2019, it was revealed that the WMCA and TfWM were looking into the feasibility of a third West Midlands Metro Line, from Wolverhampton Station to Walsall Station, via Heath Town, New Cross Hospital, Bentley Bridge, Wednesfield and Willenhall.


Sprat and Winkle Line

The Sprat and Winkle Line was the common name of the Andover to Redbridge railway line which ran between Andover and Redbridge in Hampshire, England. It was built by the Andover and Redbridge Railway, which was incorporated in 1858. In 1863 the uncompleted railway was taken over by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) who opened the line in 1865 and operated it until 1923 when the LSWR amalgamated with several other railways to create the Southern Railway (SR); in 1948 the SR itself amalgamated with other railways to form British Railways. The line was closed by the Beeching cuts in 1967.
Passenger services between Andover Junction and Romsey were withdrawn on 7 September 1964. The line between Andover Junction and Town was used for freight until 18 September 1967. The track remained for four years after the line was closed, but much of the route between Chilbolton and Kimbridge is now used by the Test Way long-distance footpath, and is also part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network.
The line between Romsey and Redbridge is still operational although the intermediate station of Nursling closed in 1957.
Possible origins of the name.
The name of the line has two main possible origins. The first is that the southern part of the line ran close to the mud flats of the River Test where the winkle may be found but it is unlikely that the sprat is found there.
The second possible origin of the name may be after the seafood that was carried from Southampton to Andover.
History.
The Andover and Redbridge Canal defined the original route of the railway line. The canal was fully completed in 1794 and it provided the adequate transport of goods from Southampton to Andover for 63 years.
With the fast expansion of railways around the UK, the canal company decided to convert the canal into a railway to shorten the distance and increase the speed of the route. In 1857 the canal company changed its name to the Andover Canal & Railway Company, and in 1858 the Andover and Redbridge Railway Company obtained an act of parliament to build the line.
The work of converting the canal to a railway started 28 September 1859, with the serving British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Lord Palmerston K.G, ceremonially cutting the first sod. The railway was built on the filled in canal and was opened for traffic on 6 March 1865. Because the line followed the path of the old canal some curves were very sharp and the line was upgraded and realigned when a new course was laid in 1885.
In both the First World War and the Second World War the railway line was invaluable moving troops and war supplies from nearby Salisbury Plain to Southampton on their way to France to fight.
The surrounding area of Redbridge to Andover is rural so the majority of passenger traffic was taking people to the beach during the summer. With the many horse racing stables around the Stockbridge area the railway line was also used to transport racehorses around the country.
With better road networks being built, and in spite of the expansion of Andover, the decision was made to close the line north of Romsey as part of the Beeching cuts of the early 1960s.


The Norfolkman

The Norfolkman was an express passenger train between London Liverpool Street station and Norwich. In the Summer, the service was extended to the Norfolk coast, first at Sheringham and later at Cromer.
The train, usually hauled by a LNER Thompson Class B1 or a BR Standard Class 7 ran along the Great Eastern main line to Norwich; the heyday of the train was in the 1950s. Famous engines that would have hauled this train include 70013 "Oliver Cromwell" and 70000 "Britannia" as they were allocated to Norwich depot (32A). Once at Norwich the train left to go on today's Bittern line to Sheringham, terminating at today's North Norfolk Railway station.
On 9 and 20 September 2008 the train re-ran using steam celebrity 70013, carrying an original "the Norfolkman" headboard.


Henbury Loop Line

The Henbury Loop Line, also known as the Filton to Avonmouth Line is a railway line following the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire between the Severn Beach Line at Hallen Marsh Junction, Avonmouth and the Cross Country Route/South Wales Main Line at Filton. It is currently only used for freight.
History.
The line was opened on 9 May 1910, as a more direct route to Avonmouth docks, and was initially known as the Avonmouth and Filton Railway. Although the line was mainly intended for freight services, passenger services were also provided until 1915, with stations at Filton Halt, Charlton, Henbury and Hallen. In 1917 a small station was opened at Chittening Platform to serve a new factory. The line was fully reopened to passenger traffic in 1922. Filton Halt, Charlton and Hallen stations did not reopen, but in 1926 a new station, North Filton Platform, was opened on the site of Filton Halt. The line closed to passenger traffic in 1964.
In 1971 a curve was opened to link the line to the South Wales Main Line at Patchway. This was to facilitate traffic to and from South Wales, including zoo excursions to Clifton Down.
Reopening.
Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) and other local rail campaign groups support the reopening of the line to passengers, as well as the stations at and . FOSBR suggest this would help services along the Severn Beach Line, allowing a -- service, and also provide services to the north of Bristol generally, the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre, and the redevelopment at Filton Aerodrome. South Gloucestershire Council planning committee recommended in 2011 that the line be re-opened for passenger services.
A consultation document produced for the West of England Partnership by the Halcrow Group suggested passenger services use the line as a spur. Campaigners objected that the suggested services would not call at stations such as and .
A one-off service, operated by First Great Western, ran on the line on 27 July 2013. The train operator hoped to use the service to demonstrate the feasibility of running services over the line, and to make the case for suitable funding. However, any reopening is unlikely before 2018, and depends in part upon the four-tracking of Filton Bank to allow more trains to operate the line from to .
This line has been identified by Campaign for a Better Transport as a candidate for reopening.


Tenbury and Bewdley Railway

The Tenbury and Bewdley Railway was an English railway company that built its line from Bewdley in Worcestershire to Tenbury station, which was in Shropshire. The line connected the Severn Valley Railway at Bewdley with the Tenbury Railway at Tenbury. The Tenbury Railway connected at Woofferton with the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway main line. Two railways were sometimes referred to as the Wyre Forest line or simply the Tenbury Line.
The Tenbury and Bewdley Railway opened its line in 1864. It passed into the control of the Great Western Railway.
The line closed to passenger trains in 1962 and to goods traffic in 1965; there is now no railway activity on the former line.
Conception.
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway opened its line throughout on 6 December 1852. Tenbury was a little over five miles from Woofferton station on that line, and a branch line was planned: it opened on 1 August 1861.
While the Tenbury line was under construction, there was already enthusiasm to extend the line to Bewdley. There were two immediate problems, gathering enough money to pay the Parliamentary deposit, and heading off the suspected hostility of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway. The former was resolved by getting a £9,600 bank loan.
The Bill for the proposed Tenbury and Bewdley Railway went to Parliament in the 1860 session; the S&HR did indeed oppose it, but their opposition was overcome, and the T&BR obtained the Royal Assent on 3 July 1860; capital was to be £120,000. The line would run from a junction with the Tenbury Railway at Tenbury to the Bewdley. There it would make a junction with the Severn Valley Railway, which was then under construction; it was a branch of the Great Western Railway. At this time the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway amalgamated with others to form the West Midland Railway.
Construction and railway politics.
A working arrangement with the West Midland Railway was concluded, by which the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway Company would receive 40% of gross receipts, after payment of interest on the borrowings.
However the Company was unable to raise the money to pay its contractor for the construction, and there was a protracted delay. Eventually in October 1861 instructions were given to commence work. In September 1862 the Shareholders were informed that arrangements had been made to lease the line to the West Midland Railway, giving a dividend of 4% after the first three years.
The main line at Woofferton (the former Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway) had been leased jointly to the London and North Western Railway (50%) and the Great Western Railway and the West Midland Railway (together 50%). The Tenbury Railway was carried into the joint line status; the lease took effect on 1 July 1862.
Meanwhile the construction of the Tenbury and Bewdley had not been progressing well. However eventually preparations were in hand for opening. A serious landslip in Prizeley cutting took place on 24 June, and the planned opening had to be postponed. The earthwork was stabilised, and a ceremonial opening took place on 4 August 1864, although the line had not yet been approved for passenger operation.
Opening.
Captain Tyler of the Board of Trade visited the line on 9 August 1864 and gave his consent to opening for passenger trains. The line opened fully on 13 August 1864.
The line was worked by the Great Western Railway, with which the West Midland Railway had amalgamated in 1863; this was charged at 60% of gross receipts.
Bewdley to Kidderminster line.
The junction with the Severn Valley Railway at Bewdley connected southwards, towards Droitwich Spa, and now much energy was expended in creating a shorter route to Birmingham. This was referred to as the Bewdley Curve or Bewdley Loop, although it was a line of three miles in length between Bewdley and Kidderminster. That line was opened on 1 June 1878 and enabled trains from the Tenbury direction to run direct towards Kidderminster, for Birmingham.
Acquired by the GWR.
The Tenbury and Bewdley Railway company was transferred to the ownership of the Great Western Railway from 1 February 1870. A year earlier, from 1 January 1869, the lease of the Tenbury Railway was converted to outright ownership by the LNWR and GWR, under an agreement of 1 December 1868.
Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway.
The Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway was authorised under a Light Railway Order on 23 March 1901. It was to build a line from a junction with the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway at Cleobury Mortimer. After considerable delay the line was opened to goods traffic on 19 July 1908, passenger trains following on 21 November 1908.
For some years the Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Railway was simply a rural branch line; its passenger service ceased in 1938. The increasing international tension following the Munich crisis of 1938 resulted, among other things, in a search for sites for the storage of naval ordnance. A site at Ditton Priors was considered to be suitable, and preparations were made to construct what became the Royal Naval Armaments Depot, Ditton Priors. It opened in 1940, and the majority of the traffic moved by rail.
The site eventually extended over a very considerable area, and the development brought much goods traffic to the CM&DPR and also the Tenbury and Bewdley line. At the end of World War II the depot was used for decommissioned armaments. In 1955 the branch line was transferred to the ownership of the Ministry of Defence (Admiralty) for £40,000. In 1960 the railway line was finally closed but the Royal Navy continued to use the depot as a non-rail-connected base until 1965.
Train service.
The passenger train service indicated in the Bradshaw's Guide varied little over the years. In 1895 there were four trains daily (not Sundays) between Bewdley and Woofferton, with an additional two on the Tenbury to Woofferton section. By 1910 this had changed to five and four respectively, remaining similar from 1922 to 1960.
Decline and closure.
The rural nature of the Tenbury and Bewdley main line resulted in a steep decline in business as reliable road transport, both passenger and goods, developed. It became plain that the line was heavily loss-making. Closure was proposed in 1960, but a case was made concerning the hardship that closure of the line would cause, especially to schoolchildren who relied on the trains. The decision was taken to close the line from Tenbury Wells to Woofferton completely from 31 July 1961. One passenger train each way daily would run from Kidderminster via Bewdley to Tenbury Wells for a trial period of one year, at times suitable for the schools.
In fact the experimental service for schoolchildren started during the school holidays, and this inauspicious start was followed by minimal use of the trains. The decision was taken to discontinue them, closing the entire line to passenger use; the closure took place on 1 August 1962, a Wednesday.
After closure, a goods service was retained on the branch only as far as Tenbury from Bewdley. All connections with the Shrewsbury and Hereford main line had been removed at Woofferton on 12 November 1961. The goods service to Tenbury was withdrawn on 6 January 1964. The goods service to Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors continued, but that business dwindled further, and on Good Friday 16 April 1965, from which date only the dismantling traffic continued.


Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway

The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester.
The MSJ&AR line operated with three different systems of electrification within a period of about 60 years. The fast, frequent service resulting from the introduction of the first generation of electric trains in 1931 was a significant contributor to suburban development in the Stretford, Sale and Altrincham districts, south-west of Manchester.
The southern part of the MSJ&AR's route has been part of the Manchester Metrolink light rail system since 1992. The northern section between Manchester Piccadilly and Deansgate stations is now an intensively-used section of the National Rail network, used by trains running north and west of Manchester.
Construction.
Manchester London Road railway station (today's Piccadilly) was opened on 8 May 1842. London Road was the terminus for two trunk lines approaching the city from the south and east: the Manchester and Birmingham Railway from Stockport and Crewe, and the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, which at that point ran only as far as Godley, but would eventually be extended to Sheffield via the Woodhead route.
Even in the early days, it was clear that the dead-end terminal at London Road would need to be connected to the other railway lines serving Manchester. The Manchester & Birmingham and the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester companies proposed an extension of their lines which would skirt the southern part of Manchester city centre on a viaduct, and join the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Ordsall Lane in Salford. This was promoted as the South Junction Line. A branch line was also proposed, leaving the South Junction line at Castlefield (west of today's Deansgate station) and following the Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham. The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway Act received royal assent on 21 July 1845.
The engineers were Joseph Locke, George W. Buck and William Baker. Contracts were let on 23 October 1845 to David Bellhouse (for the South Junction) and John Brogden (for the Altrincham Branch). After some haggling over the price of land and other matters, a report of actual construction was presented on 30 October 1846. However work was then suspended as the company had run out of money. A public offering of five-year bonds at 5% per annum raised only £50,000 so a further Act of Parliament (passed on 22 July 1848) was required to increase the capital by £250,000 to £650,000. The two owning companies each provided half of this amount. On 20 January 1849, a viaduct near Oxford Road collapsed as the scaffolding was removed. Three men died and two were injured. Five days later the two adjacent arches failed without injury. The accepted reason was slow setting of the mortar in wet weather.
In the end the Manchester Oxford Road to Altrincham line opened on 20 July 1849, and the South Junction portions from London Road to Oxford Road and from Castlefield Junction to Ordsall Lane were completed on 1 August 1849. In September 1849 the southern terminus was extended a short distance beyond Altrincham to Bowdon.
Steam era.
In the 19th century, the area between Manchester and Altrincham was not intensively settled; it was essentially an area dedicated to farming and market gardening. Altrincham itself was a small market town. The first steam trains operated an hourly service, but that was increased as traffic developed.
In the first forty years or so, most Altrincham trains terminated at Oxford Road station in Manchester, with only a minority extended to the main line terminal at London Road. From the 1890s onwards, most trains were extended to run to London Road, but by then, passenger trains had been withdrawn from the South Junction route to Ordsall Lane.
Following the consolidation of the smaller railway companies in the mid-19th century, the MSJ&AR passed to joint ownership by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), which was the successor of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester and the predecessor of the Great Central Railway. Frequent disagreements between the two owners resulted in the appointment of a full-time independent arbiter to resolve disputes and ensure the day-to-day functioning of the railway.
The MSJ&AR owned its own coaches, but the haulage was provided by locomotives belonging to both the L&NWR and MS&LR companies. The MSJ&AR steam trains were unusual in retaining three classes of passenger accommodation well after most other British companies had dispensed with second class.
On 3 April 1881, the original stations at Bowdon and Altrincham were closed and replaced by a new station located between the two called Altrincham and Bowdon, at the location of today's Altrincham Interchange. Also in 1881, the terminus at the other end of the line at London Road was rebuilt as a curved island platform connected to the main station via a footbridge. This arrangement survives today as the platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly.
1500 V DC electrification.
In the early part of the 20th century, the MSJ&AR steam trains came under increasing competition from electric tramways, which by that time ran the whole way from Manchester to Altrincham and closely followed the route of the railway.
Various electrification proposals were studied to counter this threat, although it was only after the 1923 Grouping that concrete action was taken. Following Grouping, ownership and management of the line was taken over by an MSJ&AR Committee, representing both the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). The LNER was particularly interested in the electrification of mainline railways and in 1928 a government report had recommended 1500 V DC overhead as the national standard system.
Despite the LNER's enthusiasm for electric traction, the LMS was the company responsible for installing most of the new electrification infrastructure on the line, while 22 new 3-car electric multiple units (EMUs) were built for the line by Metropolitan-Cammell to an LMS design. The new rolling stock was of wooden frame construction and a conservative design, with individual compartments throughout (without corridors) and offering both first- and third-class accommodation. The electric multiple units were all based at a new depot, located just south of Altrincham and Bowdon station on the site of the original MSJ&AR Bowdon terminus.
The new trains began test runs in 1930 and on 11 May 1931 the London Road to Altrincham local service became fully electric. Coinciding with the electric service, new suburban stations were opened at Dane Road and Navigation Road. The station formerly called Old Trafford Cricket Ground (which had opened only for matches at the nearby Lancashire County Cricket Club, or Manchester United football ground) was opened full-time and renamed Warwick Road.
The Altrincham Electrics provided a faster, more frequent service than the steam trains they had replaced, and resulted in an 89% increase in patronage on the line within the first five years. The new electric service also stimulated further suburban housing development close to the line, and provided an early example of today's marketing taglines when the railway's publicists dubbed the initials "MSJ&AR" as "Many Short Journeys and Absolute Reliability."
As well as local trains, the Altrincham Electrics also provided express services at certain times of day, making use of a four-track section of line between Sale and Old Trafford. Some of the all-station electric trains ran only between Manchester and Sale, while steam-hauled passenger and goods trains also used the MSJ&AR to travel to destinations beyond the boundaries of electrification at either end of the line. Passenger trains ran from the ex-Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) line from Chester Northgate to Manchester Central, diverging from the MSJ&AR at Cornbrook Junction. There was also a local service from the ex-LNWR line from Warrington Arpley, via Lymm which terminated at Manchester London Road.
The success of the MSJ&AR and the reliability of the 1500 V DC distribution encouraged the LNER to pursue further electrification. These projects were disrupted and delayed by World War II, but in 1954 the first mainline electric railway in northern Britain was completed from Sheffield Victoria to Manchester London Road via the Woodhead route, using 1500 V DC overhead. This line approached London Road from the east and although it was equipped with the same electrification system as the MSJ&AR and had its own fleet of 1500 V DC suburban EMUs (later to be classified as Class 506), the two electric lines were never connected at London Road and the two types of EMU never ventured onto each other's territory.
In common with most railway routes, passenger traffic on the MSJ&AR declined significantly in the 1960s as travel patterns changed and more people had access to private cars. As a result, the Altrincham Electric express services were withdrawn, along some of the rolling stock and many of the goods trains using the route. The quadruple section of MSJ&AR track was reduced to conventional double track in 1963 and Manchester Central station closed on 5 May 1969, with trains from the ex-CLC Chester and Warrington lines being diverted to terminate at Oxford Road.
Conversion to 25 kV AC.
In the 1950s, British Railways chose 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead in place of 1500 V DC as the standard for all future main line electrification outside the Southern Region. In September 1960 the first stage of the electrified West Coast Main Line opened between Manchester and Crewe, using the 25 kV AC system. At the same time, Manchester London Road station was extensively rebuilt (including the MSJ&AR platforms) and was renamed Manchester Piccadilly. From 15 September 1958 all Altrincham trains were cut back to the bay platform at Oxford Road to allow the reconstruction to proceed at London Road. The short section between Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations was converted to 25 kV AC, and on 21 September 1960, suburban electric services from the Styal and Stockport lines began to use Oxford Road as their city terminus.
By the late 1960s the Altrincham Electrics were approaching forty years of age. Rather than replace them with new rolling stock operating on the non-standard 1500 V DC system, the decision was made to withdraw the trains and convert the whole Altrincham line to 25 kV AC. The last 1500 V DC train was the 23:35 from Oxford Road on 30 April 1971. Altrincham depot closed and all the 1931 rolling stock (provisionally assigned to Class 505 by British Rail) was withdrawn from service.
On Monday 3 May 1971, a 15-minute interval service was introduced from Altrincham, running through Manchester Piccadilly to Alderley Edge and Crewe. The unique 40-year-old, three-car Altrincham Electrics were replaced by 12-year-old, four-car Class 304 25 kV AC EMUs, based at Longsight depot. Three of the 1931 stock centre trailer cars were preserved and two are now undergoing restoration at the Midland Railway - Butterley in Derbyshire. However none of the motor coaches was preserved.
Following conversion in 1971, the AC services on the Altrincham line continued relatively unchanged for the next twenty years.
Conversion to Metrolink.
The Manchester Metrolink is a light rail scheme introduced in the Manchester area in the early 1990s with the aims of reducing traffic congestion by providing modern, attractive public transport options for journeys into the city centre, and offering more convenient interchange between the rail systems north and south of the city. Phase I of Metrolink involved converting the British Rail lines from Victoria to Bury and Piccadilly to Altrincham to light rail operation, and linking the two by a street-running section through the city centre.
The conversion of the Altrincham line to Metrolink was originally stated to require no more than six weeks. In the event, the line was closed for some six months, during which time both all-stations and a rush-hour express (first stop Sale) substitute bus services were provided. Rail tickets were valid on the replacement buses, operated by the North Western Road Car Company and running daily except Sundays. Two other operators provided the extra weekday peak-hour services. The last conventional service 25 kV AC train on the MSJAR was the 21:05 Oxford Road to Altrincham on 24 December 1991. The line reopened on 15 June 1992, with Metrolink light-rail vehicles running from Altrincham through Manchester's city streets to Piccadilly and Bury.
During rebuilding, a number of changes were made to infrastructure along the MSJ&AR route.
When Metrolink opened, a 12-minute frequency was provided between Altrincham and Piccadilly, enhanced at peak hours by a second 12-minute frequency from Altrincham to Bury via Manchester city centre. Off-peak passenger demand for the new service proved stronger than expected, not least due to the availability of concessionary fares for students and pensioners on Metrolink in common with local bus services. Consequently, the 6-minute frequency was extended to operate all day Monday to Saturday, with trams alternating to Piccadilly and Bury. By contrast, peak-hour demand proved lower than originally forecast due to fare increases over those previously in force for British Rail services.


