Railways in Northallerton

The network of railways in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England, was constructed by three companies whose lines through the town were built between 1841 and 1852. They were all amalgamated into the North Eastern Railway (NER) which in turn was subsumed into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923 and British Rail in 1948. British Rail closed two lines, the Wensleydale line in 1954 and a section of the Leeds Northern Railway to in 1969. The Wensleydale line was retained as a freight branch and resurrected as a heritage railway in 2003 but the line to Harrogate closed completely. Despite closures and rationalisation, the station still is at a major junction on the East Coast Main Line.
 is on the East Coast Main Line and Transpennine Express Northern Line. The station is north of London King's Cross, north of railway station and south of railway station.
History.
1841–1901.
A railway between York and Darlington via Northallerton was suggested in 1826 in the "York Herald", but the first railway, built by the Great North of England Railway (GNE), following the proposed route, only opened to mineral traffic in January 1841 and to passengers in March of the same year. When navvies were digging in the Castle Hills area of Northallerton, three Roman sarcophagi were unearthed which were taken to Darlington. station opened in March 1841, and the "York Herald" described it as "in the Elizabethan Gothic style". Although much remodelled, the station is in the same location, with staggered platforms as when first built. Opening beyond to did not come until 1844. In 1842, the GNE was absorbed into the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway (N&DJR), who, in 1846 gained Parliamentary approval for a line between Northallerton and Bedale. Work started the same year, but because of the unscrupulous practices of George Hudson, who controlled the N&DJR, work was halted in early 1848 The line opened between Northallerton and Bedale in March 1848. Various other schemes progressed the line through Wensleydale and the N&DJR became part of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR). The Wensleydale line left Northallerton westwards and had two connections with the mainline north of Northallerton; one at Castle Hills South and the other at Castle Hills North. Initially, access was from the north (the Darlington direction) which meant that trains originating in Northallerton had to reverse. This was remedied in 1882 with the opening of a direct curve onto the Wensleydale line.
The third line was the Leeds Northern Railway (LNR), previously the Leeds & Thirsk Railway, whose line opened in June 1852. The LNR line paralleled the YN&BR line at a lower level to the west. The GNE formation was built on an embankment that took it from what became Cordio Junction to Castle Hills on an embankment made from of earth from when Castle Hills, north of the station, was levelled. This was the second most difficult engineering task undertaken by the company between York and Darlington after the stone viaduct at Croft. The LNR station, Northallerton Town was in the North Bridge area. The LNR passed under the YN&B just north of Northallerton station where a short tunnel was driven under the YN&B line at an angle of 23%. Tunnelling took place while keeping the upper line open. No work took place until designs the tunnel were submitted by the LNR engineer, Joshua T Naylor, to the YN&B. The tunnel was constructed by driving piles into the GNE embankment and inserting a platform above them to support the rails. The tunnel was excavated and the space bricked up until the arches at either end could be completed. The tunnel is wide and long.
A spur at the north end of the station allowed trains to and from to call at the station and access the line towards and Stockton in 1856. This route was taken via the Thirsk line from Melmerby and then north along what became the ECML. It along with the YN&B and the LNR, became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1854, precipitated the closure of Northallerton Town station (LNR) although it remained open for well over a century as a goods depot. The line to Wensleydale was absorbed into the NER in 1858.
The LNR opened two platforms on its line adjacent to Northallerton station. They remained in use after mainline trains had been diverted through the station and via Thirsk. The low platforms were the terminus for local trains from Melmerby (via until 1901, when the line from Melmerby was doubled and became the key line north, and the line from Thirsk to Melmerby became secondary. When mainline trains were re-routed via the Melmerby to Northallerton line, the NER installed a junction at Cordio Wood to feed a spur into the south of the station. The low platforms became redundant and were abandoned but were resurrected during the Second World War and for engineering diversions. Access to the low platforms was via a path from the upper platforms. A door in the subway under the main running lines allowed passengers to interconnect between all platforms.
Other lines were planned, some gained Parliamentary approval. One was the York & Carlisle Railway which proposed a line from Northallerton and Bishop Auckland meeting near Barnard Castle and crossing the Pennines. The plan was abandoned in 1846 when the company merged with another.
1901–1948.
In 1911, the station was remodelled when an improved connection was installed on the western side for access to the Wensleydale line. The down platform (Darlington-bound) was converted into an island platform with two running lines and a north-facing bay for Wensleydale services. Another bay was installed on the up platform (York-bound) which allowed services to depart south for the Ripon line, although the stopping service until 1901 had used the low platforms.
Starting in 1897, the tracks were "widened" in several sections between York and Northallerton. In 1931, the London and North Eastern Railway quadrupled most of the line and created the grade separated Longlands Junction south of Northallerton by 1933. It connected to the original formation from Ripon and allowed freight to avoid the station from the York direction. Trains heading south accessed the line south via the Longlands Tunnel () under the fast lines through the station. In 1942, the LNER installed up and down slow lines between and as wartime necessities led to an upsurge in traffic. British Rail completed the quadrupling of the line in 1959 and 1960.
In 1941, concerns about wartime bombing prompted building a chord from north of Romanby Road level crossing to Castle Hills Junction to connect the lower and upper lines and opened in November 1941. Should Northallerton station be bombed, it provided an alternative route. The new section was engineered with a unique feature; because of the gradient it was too low to bridge the Wensleydale line and too high to dive under the railway. Engineers created two moveable sections on rail wheels which when pushed together, created a bridge allowing trains bound to and from Wensleydale to traverse the section. If the wartime chord needed to be used, the moveable sections could be moved onto sidings on either side of the running lines. The bridge was constructed from two girders that straddled the lower running lines. The bridge completed the track circuits and prevented trains from running under when the bridge was in place, or from running over it if the lower wartime lines were in use. Trains could still access the Wensleydale line by reversing at Castle Hills Junction. Apart from testing, there is no evidence that the chord was used as Northallerton was rarely attacked (some bombs did land on one of the livestock marts). Closure of this section came in 1946.
1948 – present day.
When the passenger service ended on the Wensleydale line in April 1954 (due to its £14,000 per year loss-making revenue according to British Rail), the direct curve from the station onto the line was used less until it closed in 1970. Thereafter, freight services used Castle Hills siding and reversed into the loop to run-round. Some freight trains traversed the line with locomotives at both ends, a procedure known as top and tail, which removed the necessity to reverse and run-round. Services on the line comprised various loads, but up until December 1992, it conveyed limestone from Redmire to the British Steel complex at Redcar. The operation involved the train arriving from Teesside into the station via the Eaglescliffe line and reversing into the Castle Hills siding and continuing up the branch. On returning, the train reversed the process to access the Eaglescliffe line. In 1996, the Ministry of Defence paid £750,000 to upgrade the line to convey military vehicles in and out of Catterick Camp.
The last section of line to be closed, the Leeds Northern Line from and , closed to passengers in 1967 but was not closed completely until 1969. The widened lines on the ECML, which provided four tracks between Northallerton and York, were an easier route south than some steeply graded sections around Ripon and Wetherby. The former LNR route was re-opened for services in the aftermath of the Thirsk rail crash. Some questioned the validity of closing the line citing the crash at Thirsk as reason to keep it open as an alternative line when the ECML would be closed. Various reports have detailed re-opening the line but some historical studies have suggested that the route should only open between Ripon south to Harrogate as there would be no business case to provide for a railway running further north. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council submitted plans for transport schemes in North Yorkshire, the provision of a railway connecting Harrogate and Ripon to the ECML was among them. However, while the routeing of the railway north suggests that the freight railway through Northallerton could be closed, the plan calls for the junction of a re-opened line to be north of Northallerton town.
With the loss of the local and long-distance traffic on the Wensleydale and Harrogate lines, the bay platforms at the southern and northern ends of the station were taken out of commission. In 1982, British Rail announced its intention to revamp the dilapidated station, but with no funding from local authorities, the option to retain the Victorian buildings were limited. The down side buildings were removed in 1972–1973 and the up side lost its glass canopies in 1985. The station was remodelled between 1985 and 1986 with the down line on the western edge of the station (the down relief line) also being removed.
Local passenger services were lost on the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe route and most other passenger workings were transferred leaving freight using the line. British Rail started a named train to Midldlesbrough, the "Cleveland Executive", but it ceased just before the ECML was electrified because of poor patronage north of Northallerton station. The route regained passenger services in the 1990s when Regional Railways introduced the Middlesbrough–Manchester Airport services which used the line rather than having to reverse at Darlington.
The ECML was electrified with a 25 kiloVolt Alternating Currency overhead catenary in 1991. The section between York and Northallerton was energised and tested in September 1990, electric services between London King's Cross and Edinburgh did not commence until July 1991. Electrification involved raising many bridges and spelt the end for the signalbox which opened in September 1939 and controlled a large section of the ECML. The signalbox closed in April 1990 when control was transferred to York IECC, although the control of the barriers (but not the signals) at the Low Gates level crossing was kept under the authority of the box at Low Gates. Signalling control now rests at the Rail Operating Centre at York.