Rail transport in Cornwall


Gloucester Corporation Tramways

Gloucester Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Gloucester between 1904 and 1933.
History.
Gloucester City Council purchased the assets of the horse-drawn Gloucester Tramways Company in 1902, with the intention of electrifying and extending the service. The horse tramway had been built to the 4' gauge, but the replacement electric service was built to the 3'6" gauge.
The contractor for the rebuilding was George Law of Kidderminster. Edgar Allen and Company of the Imperial Steelworks and Yorkshire Steel and Engineering Works, Sheffield, provided the tramlines.
The electric service opened on 7 May 1904. Thirty tramcars were delivered in two batches from Brush Electrical Machines of Loughborough. The livery was crimson lake and cream, but, during World War I, the livery changed to all-grey. This could have been due to a shortage of paint, or because the trams went to Brockworth Aerodrome, a sensitive military area. This all-grey livery lasted until the system's closure.
The tram depot was located off Bristol Road at its junction with Lysons Road at .
Routes.
The company operated tramways along the six main roads leading out of Gloucester. A portion of the Brockworth via Hucclecote route was owned by Gloucestershire County Council.
An extension from Churchdown Lane, Hucclecote, to the Victoria Inn, Brockworth, and into the new Brockworth Aerodrome took place during 1917, using recovered track from the little-used Westgate Street line. More track was laid into the Great Western Railway (GWR) sidings at Gloucester Docks, where much of the material was unloaded. Some of the trams were fitted out so that they acted as locomotives pulling several railway trucks, taking materials to the aerodrome. In the summers of 1922 to 1924, a passenger service ran to the Victoria Inn, transporting passengers to. what was then, the countryside. After this, the track extension, from Brockworth back to Churchdown Lane, was lifted.
Closure.
As part of a programme of replacing the tramway services with buses, which had started in 1929, the final trams ran on 12 January 1933. In 1935, Gloucester City Council entered into an agreement with the Bristol Omnibus Co. to lease out its bus services. A joint committee administered these services. Bristol Omnibus and Gloucester Corporation both held their own Road Service Licences for the city (joint) routes. Until Stagecoach West took over the services in 1993, 35 Bristol/NBC/Western Travel buses always showed (CITY OF) GLOUCESTER on their sides, along with the city's Coat of Arms.
In Bristol days, the bus depot was, and still is, in London Road, almost opposite Great Western Road.