The North Eastern Railway had pursued a scheme to electrify the line between Northallerton and via Stockton in 1922/1923. This line was also considered for electrification by British Rail for a proposed Channel Tunnel freight terminal on Teesside in 1994, but was not taken past the planning stage. In 2009, electrification was announced on the Transpennine route between , , and York and electrification of the line between Northallerton and Middlesbrough was mooted by Network Rail to provide through running between Manchester and Middlesbrough.
In 2017, a platform in the station was lengthened to enable the new Class 800 trains to call on East Coast services.
Wensleydale railway.
In 2003, the Wensleydale Railway signed a 99-year lease with Railtrack (the predecessor of Network Rail) and started services on the former Wensleydale line. Initially, trains ran to as the eastern terminus, but in 2014 railway station opened. It is a temporary structure as the Wensleydale Railway was keen to reopen the closed 1970 curve and run trains into, or as close as possible to, Northallerton station. The north-facing bay platform used for the Wensleydale branch has been filled in and is part of the car park. The section between Leeming Bar and Northallerton does not see scheduled services as the level crossing on Yafforth road is in need of upgrading. In 2016, a train struck a car on the level crossing and while the report did not attribute direct blame on the company, it said that the approaches and sighting of the level crossing should be improved.
Goods.
The North Eastern Railway applied for Parliamentary permission to build a freight yard between the Darlington and Eaglescliffe lines. It was given permission in 1901 and 1903 but nothing was built. The town had two goods yards; one at the station and the other next to the closed Northallerton Town station known as High and Low Goods Yard(s) respectively. Northallerton auction mart was next to the station and cattle were forwarded from the yard which also had coal drops. It remained a wagonload freight location until the early 1980s. The low yard was used for general merchandise. The yards had three and two sidings respectively which are used but for engineering purposes.
Northallerton forwarded the same types of freight as any other station on the local lines. The Wensleydale Pure Milk Society Dairy to the north west of the station forwarded milk products to London, Hull, Newcastle, Sunderland and Dewsbury and received milk from Wensleydale. The one wagon movement was a hand-pushed trolley operated by two workers, which was pushed into the station from the creamery. This conveyed cream for dispatch and the wagon was converted so that it could work on the line, and had a red flag placed on a very tall pole so that its movement could be observed by traincrews.
Current services.
Northallerton station is served by LNER services between Edinburgh and London King's Cross, Transpennine Express (TPE) services between Middlesbrough and Manchester airport, Newcastle and and Grand Central services between and London King's Cross. Most LNER services and all CrossCountry services pass through at speed without stopping. One TPE service per hour in each direction does not stop at the station.
Most freight trains are routed via the old Leeds Northern Railway line on the lower tracks avoiding the station. This means freight trains on the lower lines cross four level crossings in the town. From south to north they are;
Low Gates level crossing often has its barriers down at peak time for 25 minutes in an hour. This leads to traffic tailbacks on the A167 which can take 15 minutes for the traffic to clear. Problems with queuing traffic and congestion in the town have led to calls for the level crossing to be bypassed, bridged or closed. One suggestion was that the corridor the freight lines occupy be turned into an inner ring road and a new rail formation be cut further north to provide a new chord to the Middlesbrough line from the ECML further north than the current station. This would mean traffic could use the trackbed to access the A167 without going through the town as there is no bypass around the town for road traffic.
Stations and engine sheds.
The first engine shed in the town was located adjacent to Northallerton Town railway station. It was a single road shed which opened in 1852 and remained open after the route to Northallerton station opened in 1856. It closed in 1858.
A two-road engine shed was provided for services on the Wensleydale branch. It was built in 1857 and replaced in 1881 and an extension was added in 1886. The shed was adjacent to the low platforms at Northallerton station and had one through and one dead-end line. The shed was coded as 51J under British Railways as a sub-shed of Darlington. With the withdrawal of passenger services on the Wensleydale line, the shed closed in March 1963, nine years after passenger traffic had ceased on the branch. The site is now in private business use.
The turntable was located in the goods yard adjacent to the main station. It could accommodate locomotives up to a length of . Its location at the station rather than adjacent to the locomotive shed was a legacy from when Leeds Northern services terminated in the station and ran round before proceeding south. An engine moving from the station to the locomotive shed had to travel over and negotiate two junctions to reach it. The turntable was next to the coaling plant and watering facility; none of the structures were relocated to the engine shed on the lower lines.