Stamford and Essendine Railway

The Stamford and Essendine Railway was built to connect Stamford, Lincolnshire, in England, to the nearby Great Northern Railway. It was a short line, and it opened in 1856. It was not commercially successful, and the directors sought a means of connecting Stamford directly to Peterborough. This was the Sibson Extension, opened from Stamford to Wansford in 1867, but the junction there did not facilitate through running to Peterborough, and the Sibson Extension was even less successful than the first line. It was closed in 1929.
The company had a separate Stamford station from the Midland Railway's through station, and after nationalisation the Essendine trains ran into the MR station, from 1957. Nevertheless the Essendine line was greatly loss-making and the passenger service closed in 1959, followed by the complete closure of the line in 1963..
Railways at Stamford.
In the nineteenth century Stamford was an important market town on the Great North Road. The Midland Railway opened its line from Melton Mowbray to Stamford on 20 March 1848 for goods traffic and 19 June 1848 for passengers. The line was soon extended to Peterborough. The Great Northern Railway was not so early to reach the area, but it opened its main line from Werrington Junction, north of Peterborough, to Retford on 15 July 1852 for goods traffic and 1 August 1852 for passengers.
The Great Northern Railway main line, destined to be the important trunk route forming the East Coast Main Line, by-passed Stamford, although it originally planned to run through the town. Goodman, writing in 1908, said that it "seems inexplicable that the main line... should be so planned as to pass by a prosperous market town of 8,000 inhabitants at a distance of barely 4 miles". Seeing themselves at a disadvantage, local people, led by the Marquis of Exeter, formed the idea of making their own branch line from Stamford to the GNR main line at Essendine. The Marquis of Exeter had his seat at Burghley House in Stamford.
Stamford and Essendine Railway authorised.
The scheme for a railway connection went to the 1853 Parliamentary session, and the "Stamford and Essendine Railway" obtained authorisation on 15 August 1853. The Midland Railway bitterly opposed the scheme. Their hostility was magnified because the Act authorised the S&ER to make a connection to the Midland Railway station at Stamford and to secure running powers into it. The capital of the S&ER was £50,000.
A contract for the construction was let on 21 August 1854. Midland Railway hostility had been so violent during the process of land acquisition that for the time being the S&ER company decided to make an independent station at Stamford to avoid use of the Midland Railway station.
In 1856 the line was considered to be ready for opening, and Lt Col George Wynne made a visit for the purpose of the Board of Trade inspection, which was required for passenger operation. He visited on 12 September 1856, but he refused the authorisation for a number of reasons; chief among these was that the ballast under sleepers was only 3 to 7 inches in depth at trial holes he had taken out. The company made the required improvements and Wynne visited again on 14 October 1856; this time he was satisfied, and approval for the opening of the line was given.
Opening.
The line opened for traffic on 1 November 1856; the train service was four trains each way daily; the Great Northern Railway had agreed to work the line for 50% of gross income. The line ran to Essendine station on the GNR main line; the junction faced northwards there. There were no intermediate stations, and the line was single; Stamford passenger trains used a bay platform at Essendine.
At this period the small town of Bourne also sought a connection to the Great Northern Railway. The "Bourne and Essendine Railway" was incorporated by Act of Parliament of 12 August 1857, with capital of £48,000.
S&ER receipts for the half year ending December 1858 were reported to be £1,418. This was considered satisfactory, and encouraged the directors, led by the Marquis of Exeter, to plan the provision of double track. The formation had been made for double track, and a second track was quickly laid, except for a distance of 400 yards approaching Essendine: there was not enough space close to the junction with the GNR. Nevertheless the Board of Trade were requested to inspect the line for opening as a double track, even though the second track was not connected at Essendine, and no signalling had been provided for it. The directors were unable to state what method of safe working they proposed. The Board of Trade inspecting officer made three further visits in 1859; in every case he was unable to authorise opening of the second track, and eventually it was removed, and the proposal forgotten.
The Bourne and Essendine Railway opened for traffic on 16 May 1860, with intermediate stations at Braceborough Spa and Thurlby. Its junction at Essendine also faced northwards, like the S&ER junction, but on the east side of the GNR main line. It had been contemplated that through trains could be run from Stamford to Bourne and on to Spalding. However the junctions at Essendine were such that the Stamford line and the Bourne line entered bay platforms on their respective sides of the GNR main line, and through running would have involved a backshunt crossing all the GNR tracks. That was ruled out by the GNR as unsafe and likely to cause delay to main line running. An alternative proposed was for the Bourne line to enter Essendine from the south directly to the S&ER platform, but it would still need to cross all the GNR lines, and that too was unacceptable operationally.
Sibson extension.
Passengers travelling from Stamford to London found that taking Midland Railway trains to Peterborough and changing there was more convenient than changing at Essendine. There were more connections available at Peterborough. This led the S&ER to consider construction of an independent line to Peterborough, but this would have been unaffordable, running alongside the hostile Midland Railway all the way. As an alternative the S&ER considered building a line from Stamford southward to Wansford, forming a junction there with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) line from Oundle to Peterborough.
A Bill was presented in the 1862 session; the issue of the connection to the Midland Railway station at Stamford was also included. The Midland Railway offered such determined opposition that the whole Bill was thrown out. At this time the Marquis of Exeter offered to sell the S&ER line to the GNR for £100,000; this was more than the assessed capital value of the line and the offer was refused.
The Bourne and Essendine Railway was faring badly financially, and the GNR threatened to stop working it on the grounds that they were losing money, but the working charge was increased to 60%, and they agreed to continue. The GNR absorbed the almost-worthless Bourne and Essendine Railway company by Act of 16 May 1864.
The S&ER extension to Wansford became known as the Sibson Extension, and was presented in Parliament once again. It fared better this time; the issue of the connection at Stamford to the Midland Railway had been omitted and as a result the Midland Railway did not oppose the scheme. The Royal Assent was given on 25 July 1864; an additional share issue of £75,000 was authorised to pay for the work. Running powers to Wansford LNWR station were granted under the Act, but onwards to Peterborough was not included. Moreover if the junction at Essendine had wrongly been formed facing away from Peterborough, the error was repeated at Wansford, where the junction faced away from Peterborough.
The GNR had agreed to work the S&ER original main line for 50% of income, but (as on the Bourne line) the work was loss-making to them. The original working agreement was due to expire on 1 November 1864, and the GNR demanded a higher payment, but the Marquis of Exeter said that the S&ER would work the line themselves, and gave notice that they would do so from the due date. GNR asked £10 annually for use of Essendine station.
Connecting the Midland Railway at Stamford.
In 1866 the Midland and Eastern Railway was formed by amalgamation of the Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway and the Spalding and Bourne Railway. The intention had been to build westward from Bourne to Saxby to join the Midland Railway there (as was done later in forming the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway). The GNR opposed this scheme, and in negotiation offered the Midland through running at Essendine over the Bourne and Essendine Railway, which by then had been over by the GNR) and the S&ER. The Midland Company sought this access eastwards, and found that it was in its own interest to facilitate the junction at Stamford. There was a technical issue: the MR were concerned that the end of the junction tracks would be on an S&ER viaduct considered to be in poor condition, and they insisted on its conversion to an embankment. That work was done and the junction came into use on 1 July 1867. The difficulty over through running at Essendine was also overcome, as the GNR ran three mixed trains daily from Stamford to Lynn via Bourne and Spalding.
The Sibson Extension was inspected by Captain H W Tyler on 3 July 1867, and the following day he looked at the Stamford connection. He considered that several minor issues were still unresolved, and more seriously there was no statement of the intended method of working the Sibson line, so he declined permission to open to passenger operation.
He made a second visit on 19 July 1867, but he was still not satisfied, mainly due to signalling shortcomings. He made a third visit on 2 August 1867, and this time he approved the opening, which was "officially opened" on 8 August 1867 (probably a ceremonial opening) and a public opening to passengers and goods took place on 9 August 1867; there were five trains each way.
Withdrawal from Wansford.
The receipts of the Sibson Extension were very disappointing, and the S&ER considered the charges made by the LNWR for the use of Wansford station to be excessive. The LNWR was intransigent and the S&ER decided to stop using Wansford station and use a new temporary station north of the junction, on its own line. The new station, named Sibson, opened on 1 January 1870, and S&ER trains ceased to run on to Wansford.
Once again the Marquis of Exeter attempted to sell the line to the GNR, but they were still not interested. They agreed to work the line for 50% of receipts in the case of the Essendine line, and 70% in the case of the Sibson line. This was agreed and they resumed working the line from 1 January 1872.
In December 1877 the Sibson connection had been reinstated and was stated to be ready for inspection; Col Yolland visited for the necessary Board of Trade inspection, but he was dissatisfied with the signalling arrangements. Remedial work was carried out and everything was ready at the end of February 1878. Trains ran through from 1 March 1878, and the Sibson station closed.
Lease to the Great Northern Railway.
The GNR agreed a lease of the S&ER lines on 15 December 1893; it was to be a lease in perpetuity from 1 January 1894 at a rent of £3,000 for ten years, and then £3,500 annually.
By 1914 the Essendine line had fifteen return trains daily, while the Sibson Extension had eight.
The "grouping" of the railways took place in 1923, following the Railways Act 1921. The Great Northern Railway was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). There were complications due to the terms of the perpetual lease, which contained a clause that elevated the lease charge if the line was connected to a through route. The S&E shareholders got LNER 4% debentures "at good value".
The LNER later reviewed the profitability of the Stamford to Wansford line: it was operating at a loss of £2,956 a year, and closure was proposed. The decision was ratified and the line closed to all traffic on 29 June 1929.
The railways were nationalised in 1948, and the LNER lines as well as the former Midland Railway lines became part of British Railways. Under unified management the duplication of the Stamford stations was reviewed; it was obvious that the separate Stamford East station was wasteful, and it was closed to passengers on 4 March 1957. Passenger trains were handled at the Midland Railway station.
Closure.
Passenger usage of the Stamford to Essendine line was very light; most passengers who used the line changed trains at Essendine to reach Peterborough or London, and it was obvious that those passengers could use the former Midland line to Peterborough instead. Closure to passengers was proposed, and the passenger service ceased on 15 June 1959. On the same day Essendine and other intermediate stations on the former GNR main line closed.
The East Yard at Stamford closed to goods on 4 March 1963.
Topography.
Sibson extension.
Ufford Bridge station was described as a Halt, and until the advent of railmotors in 1905 was the only halt on the Great Northern Railway.


York Tramways Company

The York Tramways Company and its successor the City of York Tramways Company provided a horse-drawn tramway service in York between 1881 and 1909.
History.
The York Tramways Company was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1879. Construction started in July 1880 with a route to Fulford Village. The engineer was Joseph Kincaid.
Initially the company hoped to operate a steam tramway and Major General Charles Scrope Hutchinson from the Board of Trade approved the use of steam power. However, the steam experiment must have been unsuccessful as the company eventually gave up and maintained the service with horse cars.
Three routes were constructed from the city centre to Fulford Village, York railway station and Knavesmire.
A new company, the City of York Tramways Company was formed in 1886. It was a subsidiary of the Imperial Tramways Company based in Bristol. It acquired the assets of the York Tramways Company for £14,500 (equivalent to £ in ).
By 1891 the company operated 10 tramcars with a stable of 37 horses.
Closure.
The system was taken over by York Corporation Tramways on 27 February 1909.


Ranelagh Bridge Yard

Ranelagh Bridge Yard was a locomotive stabling point located near London Paddington station.
History.
Before its closure in 1980, Class 31, 47, 50 and 52 locomotives could be seen at the depot.