The water tank was situated between the low and high platforms and held over of water. As it was located on low ground, it was built to a height above that of the upper-level platforms to allow enough pressure to feed the water column by the turntable, making it significantly higher than would normally be expected.


Bristol Bath Road depot

Bristol Bath Road depot was a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Bristol.
History.
Built on the site of the original built Bristol and Exeter Railway shed, it was rebuilt under the Loans and Guarantees Act (1929) in 1934 by the Great Western Railway, allocated shed code 82A. The site scale meant that although the depot was to be the major repair and maintenance point for the Bristol divisional area, the shed was restricted to a steel-frame straight 8-road with northernlight roof pattern form, as opposed to the GWR standard-pattern turntable model like Old Oak Common. Secondly, as the depot was so close to Bristol Temple Meads, it was required to keep the depot in full operation while construction took place. The twin-ramp coal stage was of standard GWR pattern but used concrete beams and brick piers to restrict ramp width. The divisional repair shop was located to the far north of the site, close to the River Avon. There were two standard-pattern over-girder turntables on site, one to the rear of the shed, and one to the Northeast of the repair shop.
While Bath Road handled passenger traffic locomotives, St Philip's Marsh depot on the eastern throat handled freight types. Post nationalisation, under British Railways both Bath Road (Code: BR) and St Philip's Marsh gained additional allocation from the closure of the local London Midland and Scottish Railway sheds. By 1950 it had an allocation of 93 locomotives, half of them classic GWR 4-6-0s, most of the others 2-6-2Ts for running local and regional passenger traffic.
However, as it was located on a main national route, with an equally large-scale shed on the opposite throat of the station, Bath Road was one of the first sheds to be closed to steam locomotives from September 1960. Rebuilt as a diesel depot, it retained one of the turntables.
The depot ceased all operation on 28 September 1995, when its last operator Great Western Trains transferred all operations to St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD.
Modern redevelopment.
In 2011, the railway-level depot site was named as part of the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, where reduced taxes and planning controls would encourage development of new businesses. It was hoped that around 40 businesses would provide employment for 4,000 people within five years. The site was also considered to become the location for the Bristol Arena, a new 12,000 seater entertainment venue, with construction expected to start in late 2016 and set to open in 2018. Development of the Arena was repeatedly delayed and at the end of 2018, the idea of building it here was scrapped and the future for the site remains unclear.


Bickington Steam Railway

Located at Trago Mills Regional Shopping Centre, Newton Abbot, the ridable miniature railway Bickington Steam Railway was opened in 1988, using equipment recovered from the Suffolk Wildlife Park, which itself was taken from Rudyard Lake. It was built by Brian Nicholson, the headmaster of Waterhouses School in Staffordshire. Waterhouses was the junction for the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway. After being thwarted in an attempt to rebuild a portion of the Leek and Manifold Valley railway, Nicholson moved his railway, via Rudyard Lake and Suffolk, to Trago Mills.
Originally the railway was a double loop around two lakes with one station, 'Trago Central', but in 2006 the railway grew over , with an extension taking it to Trago's front car park. A three-track terminus and turntable was built and named the 'Riverside Station'. A third station was added in 2008, located at the far end of the Trago site on one of the original sections of line; this was named 'Goose Glen Halt'. This was constructed in the hope that shoppers would use the ride to return to their vehicles, a near half-mile uphill walk from the main shopping complex.
The railway is a member of Britains Great Little Railways
Locomotives.
B. Nicholson had commissioned the locomotive No. 1 "E.R. Calthrope" personally, using plans of the original "E.R. Calthorp" built by Kitson & Co. of Leeds for the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway.
Three of the steam locos ("Alice", SR&RL No. 24 "Sandy River" and "E.R. Calthrope") are fitted with working headlights, with No. 24 "Sandy River" also having a working manual ringing bell. Apart from "Blance of Lancaster", all locomotives have a CD player which provides Health & Safety announcements, which are powered by a 12 volt car battery.


Royton branch

The Royton Branch was a mile-long Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway built double track branch railway line in Greater Manchester, England, that ran from (renamed "Royton" in 1978) on the Oldham Loop Line to .
History.
Opening.
Royton Station opened on 21 March 1864 by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway to link the mill town of Royton to their rail network.
Ownership changes.
Passing in 1923 to the London Midland & Scottish Railway it was considered for electrification in 1924 but those plans were shelved. In 1948 the line was nationalised becoming part of British Railways London Midland Region who ran the line until it fell foul of the Beeching cuts.
Closure.
The line closed to freight on 2 November 1964, and passengers on 16 April 1966, officially closing on 18 April.