South Lancashire Tramways

South Lancashire Tramways was a system of electric tramways in south Lancashire authorised by the South Lancashire Tramways Act of 1900. The "South Lancashire Tramways Company" was authorised by the act to build over of track to serve the towns between St Helens (now in Merseyside), Swinton, Westhoughton and Hulton Lane where the Bolton Corporation system ended. The system was the largest standard-gauge electric tramway outside London.
The company had difficulty raising capital and at the end of November 1900 its shares were acquired by the "South Lancashire Electric Traction and Power Company". It also acquired the shares of the "Lancashire Light Railways Company" and the "South Lancashire Electric Supply Company". Construction began in late 1901 and in October 1902 the first section from Lowton through Leigh and Atherton to Four Lane Ends at Over Hulton opened.
Atherton became the centre of the system and the tram sheds, power station and offices were built on the north side of Leigh Road at Howe Bridge (grid reference ).
Unrestored tram body, No 65 built by Brush Electrical Engineering Company in 1906, is in the collection of the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester.
References.
Notes


Settle Junction railway station

Settle Junction railway station was located near the town of Settle, North Yorkshire, England, immediately to south of the junction between the Midland Railway's North Western and Settle-Carlisle branches, northwest of .
History.
It was opened five months after the main line to to serve as an "exchange station" with the older route to Morecambe (as stated in an 1872 report submitted to the Settle and Carlisle Construction Committee of the MR by General Manager James Allport and Chief Engineer John Crossley). However, the expected traffic failed to materialise and after just one year of operation, it was closed on 1 November 1877.
Its remote location ( south of Settle and north of Long Preston) undoubtedly contributed to its early demise, as potential travellers had the choice of three alternative stations (, or ) that were all more conveniently sited for their respective communities.
Stationmaster.
W. Jenkins was installed as the first station master in 1876 but only served one year until 2 November 1877 wen the station management was placed under the direct supervision of Long Preston.
The site today.
Little trace of the station remains today, although the station house survived in private ownership until well after nationalisation of the railways in 1948, finally succumbing to demolition in the late 1960s. Settle Junction signal box (a Midland Railway timber structure dating from 1913) is still operational and can easily be seen from the adjacent A65, which runs alongside the railway at this point. The box houses a London Midland Region standard frame of 31 levers and controls the busy double junction (which was rebuilt following a derailment in 1979) between the two lines, as well as the block sections toward to the south, Blea Moor Sidings to the north and Station Junction to the north west.
The latter is the longest block section on the UK rail network at just over in length and severely restricts the capacity of the Carnforth line (a typical passenger train is timetabled to take 40 minutes to travel from one end of the section to the other, including station stops). Network Rail has acknowledged the performance issues this can cause in its 2008 Lancashire and Cumbria Route Utilisation Strategy and hopes to install additional signalling along the route at some point in the future to address the problem. The same strategy has recently been adopted to solve similar headway issues on the section to Blea Moor (additional signals having been commissioned at to allow a second train to proceed as far as Horton once the preceding train has passed there).