Accidents.
Although a short line, it was well-used but poorly maintained. This led to a number of accidents, the most serious being a collision on 31 October 1908 that killed a fireman, and on 8 February 1961 when a train derailed at Royton hitting local houses but fortunately causing only minor injuries.


Westerham Valley branch line

The Westerham Valley branch line was a short railway line in Kent that connected Westerham, Brasted and Chevening with the village of Dunton Green and the South Eastern Main Line, a distance of 4.5 miles (7.2 km).
History.
Authorisation for the construction of the line was obtained in 1864, 1867 and 1870 by the South Eastern Railway (SER). No works having been undertaken by 1876, several local inhabitants, aware of the advantages of the railway and impatient for action, rallied together to sponsor a bill similar to the original 1864 bill. The line was to be built in two phases: phase one from Dunton Green via Brasted to Westerham, and phase two covering the 4 miles from Westerham to Oxted, where it would join the Oxted Line, the construction of which had not by then been completed. However, the second phase was never realised due to opposition from the SER.
The line was authorised on 24 July 1876 and the Westerham Valley Railway Company was formed to oversee its construction and to take over formal ownership. An agreement was then concluded in 1879 with the South Eastern Railway by which the latter would undertake the construction works and eventually operate the line. The actual cost of construction was in the region of £70,000 and the line opened on 7 July 1881. Initially, the service ran only from Westerham to Dunton Green where passengers wishing to travel to London Charing Cross (via Cannon Street) would have to change. Formal ownership of the line was transferred to the South Eastern Railway in August 1881 at which point the Westerham Valley Railway Company was dissolved.
In 1899, SER merged with its bitter rival, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR).
In 1923, the Westerham Valley branch, together with its operators the SECR, became part of the Southern Railway at the grouping.
Decline.
The Southern Railway was nationalised in 1948 and became the Southern Region of British Railways.
The line began to suffer competition with buses, notably the 403 route which ran from Croydon via Sanderstead, Chelsham and Westerham to Sevenoaks, and as train fares rose dramatically from 1938, passenger numbers fell. By 1960 the line was reported to be losing £26,000 per year and a proposal was made to close it in April 1960. However, the Central Transport Users' Consultative Committee argued against this move, claiming that 200 passengers per day used the line.
This advice was rejected by the then Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, and the last day of operation of the line would be 28 October 1961. He rejected a petition against closure signed by almost 2,500 local inhabitants and presented by the MP for Sevenoaks, John Rodgers. The Minister claimed that service was losing £26,000 per year which was equivalent to £150 per passenger. One of the last trains to run was the "Westerham Flyer", a Class H 0-4-4T No. 31518 flying a Union Jack and bearing the notice "Flyer 1881-1961".
Attempted revival.
Westerham Valley Railway Association.
In 1962, the Westerham Valley Railway Association, born of a merger between two local interest groups, the Westerham Branch Railway Passengers' Association and the Westerham Valley Railway Society, began to investigate the possibility of re-opening the line, staffed by volunteers, for commuters on weekdays and as a heritage railway at weekends between April and October. British Railways offered the ownership of the line for £30,000 on the basis that a commuter service would be provided, thereby allowing it to cease its subsidies of bus services which were now over-subscribed following the closure of the Westerham branch. In July 1962, British Railways granted a lease of Westerham Station building, which became the Headquarters of the Association. A lease of Brasted Station was also later agreed.
Offer to purchase the line.
However, British Railways were later to change their policy regarding the disposal of disused branch lines and, as they had done with the Bluebell Railway, were no longer prepared to simply lease the line to a private operator. Instead, they now required an outright sale of the line to the Association for £53,000. Thanks to the help of an anonymous backer, the Association was able to put forward an offer of £30,000 for the track, buildings, land and branch platform at Dunton Green. British Railways accepted this offer subject to the condition that a commuter service be provided, thereby enabling it to cease its annual subsidy of £8,700 towards the additional bus services laid on following the line's closure.
Intervention of the Kent County Council.
The withdrawal of the backer following the refusal of his planning application to develop land at Westerham Station cast serious doubt on the proposed re-opening. In the Association's Annual General Meeting on 2 November 1963, members were informed that efforts to raise the £30,000 plus £10,000 for equipment had failed. Furthermore, British Railways were now in talks with the Kent County Council regarding the sale of the line to enable the construction of the A21 Sevenoaks bypass which required the demolition of a bridge along the route of the line.