Doncaster Tramway

Doncaster Corporation Tramways was an electric tramway network serving the town of Doncaster, England. It was authorised in 1899, and the first route to Bentley opened in 1902. This remained separated from the rest of the system until North Bridge was built to carry traffic over the Great Northern Railway main line to Edinburgh. Soon afterwards, deep mining of coal began in the area, and several extensions to the system were made between 1913 and 1916 to serve new communities which developed around the pit heads. The Racecourse route was unusual, in that it had balloon loops at both ends to enable almost continuous running on race days, a feature that was not common in England, and only found favour in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s.
From 1913 to 1919, the tramways were reasonably profitable, but suffered from lack of maintenance during World War I, and the poor construction methods used to lay the track. The system had been financed by loans repayable over 40 years, and with the track needing replacement after half of that period, it was uneconomic to carry out the work. The Corporation decided to replace the system with motor buses in 1922, but in 1926 concluded that trolleybuses would be more economical. The first route of the Doncaster trolleybus system was again that to Bentley, opened in 1928, and by 1931, all of the authorised routes had been converted. The tramway to Brodsworth continued in use until 1935, when it was replaced by motor buses. Trolleybuses ran for somewhat longer than the trams had, with the system finally closing in 1963.
The service was provided by a total of 47 tramcars, all but one of them being double-deck vehicles running on 4-wheel chassis. Most were supplied by the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works of Preston, or their successor, the United Electric Car Company. One single-deck vehicle was purchased second-hand in 1917 in an attempt to reduce costs on the unprofitable Avenue Road route, but local crews would not allow one-man operation, and it saw little use. The cars were stabled in two depots on Greyfriars Road. The main depot was built for the opening of the system, and the second in 1920 to house cars bought for an extension to Rossington which did not go ahead.
History.
Public transport in Doncaster began in 1887, when an undertaker called J G Steadman started running horse buses in the town. Two years later, the grocers Hodgson & Hepworth also started running buses, to be joined by J Stoppani soon afterwards. Between them, the buses served Avenue Road, Balby, Bentley, Hexthorpe, Hyde Park and the Racecourse. There had been proposals for a horse tramway in 1878, and another for a tramway to Balby in 1895, but neither scheme had progressed past the planning stage. However, in 1898 a more serious contender appeared, when British Electric Traction proposed tramways serving Avenue Road, Balby, Bentley and Hexthorpe, and began applying for permission to build them.
Doncaster Corporation at the time were planning to build a power station to supply a municipal lighting scheme, and an electric tramway would make that more economic, using electricity all day, rather than only when it was dark. They were keen to operate their own services, and so proposed an alternative. British Electric Traction then withdrew their scheme, but offered to run the Corporation's system for them, an offer which was declined. They were probably the first Council to apply for powers for a tramway using the provisions of the Light Railways Act 1896, rather than the Tramways Act 1870. A hearing took place in Doncaster in February 1899, at which the Great Northern Railway objected to a level crossing with their line from London to Edinburgh. This was upheld, and the route to Bentley was to be detached from the rest of the system until a bridge could be built. The proposed budget for the scheme was £70,000. The works were authorised by the Doncaster Corporation Light Railways Order 1899, and after a fact-finding visit to Kingston upon Hull, they decided to use Hull's rather quirky system of centre-grooved rail, becoming the only other tramway in the country to do so. Joints in the track were cut diagonally, to make for a smoother ride over the joint.
Construction of the standard gauge network began in 1901, and in order to cut costs, the foundations were not made as substantial as they should have been, resulting in ongoing problems with the track for years afterwards. The Council borrowed money to fund the scheme, with the loans to be paid back over forty years, which was a longer period than the life expectancy of the track. The rails were bought from Belgium, while the points were provided by Hadfields of Sheffield. The first parts of the town to benefit from the tramway were in the south west, with a route from Station Road along St Sepulchre Gate to Balby High Street, and a branch from Hexthorpe Road to reach Old Hexthorpe, which opened on 2 June 1902. Later that month, the tramway from St Sepulchre Gate along Hall Gate, South Parade and Bennetthorpe Road to the Racecourse opened on 30 June. A short branch from St Sepulchre Gate to Jarrett Street followed on 1 August, and this was extended in October to Childers Street in the Hyde Park area. The tracks along Bentley Road to Bentley High Street opened on 27 October, but that part of the system remained isolated because of the lack of a crossing over the railway. Next to open was the tramway along Nether Hall Road to Avenue Road on 15 January 1903, and a short branch from this line along Beckett Road on 17 August. Another short branch from St Sepulchre Gate to Oxford Street opened on 25 November 1903, but was not profitable, and closed after two years.
Several additional Light Railway Orders were required to authorise extensions and deviations to the original plans. These were obtained in 1902, 1903, 1911 and 1914. These did not include the connection of the Bentley route to the rest of the system, which was authorised as part of the powers obtained in 1908 to build North Bridge. This period saw the development of deep coal mining in the area, and the extensions were to serve new communities that grew up around the pit heads. The 1911 Order saw extensions from Bentley to New Bentley, which opened on 20 March 1913, and from Balby to Warmsworth, which followed on 4 February 1915. The 1914 Order authorised a line to Brodsworth, another mining village, which opened on 21 February 1916. Rather than run along the roads, the Brodsworth route was built on a reserved formation alongside the Great North Road, past Scawthorpe and Woodlands.
The plans for the tramway had envisaged single track with passing places, but it was realised that this would be inadequate particularly for the Racecourse route, which saw tens of thousands of people needing transport to and from the races. The Board of Trade was able to authorise doubling of the track without recourse to Parliament. The 1902 Order had also allowed a siding to be built beside the stands, and although most of the route was double track, the section at the bottom end of High Street was not, as it was two narrow. The vast crowds of St Leger Day in 1902 showed that getting trams to the Station Road terminus under these conditions was almost impossible, and the 1903 Order sought to address this issue. The Racecourse siding became a balloon loop, and another loop was constructed at the town end, enabling cars to pass through the High Street section in one direction only and return to the Racecourse via another single track along Printing Office Street and Priory Place. Few other loop terminals were constructed in England, and they only came into general use in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s.
The disadvantage of using an unusual type of rail surfaced when the North Bridge was being built, as steel manufacturers were not interested in producing such a small quantity of rail, and the 225 tons required were bought from Hull. The bridge was due to be opened on 12 May 1910, but the death of King Edward VII six days earlier meant that the opening ceremony was cancelled, and it opened without formal celebration. The Brodsworth route was debated in 1911–12, and there were moves to use trolleybuses rather than trams. The Tramways Committee visited the newly-opened trolleybus systems in Bradford and Leeds to see them in operation. They were sufficiently impressed, that when the Council reconsidered the route, there were eleven votes for trams and seven for trolleybuses. A proposal to use motor buses was defeated by a larger margin.
Demise.
In the early 1920s, there was increasing competition from private motor buses, and the Corporation decided to close down the tramways. They obtained powers to run their own motor buses in 1922, and purchased their first six vehicles from the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company. The trams on the Avenue Road route were replaced by motor buses on 1 May 1925, and the service was extended to Wheatley Hills at the same time. However, the Corporation took the decision in 1926 to replace the trams with trolleybuses, and obtained powers to convert their lines to this new form of traction. The Brodsworth route was excluded from this, but the Wheatley Hills route was included, even though the trams had already been replaced. The powers were enshrined in the Doncaster Corporation Act 1926, and Clough, Smith & Co. were contracted to modify the overhead wiring. Driver training for the trolleybuses took place in the Spring of 1928 on the Racecourse route. As the conversion of the wiring was not complete, they ran for part of the way with one trolley boom running on the tramway wire and the other connected to a skate that ran on the tram tracks to complete the electrical circuit.
The first route where the conversion was completed was that to Bentley, where the trams ceased to run on 21 August 1928. Next to go was the Hexthorpe route on 30 June 1929 and the Beckett Road route on 30 July 1929. On 15 January 1930, the Racecourse and Hyde Park services terminated, and in March 1931, trolleybuses replaced motor buses on the route to Wheatley Hills. Balby and Warmsworth services were withdrawn on 25 July 1931, leaving just the trams on the Brodsworth service. These continued to run until 1935, but during April, cars 40 and 47 caught fire, with No.40 being partially destroyed. The final trams ran on 8 June, but it seems likely that the service was provided by both trams and motor buses from 23 March, since when the final eight trams were sold for scrap, only four of them were in working order.
Finance.
The initial construction was financed by loans, to be paid back over 40 years. The Oxford Street route was not profitable, and for the 27-day period beginning 7 December 1903, just £15 was raised by carrying 3,633 passengers. By contrast, the Balby route carried over 46,000 passengers in the same period, yielding £187. The results of the extension of the Bentley route to New Bentley were dramatic, with revenue rising from £3,700 in 1911 to £67,160 in 1913. Prior to 1913, there had only been two years where the accounts had shown a small surplus, but from 1913 to 1919 the enterprise was profitable. 1919 was the most profitable year, but there were underlying problems. Levels of traffic had risen because of the war, but costs had risen at a faster rate. Fares had been fixed by the enabling legislation, as prices were stable at the time, and there was no concept of coping with inflation. Parliament made partial provision for this with the passing of the Tramways (Increase of Charges) Act 1920, but individual tramways still had to apply to adjust their fares. Doncaster made an application in 1920 and was successful.
The Bentley line closed largely due to economic pressures. There had been complaints about the track since 1912, due to its poor construction. In 1922, West Yorkshire County Council announced that it intended to relay the road at a higher level, and this would have involved moving the tracks. Doncaster were faced with the problem that this was uneconomic, as the original loans would not be repaid for a further 20 years, and traffic receipts would not cover the finance costs of the original loans and of new ones required to the replace the worn-out track. The Bentley route was one of the most profitable, but if it was uneconomic to reconstruct it, then it would not be so for any of the other routes either. Trolleybuses initially solved this conundrum, since they did not require the track to be reconstructed, and revenue on the Bentley route increased by 50 per cent when they were introduced, while for the rest of the system it was around 38 per cent.
Tram depots.
When the system was proposed, there were plans to build three depots. One was to be on Greyfriars Road, with a second using part of the Wool Market. However, this latter location was abandoned, and no work took place. The Greyfriars Road depot was located at , near to the power station and the east end of North Bridge. Because trams could not cross the Great Northern Railway on the level, a temporary stabling place was provided for four trams in an old barn at Marshgate, to the west of the railway. This was not in a good state of repair, and blew down in late 1904 or early 1905, to be replaced by a new shed which could hold three cars.
When an extension from the Racecourse to Rossington was planned in 1919, ten new trams were ordered, and since the existing depot would not be large enough, an annexe was planned. Although the Rossington link did not go ahead, the order for the trams could not be cancelled, and so they and the annexe arrived in 1920. This was also known as the Car Repairing Shed, and was located on the north side of Greyfriars Road, next to Frenchgate at . The main depot had seven running roads with a paintshop at the eastern end, while the smaller annexe had three running roads.
Fleet.
For the opening of the system, 15 trams were acquired from the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works of Preston, which were mounted on Brill 4-wheeled trucks. Doncaster had originally planned to order single-deck cars, but opted instead for a standard design. The staircases were reversed, running from the inner end of the front or rear platform and curving around the outside edge of the vehicle. This was followed by two batches of five cars each in 1903, giving a total of 25 cars to work the service. Cars 5 to 16 and 22 to 25 were fitted with top covers in four batches between 1907 and 1913. Most of the top covers were built by Dick, Kerr, but the third batch was supplied by Brush. When the top covers were fitted, the stairs were replaced by direct ones. Dick, Kerr had supplied the controllers for all of these vehicles, but they were later replaced by equipment from British Thomson-Houston. At least two of these trams had their trucks lengthened to between 1913 and 1915. Two more were fitted with new Peckham P22 trucks in 1922, with a wheelbase of .
The Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works changed their name to the United Electric Car Company in 1908, and a batch of seven vehicles were purchased from them in 1913, six fitted with Peckham P22 trucks, and the final one, No.32, running on a
 Warner Patent radial truck. This design of truck did not perform well, and it was replaced by an Peckham P35 truck in 1925. Another batch of four similar cars with Peckham P22 trucks were delivered in 1915–16, although the records are somewhat ambiguous about the year in which they actually arrived. All of these vehicles had top covers but open balconies at the outside ends.
The next car was obtained second-hand from Erith Urban District Council Tramways in 1917. It was a single-deck vehicle, and was designed to be one-man operated. It was intended for use on the unprofitable Avenue Road route, as a way of cutting costs, but local crews insisted that a 2-man crew was needed, and so it was little used. Some sources suggest it was withdrawn in 1918, but new advertisements were fitted in 1921, and it was relicensed in 1922, so this date is unlikely. It was scrapped in October 1925.
The final batch of ten cars were ordered from English Electric for an extension to Rossington, and the order could not be cancelled when the extension plan was abandoned. They ran on Peckham P22 trucks. Besides the passenger vehicles, two works vehicles were also owned by the Corporation. The first was a water car and sweeper, bought in 1902, and equipped with two large water tanks to wet and sweep the dusty roads of the time. The brushes were powered by an additional electric motor. In winter it was used to sweep snow from the tracks, and was fitted with Jarrards rail scrapers, which removed debris from the grooves in the rails. There was also a former horse tram, which was built in 1903 and bought from York around 1912 for use as a trailer for sand and salt.
Future.
In January 2013 it was announced that a proposed trial of Tram-train's linking Rotherham's Parkgate with Sheffield could lead to a similar scheme being rolled out in Doncaster. The extension of the Sheffield Supertram network to Rotherham using tram-trains was officially a Department of Transport experiment to prove the concept. The scheme was subject to delays and cost overruns, with the opening date pushed back from December 2015 to December 2018, and the cost rising from £15 million to £75 million. Despite the fact that the new vehicles could operate from an overhead supply at either 750V DC or 25kV AC, the decision was taken to electrify the National Rail section at 750V DC. There were significant interference issues, which led in part to the cost overrun. In 2019 a Sheffield City Region document outlined plans for an integrated rail network, including the extension of the Rotherham tram-train link to Doncaster and onwards to the Lakeside shopping complex, the Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Bawtry. The timeline that formed part of the report suggested that the section to Doncaster could be completed by 2028.