More positive news was received later in November 1963 when it was revealed that not only had a new backer been found, but also that terms were agreed with British Railways for the sale of the land to the Association. However, one month later, Kent County Council contacted the Association and informed them that the Council's intended purchase of the land would save taxpayers the sum of £120,000 and, furthermore, that in the event British Railways were unwilling to sell the land to it, as had been intimated, compulsory purchase powers would be used. Faced with the prospect of a compulsory sale, British Railways now broke off negotiations with the Association and agreed to sell the line to the Council.
However, in April 1964, the Council indicated their willingness to lease the line to the Association, thereby ensuring the line's continued existence if the Association were to finance the cost of constructing a bridge over the railway cutting at Chevening to enable the Sevenoaks bypass to cross it. The cost of this bridge was estimated by the Council at £14,000, added to which was the annual rent of the line of £3,000. The estimate of £14,000 was revised upwards in August 1964, to a figure of £26,215 (equivalent to £355,800 in modern currency) which was to be paid by 24 August, otherwise works would commence to infill the cutting.
Purchase of rolling stock.
In the meantime, the purchase of several former Metropolitan Railway coaches and a Class H 0-4-4T locomotive No. 31263 had been agreed and were awaiting collection. Initially, British Railways had allowed the stock to be stored at Dunton Green, but since the intervention of the Kent County Council, it became 'reluctant' to allow this and threatened to scrap the stock were it not collected. The coaches were loaned and later sold to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and the locomotive to the Bluebell Railway where it remains today.
Final days.
By November 1964 the funds to construct the bridge had still not been found and, following the infilling of the Chevening cutting, the Association realised that their plans to re-open the line could no longer be realised. This was notwithstanding intervention by the MP for Faversham, Terence Boston, who unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the new Labour Minister of Transport, Tom Fraser, to hold an enquiry into the County Council's plans to convert the line into motorway.
In autumn 1965, the Association merged with the Kent & East Sussex Railway Preservation Society. By March 1967 the railway track had been lifted and Westerham Station demolished. Works on the section of the M25 from Sundridge Road to Westerham commenced in December 1976 and were completed in December 1979.
The line today.
Save for the section taken by the M25, a surprising amount of the line still remains and it is possible to walk from Dunton Green as far as junction 5 on the motorway which is situated near Chevening. Nothing remains of the three stations, save for several houses in Railway Terrace, Westerham, near the site of the old station. The site of Westerham station is now covered by a road known as "The Flyers Way" after the name by which the train was known locally. Perhaps of additional interest to collectors of railway memorabilia is the extreme rarity of the former Southern Railway target station sign for Brasted, which currently (2008) holds the record of £3250 for the highest price paid at auction for such a sign. The site of Brasted station is now under the westbound hard shoulder lane of the M25 although the station approach road and site of the goods yard can be seen alongside the motorway.
The site of Chevening Halt is now a field alongside the M25/A21 interchange although it is possible the platform may still exist buried when the cutting was infilled for the M25/A21 roadworks.


Portsmouth line

The Portsmouth line is a secondary main line originally built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway between 1847 and 1868. It leaves the South London Line (Atlantic Lines) at , with connections to the Victoria branch of the Brighton Main Line at , and continues via , and to join the Mid-Sussex Line at .
Names.
The Portsmouth line refers to the preferred route from London to Portsmouth on the former LB&SCR system, and particularly the cutoff from Peckham Rye to Horsham. It is not generally applied north of Peckham Rye or south of Horsham because those lines have well-known identities established before the Portsmouth connection was completed: the South London Line, the Mid-Sussex Line and the West Coastway Line.
For a time passenger services on the Portsmouth line and some associated branches were timetabled and marketed as the "Sutton & Mole Valley Lines". Since 2007 that name no longer appears in Southern or National Rail publications.
The Portsmouth Line should not be confused with the "Portsmouth Direct Line" (originally called the "Direct Portsmouth Railway"). The Portsmouth Direct, before the Grouping part of the LSWR system, has been the primary route from London to Portsmouth since it opened. It leaves the South Western Main Line at and runs via to . From Havant to it shares the LBSCR route.
From Portcreek Junction to Portsmouth the route was owned and operated jointly by the LBSCR and LSWR, and that section is known as the "Portsmouth Joint Line".
History.
Early railways to Portsmouth were far from direct. In 1841 the LSWR opened a branch from (on the London-Southampton main line) to , with a ferry across the harbour to Portsmouth. By 1847 the LBSCR had extended its West Coastway Line from to Portsmouth Town, with trains from , and from with a reversal (or change) at Brighton. In 1848 the LSWR opened a branch from on the Gosport line to join the LBSCR at Portcreek Junction, and negotiated with the LBSCR for joint ownership of the line to the Portsmouth terminus. Surprisingly over such a distance the two routes from London were almost identical in length, the Brighton route being shorter by just 51 chains (94m 43ch from London Bridge via Brighton, vs. 95m 14ch from Waterloo via Eastleigh).
For a decade these remained the only lines into Portsmouth. The people of Portsmouth and particularly the Admiralty thought such roundabout routes were unsatisfactory for a major naval base, especially when the rival port of Southampton, and Brighton, a mere seaside resort, were served by fast direct lines from London. Various schemes were proposed for shorter lines, including routes via Horsham and via the Wey Valley. The eventual winner was the Direct Portsmouth Railway, authorised in 1853 and opened in 1858. This extended the LSWR Godalming branch to meet the LBSCR West Coastway at Havant. It was operated and later acquired by the LSWR, and quickly became the most popular route to Portsmouth, despite initial obstructive tactics by the LBSCR at Havant.
This put the LBSCR at a disadvantage, but over the following decade they developed a number of lines in Surrey and West Sussex that substantially improved their Portsmouth service.
Thus the route that eventually became the Portsmouth Line was built in stages over an extended period:
Along The North Downs.
Arrival at Epsom.
Sutton and Epsom were first reached by an extension of the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) from West Croydon. This was promoted by the L&CR as an independent company, the Croydon and Epsom Railway (C&ER), and was originally proposed to be an atmospheric railway.
In 1846 the C&ER merged with the L&CR, the London & Brighton Railway and others to form the LBSCR, and in 1847 the Croydon and Epsom route was completed as a conventional locomotive-hauled line under LBSCR auspices. It ran via Wallington, Sutton, Cheam and Ewell to an Epsom station on the east side of town.
Extending to Leatherhead.
Twelve years later the independent Epsom and Leatherhead Railway (ELR) built a line from a new station on the west side of Epsom to Leatherhead, opening in February 1859 as single line with just one intermediate station, at Ashtead. The LSWR-promoted Wimbledon and Dorking Railway connected end-on at Epsom, opening in April 1859. On 8 Aug 1859 the LBSCR opened an extension from its existing Epsom station to the ELR. Within a year the ELR was jointly acquired by the LSWR and LBSCR.
Avoiding Brighton.
Horsham and The Arun Valley.
A single-line branch from the Brighton Main Line at Three Bridges to Horsham, later known as the Mid-Sussex Line, had opened in 1848. It was extended down the Arun Valley to Petworth via Pulborough in 1859 (eventually reaching Midhurst in 1866). In 1862 it was doubled throughout, and the following year it was extended from Hardham Junction, south of Pulborough, to Arundel Junction on the West Coastway Line. This, in 1863, gave the LBSCR a more direct path from London to Chichester and Portsmouth than the long detour via Brighton, although it followed two-thirds of the Brighton Main Line before turning cross-country.
The Mole Valley: Leatherhead to Horsham.
In 1862 the Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway (HDLR) was authorised to provide a link from the Mid-Sussex Line at Horsham to Leatherhead, crossing the North Downs via the Mole Valley between Dorking and Leatherhead. The line connected to the ELR at Leatherhead, just east of the existing station. At Dorking there was a south-to-west spur to the South Eastern Railway's Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway, but this was never used for regular services.
When the HDLR opened in 1867 it created an LBSCR route to Portsmouth that avoided much of the busy Brighton Main Line, although it was actually longer than the Mid-Sussex/Arun Valley route, and still used the congested lines through and .
The Sutton cutoff.
So far the LBSCR route to Epsom and beyond had been via the Wallington (West Croydon to Sutton) line but in 1868, only a year after the Horsham to Leatherhead connection, they opened a line from Peckham Rye to Sutton via and . Although it primarily filled gaps in the LBSCR suburban network it also improved the route to Portsmouth, being slightly shorter than via Wallington, and bypassed the bottlenecks at Norwood Junction and Selhurst; so it was promoted as a new "Portsmouth Line".
Connections.
On opening in 1868 the Sutton line had many links, all but one to other LBSCR lines:
Engineering.
The section from Peckham Rye to Streatham passes through the grounds of Dulwich College and relatively hilly terrain, which required some costly engineering works:
The arches of the viaduct and the south portal of Knight's Hill Tunnel are adorned with the monogram "AC", in tribute to the landowner "Alleyn's College", as Dulwich College was known at the time the line was built.