Railways in Hereford

Hereford has seen a history of expansion and decline in its "railway history".
Hereford Railway.
Incorporated in 1826.
This was a tramroad which linked with other earlier tramroads to form a continuous line between Hereford and Abergavenny. It was bought by the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway in 1846.
Hereford, Hay & Brecon Railway.
The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway was incorporated in 1859. It opened between Hereford and Moorhampton to goods traffic on 24 October 1862, to Eardisley for goods and passengers on 30 June 1863 and reached Hay-on-Wye on 11 July 1864.
Initially the company used the short-lived Moorfields station to the west of the city but later used Barton and then Barrs Court station.
The railway was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1874.
The line closed to passengers on 31 December 1962, and was shut finally in 1964.
Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Railway.
Incorporated in 1851.
The final section from Hopesbrook to Hereford section opened 1 June 1855. It was a broad gauge track, linking eventually to London Paddington through a 22-mile section from the Grange Court Junction in the Forest of Dean and on the South Wales Railway.
On 29 July 1862 the line was amalgamated with the GWR. In 1869 the line was converted from broad gauge to standard gauge in a 5-day period.
As part of the Beeching cuts the Gloucester to Hereford line was closed on 2 November 1964.
Leominster and Kington Railway.
Incorporated in 1854, the Leominster and Kington Railway connected Leominster with Kington and Presteigne.
Connecting to the Hay Railway via the Kington and Eardisley Railway at Titley Junction, a proposed plan to develop a cross-Wales line via New Radnor to Aberystwyth was never realised. Taken over by the West Midland Railway, it became a constituent part of the Great Western Railway.
It was at its busiest during World War II, when RAF Shobdon acted as a casualty distribution centre to local hospitals for both the British and later United States Army. It closed to passenger traffic in 1955, and shut pre-Beeching in 1963.
Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR) was incorporated in 1846, formed by the amalgamation of the Hereford Railway, the Llanfihangel Railway and the Grosmont Railway. A joint opening with the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway took place on 6 December 1853.
The company was taken over by the West Midland Railway in 1860, which became part of the Great Western Railway in 1863.
The main Hereford station and headquarters of the Newport to Hereford line was Hereford Barton railway station to the west of the city. There was a short link which continued northwards to the Shrewsbury & Hereford line at Barrs Court junction, allowing for through North-South services. Later, in 1866, a connecting line was built branching East from the NA&HR to the south of the city from Red Hill, to Rotherwas on the Hereford Ross and Gloucester line which continued into Barrs Ct. Station. This enabled NA&HR trains to use Barrs Court station. Barton station was closed to passengers on 2 January 1893, with all services transferred to Barrs Coutt (the current Hereford station). Barton station was demolished in 1913, although facilities there remained open for freight until 1979. The through route from Red Hill to Barrs Court Junction, passing through Barton, remained open until around this time as a goods only line, avoiding the busy Barrs Court passenger station.
Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway.
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was incorporated in 1846. The Hereford section of the line officially opened at Barrs Court station on 6 December 1853, although the line had been used for goods traffic since the earlier in the year. It was leased jointly by the London & North Western Railway and GWR from 1862 and was transferred to joint ownership in 1868.
Worcester and Hereford Railway.
Incorporated in 1853.
This railway was opened by the Worcester and Hereford Railway in stages from 1859 to 1861 with the final section Malvern Wells to Shelwick Junction (Hereford) opened on 17 September 1861. Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway both collaborated in the line - the solicitor, Samuel Carter, was also solicitor to both of these major companies.
The Worcester and Hereford Railway became part of the West Midland Railway on 1 July 1861 and the GWR on 1 August 1863.
West Midland Railway.
Incorporated in 1860.
This was originally the Oxford Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway. It changed its name in 1860 and absorbed the Newport Abergavenny & Hereford plus the Worcester & Hereford. It also had agreements to work or leases on numerous branch lines in the English West Midlands region. The West Midland Railway's independent life was very short. It was leased to the GWR in 1861 and amalgamated with it in 1863.
References.
A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 13 - Thames and Severn. Rex Christiansen. 1981.


Evercreech Junction railway station

Evercreech Junction was a railway station at Evercreech on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.
Originally opened in 1862 as "Evercreech" on the original S&D line from Burnham-on-Sea to Broadstone, it became in 1874 the junction for the northwards extension towards Bath that bankrupted the company. A station opened on the Bath extension more than a mile to the north of Evercreech Junction, much nearer to the village of Evercreech, was called Evercreech Village, and later Evercreech New.
The junction itself was to the north of the station, where there were also marshalling yards. Branch trains to and from Burnham and Highbridge started and finished at Evercreech in latter years. To the south of the station a level crossing carried the main A371 road across the line.
In 1963 the station featured in "Branch Line Railway", a BBC documentary on the Joint Railway presented by John Betjeman. However, it was closed three years later along with the whole line as part of the Beeching axe. The station inn was renamed "The Silent Whistle" on the closure of the line.
Today the residual station buildings are private homes, with the former station track bed forming their gardens. The former goods yard is a small industrial estate, while the station hotel was renamed again as "The Natterjack" in the 1970s.


Wansbeck Railway

The Wansbeck Railway was a single track railway line in Northumberland, England, that ran from Morpeth to Reedsmouth, where it made a junction with the Border Counties Railway. Conceived as part of a through trunk route for the North British Railway, it never achieved its potential. It opened in stages from 1862 to 1865. The population was sparse and mineral traffic kept the line going.
In 1870, the Rothbury branch opened, from a junction on the Wansbeck line at Scotsgap.
The passenger train service was discontinued in 1952 and the line closed completely in 1966.
History.
The first railways.
The Newcastle and Berwick Railway opened in 1847. Conceived by George Hudson, the so-called "Railway King", it was to form part of a through railway connection from Edinburgh to London. It later became part of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway.
It had a station at Morpeth, and people in towns not connected to a railway realised they were at a disadvantage against those who were: materials brought in cost more, as did the transport of local manufactures to market.
The people of Rothbury felt that disadvantage particularly. The locality had long been prominent in the production of lime, used to improve acidic soil for agricultural purposes, and much in demand in the general area of Morpeth. In 1855, a railway linking Morpeth and Rothbury was proposed. It was to cost £95,000 but, although the idea was favourably received, the scheme failed to generate action and it was dropped.
The Wansbeck Valley Railway.
By 1858, the Border Counties Railway had opened the first section of its line, and having a local railway close by encouraged further thoughts of railway development in the area, but not to Rothbury. This line would run west from Morpeth to Reedsmouth on the Border Counties line, there getting access to the intended rich coalfields of Plashetts. At Morpeth, the new line would link with the Blyth and Tyne Railway, giving direct access to wharves on the North Sea, and over that line to Newcastle. The line would be long. Moreover, the Border Counties Railway had the clear intention of linking with the Border Union Railway. The BUR was sponsored by the North British Railway and, when it opened, its line became known as "The Waverley Route". The Border Counties Railway was to link with that route at a place that became known as Riccarton.
Richard Hodgson, Chairman of the North British Railway was a member of the provisional committee, which clearly shows the intention: the NBR was a link in a chain of railways between Edinburgh and London, via Berwick, but it was dominated by the railways of George Hudson, who had shown himself to be ruthless in his dealings, and who had already tried to take over the NBR. The NBR had no running rights south of Berwick. If the NBR could get access to Newcastle over friendly railways — the Border Union, the Border Counties, the Wansbeck Valley, and the Blyth and Tyne — it would have much greater autonomy, and access to the important commercial centre at Newcastle.
The Wansbeck Valley committee changed the name to "The Wansbeck Railway" and submitted a bill for its line to the 1859 Parliamentary session. It was relatively uncontroversial, and obtained the Royal Assent on 8 August 1859; the capital was set at £120,000. Working arrangement with the established railways were authorised by the Act, and the NBR and the Blyth and Tyne were permitted to subscribe up to £100,000 between them to the Wansbeck Railway.
In fact the NBR subscribed £50,000; this was five-eighths of the Wansbeck's capital.
Constructing the Wansbeck Railway.
The authorising Act of the Wansbeck Railway permitted two connecting lines at Morpeth: to the North Eastern Railway station, or by-passing it to join the Blyth and Tyne line south-east of the NER station. The controlling interest of the NBR and the lack of enthusiasm from the North Eastern Railway decided the Wansbeck Railway directors to make only the Blyth and Tyne connection. The Blyth and Tyne line ran eastwards from the NER station, so that the Wansbeck passenger and goods trains had to reverse to reach the Morpeth station.
The line was opened as far as Scotsgap on 23 July 1862; trains were worked by the North British Railway, although the stub of route was not physically connected to the NBR.
On 17 July 1862 the North British Company had obtained running powers to Newcastle over the line of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway from Hexham, as part of a trade-off with the North Eastern Railway. This was a better route to Newcastle than over the Wansbeck line, and now the NBR lost interest in the Wansbeck Railway company. Running entirely through sparsely populated rural areas, and with the anticipated riches of the Plashetts coal field now being shown to be disappointing, the Wansbeck Railway was suddenly of doubtful commercial value. Selling out to the North British Railway seemed to be the only option.
The North British Railway (Wansbeck and Finances) Act of 21 July 1863 empowered the amalgamation. The NBR was already a majority shareholder, so there was no urgency in carrying out the merger, but it was accomplished sometime about March or April 1864. The connection with the Border Counties Railway at Reedsmouth had been planned to allow through running from Riccarton towards Morpeth, but that was now inappropriate, and the intended junction faced south instead. It is not clear whether Parliamentary sanction for this was obtained.
The line was opened as far as Knowesgate in October 1863. Reedsmouth station was opened for the Border Counties line in November 1864, but the Wansbeck line reached it on 1 May 1865: the Wansbeck Railway was now complete. The line had been built as single track, although land had been taken for double track.
There were three passenger trains each way on the line, with separate goods trains. The sparse population did not encourage a more intensive train service.
The line was worked by train staff and ticket; the block posts intermediately were Scotsgap and Woodburn. The system was converted to electric train token in 1890 - 1891.
Catcleugh reservoir.
Catcleugh Reservoir was constructed in the 1890s, and traffic for construction materials was carried on the Wansbeck line. A siding for the purpose was installed at Broomhill, near Woodburn, and there was a narrow gauge tramway from there to the dam.
The Morpeth layout.
The track arrangements at Morpeth are described above; Wansbeck trains using Morpeth station (passenger and goods) required to reverse at "Wansbeck Junction". There was a collision there on 15 September 1871, and the Inspecting Officer's report indicates the arrangement. A passenger train was to depart the Wansbeck line and be followed by a goods train. The goods train departed first, propelling its train, and stood on the Blyth and Tyne single line beyond the junction; the passenger train then left Morpeth, also propelling, and ran to the junction, to reverse there and run to the Wansbeck line. It would then be followed by the goods train.
The Inspecting Officer stated that "a junction curve is about to be formed between the Wansbeck Valley and North-Eastern lines, which will enable the trains from the former to run direct into the Morpeth station of the latter line". This was done in 1872.
Hoole describes the Blyth and Tyne station at Morpeth as being separate from the North Eastern railway station, but they were immediately adjacent. When the new curve was built, the Wansbeck Railway and the North Eastern Railway each built part of it, installing the necessary signalling at their own end. "The NBR trains then deserted the B&T station for the North Eastern. The earlier line direct to the B&TR was removed at the same time.
The Rothbury branch.
The first proposed railway from Morpeth to the area had been intended to reach Rothbury. Now that was revived, as the "Northumberland Central Railway", oblivious apparently to the difficult finances of the Wansbeck Railway. In fact it proposed a 50 mile line northwards from Scotsgap; the capital was to be £270,000. The over-ambition of the scheme became obvious and it was cut back to a branch from Scotsgap to Rothbury. It opened on 1 November 1870. In fact Rothbury was a more important population centre than anywhere on the Reedsmouth line, and in the mid 1870s Rothbury came to be regarded as the main line, and Reedsmouth on the branch.
The twentieth century.
The line was simply a rural branch line in a thinly populated area, although cattle and some minerals were buoyant. In the first decades of the twentieth century heavy military traffic arose because of camps in the area as well as artillery ranges.
Following World War I the main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" under the Railways Act 1921, and in 1923 the North British Railway was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). The railways were nationalised by Government in 1948, and the Wansbeck line became part of the Scottish Region of British Railways.
The already limited traffic had been further reduced by motor lorries and buses since the 1930s and closure to passengers became inevitable; it took place in September 1952. A very limited goods service continued, but the line was closed completely in October 1966.
Topography.
The line climbed from Morpeth on a ruling gradient at 1 in 62 to a summit between Knowesgate and Woodburn, then descending at the same ruling gradient.
Locations on the line after the spur direct to Morpeth station was opened were:


Bank Hall engine shed


Allerton TMD

Allerton TMD is a railway depot situated in Allerton, Liverpool. Situated opposite Liverpool South Parkway bus and rail interchange, it is visible from trains which are travelling between the former and and the overhead passageway above platforms 1 to 4 at Liverpool South Parkway. The depot is located less than from the Freightliner intermodal terminal at Garston Docks and is also from the Stobart Rail intermodal depot in Widnes.
During the days of steam locomotive operation, the shed code was 8H between 1960 and 1963 and 8J between 1963 and 1973. Since 1973, when TOPS was introduced, Allerton's depot code has been AN.
History.
During the British Rail era, Allerton depot was responsible for maintaining all of the main line and shunting locomotives which were operating in the Liverpool area, having an allocation of Class 08 diesel shunters and a wheel lathe.
Users.
Merseyrail.
Until 2006, when a new wheel lathe was installed at Merseyrail's Kirkdale depot, Merseyrail's Class 507 and 508 electric multiple units were regularly sent to Allerton for wheel turning, being transferred via the crossover at Hunts Cross. Other units, including Virgin CrossCountry's Class 220 and 221 diesel electric multiple units (servicing only) and goods wagons and locomotives, have previously been stabled here.
Northern Rail.
From March 2011 until 31 March 2016, the depot was operated by Northern Rail.
In 2011, it was announced that Network Rail had purchased the then closed Allerton TMD with the intention of refurbishing and reopening the depot for servicing of Northern Rail's fleet of Class 156 "Super Sprinter" diesel multiple units and the planned allocation of units, which were to cascade to Northern Rail for planned electrified services. Previously owned by the English Welsh and Scottish Railway, Allerton TMD re-opened on 10 December 2011. The first Class 319 units entered traffic in March 2015 with the completion of the first phase of the North West Electrification programme.
Arriva Rail North.
On 1 April 2016, when the new Northern franchise period commenced, operation of Allerton transferred to Arriva Rail North. The depot retained its allocation of 29 Class 156 DMUs and twenty Class 319/3 EMUs, with an additional twelve Class 319s being allocated to the depot during 2017. Whilst not on the depot's allocation, units are stabled here overnight on weeknights after completing a to service.
Allerton's allocation of Class 156 units transferred to Newton Heath in 2018.
Northern Trains.
On 1 March 2020 the Northern franchise was taken over by Northern Trains as an Operators last choice by the Department for Transport and the operation of Allerton transferred to Northern Trains.
Allerton is allocated , , and units.


Northampton and Peterborough Railway

The Northampton and Peterborough Railway was an early railway promoted by the London and Birmingham Railway to run from a junction at Blisworth to Northampton and Peterborough. The Northampton and Peterborough Railway Act received the Royal Assent in 1843 and the line opened in 1845. In 1846, it became part of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The LNWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) when the railways of Great Britain were merged in the grouping of 1923. In 1948, the LMS became part of the publicly owned British Railways. Regular passenger services ceased in 1964 and the line closed completely in 1972. A part of it has since been reopened as the Nene Valley Railway heritage line.
Origin.
Competing schemes.
There had been two original schemes for lines between London and Birmingham. One proposed by John Rennie would go via Oxford and Banbury. The other proposed by Francis Giles would go via Bletchley, Rugby and Coventry.
Amalgamation.
In 1830 the two decided to amalgamate, adopting Rennie's plan which, as a canal builder, he had laid out following fairly level country. George Stephenson was asked to plan the line and he passed it to his son Robert who carried out a further survey favouring a route very similar to that proposed by Giles, much to the annoyance of Rennie.
Northampton bypassed.
While there was a certain amount of opposition from landowners, the people of Northampton were much in favour of the line. However, in the end, it bypassed the town, following higher ground to the west, through Blisworth and Weedon. At that time it was normal for new lines to bypass the larger towns because of inherent complication and the cost of land. On the other hand, in those days, the time taken to travel to the station was not seen as a handicap, given that the total journey would be much quicker than anything that had been known before. In addition, a rail link to Weedon Barracks was seen as strategically important.
The Peterborough line.
The London and Birmingham Railway opened in 1838 and, four years later, a delegation from Northampton approached the directors with a proposal to build a branch which would run through to Peterborough, which at that time also had no railway although a number of schemes were being proposed.
The Bill for the line's construction met considerable opposition from those who favoured the Northern and Eastern Railway which was progressing to Cambridge and Peterborough. However the Northampton and Peterborough Railway Act received the Royal Assent in 1843.
Construction.
Once again the engineer was Robert Stephenson. The line would be relatively easy to build, following the valley of the River Nene to Peterborough, with only a small tunnel to the west of Wansford. Stations would be provided wherever the line crossed a turnpike where there would be level crossings. Most of the line was raised on embankments because of the likelihood of flooding. In spite of this it occurred from time to time. In 1852 for instance several bridges were swept away and the line was closed for a week.
Opening.
The line opened from Blisworth to Northampton in May 1845 and then throughout in June, the 47 miles having taken only a year to build. The station at Blisworth was rebuilt next to the junction, and Northampton people at last had their train service to London. In 1846 the line, along with the London and Birmingham, became part of the London and North Western Railway.
Track doubling.
Although the infrastructure of the line had been built for double track, only a single track was laid from Northampton to Peterborough, with a passing loop at Thrapston. This single line working was facilitated by the installation of electric telegraph. However it became clear that the traffic would be such that doubling would be required very quickly and this was completed by September 1846.
Train services.
There were five trains each way on weekdays and Saturdays, with two on Sunday, and extra services between Northampton and Blisworth. Initially the goods traffic was cattle and coal but later iron ore became important.
Connections.
In 1857 the Midland Railway built a line from Wigston to meet the GNR at Hitchin via Wellingborough. It built a spur to the LNWR station for goods. In 1861 the LNWR began running trains from Wichnor near Burton on Trent and the Midland then began running trains between Wellingborough and Northampton. The Midland built a small station in 1866 near the LNWR's (the latter becoming Northampton Bridge Street in 1876). This little station closed in 1872 when the Midland built its main line from Bedford and opened a new station at St John Street. In 1881, the LNWR opened the Northampton Loop Line which placed the town on a through service superseding Blisworth. At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
Closure.
The use of level crossings had reduced the costs of building the line, but it greatly increased operating expenses and it became be a major reason for the line being closed to passengers by British Rail in 1964. Some passenger trains still ran from the boarding school at Oundle until 1972 when the line closed completely.
The Northampton and Peterborough Railway closed in 1964, followed 2 years later by the closure of Peterborough East station and the passenger services to Rugby The line between Rugby and Nassington remained open until the line was finally closed with the track remained in situ. The remaining village stations including Helpston and Ketton & Collyweston on the Syston and Peterborough Railway ceased in the same year, although line remains open with through passenger services.
Nene Valley Railway.
Part of the Northampton and Peterborough Railway has been reopened as the Nene Valley Railway heritage line.