Mitcham Junction station is approached from both directions by severe curves that turn the Portsmouth Line through 90-degrees to join the alignment of the Wimbledon-Croydon line (running NW-SE), then back to resume its broadly SW alignment.
Later Connections.
In 1885 the LSWR opened the New Guildford Line from to via Cobham. This included a branch from via to the Portsmouth Line at Leatherhead. This turned the old LSWR terminal at Leatherhead into a through station, and enabled a "Guildford via Epsom" service which continues to this day.
After the Grouping, in 1927 the Southern Railway diverted the Bookham line to join the HDLR to the west of the LBSCR station, which then became the only Leatherhead station. A stump of the original ELR/LSWR line was retained for carriage sidings.
Also in 1927 the Southern Railway completely rebuilt Epsom LSWR station and layout to give the LBSCR (Sutton) line access to the platforms. Epsom Town was closed to passengers in 1929, and became the main goods station for the area, relieving the cramped yard at Epsom (LSWR).
One of the last new lines to be built in Britain before the HS1 era was the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR), from Wimbledon through Merton and Morden, to join the Portsmouth Line in the up direction south of Sutton. Construction began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The Wimbledon & Sutton line is now part of a circular route from Streatham, via the Portsmouth Line to Sutton, the W&SR to Wimbledon, then the Wimbledon Loop (northern branch) back to Streatham.
Technical information.
Tunnels.
There are five tunnels, built between 1860 and 1867:
Knight's Hill Tunnel, long, between and Tulse Hill has a very ornate southern portal, surmounted by the arms of Alleyn's College, the local landowners. The southern portal is framed by pilasters on each of which are two ball finials (stone spheres); it can be seen from Tulse Hill station. The northern portal, which is hidden in a cutting, is quite plain.
Leigham Tunnel, long, is between Tulse Hill and Streatham Tunnel. It is also called "Higher Leigham" or "Leigham Vale" Tunnel to distinguish it from "Leigham Court Tunnel" on the Crystal Palace Line between and Leigham Junction.
Streatham Tunnel, long, between Leigham Tunnel and Streatham station. It is on a curve and most unusual in that the southern portal is a skewed arch, with decorative details including massive stone capping, dentils and panelled brickwork.
Mickleham Tunnel is midway between Leatherhead and . It is long and runs through the lower chalk of Norbury Park, entering the hillside immediately north of one of the three viaducts over the River Mole. Restrictions imposed by the landowner, Thomas Grissell, meant that vertical ventilation shafts could not be constructed. The tunnel portals were given lavish architectural treatment.
Betchworth Tunnel is south of Dorking. It is long with a maximum gradient of 1 in 80 (1.25 per cent). It runs through the upper greensand of the Deepdene Ridge to the east of the town. Construction difficulties delayed the opening south of Dorking. It collapsed on 27 July 1887, remaining closed for over six months.
Viaducts.
The viaduct across the grounds of Dulwich College already mentioned includes some decorated cast-iron underbridges: West Dulwich, Croxted Road Bridge (image 5).
Between Leatherhead and Dorking are a number of brick-arch viaducts over the River Mole, not as elaborate as the Dulwich viaduct but still notable: River Mole viaducts, images 3-5. Mickleham Tunnel exits directly onto one of them.
Sectional References.
The Portsmouth Line is most of the Line of Route (LOR) SO680, Bermondsey Junction to Horsham, although that also includes part of what was historically known as the South London Line, from South Bermondsey to Peckham Rye.
Because of the fragmentary origins of the Portsmouth Line, for engineering purposes it comprises several distinct sections with different mileage origins. Corresponding to LOR SO680 is the Engineer's Line Reference (ELR) BTH ("Bermondsey to Horsham"), which is divided into 3 sections with mileage breaks at Sutton and Epsom.
The route from the two LBSCR London termini to Portsmouth uses various other ELRs. The following table describes the complete routes from London Bridge and Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour, with the Portsmouth Line itself highlighted in blue
Services.
From the 1870s the LBSCR operated Portsmouth services over this line (as well as the Mid-Sussex route) in competition with the LSWR Portsmouth Direct Line. At over 11 miles longer (85m 72ch from Victoria vs. 74m 24ch from Waterloo) it could not compete for the principal London to Portsmouth traffic, but it maintained a viable existence providing a Portsmouth and South Coast service for intermediate stations and the many branch connections. It was also used for services from London to Littlehampton and Bognor, including dividing trains and slip-coaches.
After the Grouping the Southern Railway concluded that there was no longer a need for competing routes to Portsmouth and in 1924 withdrew the fast service from Victoria. There was a public outcry, prompting wider criticism of SR services and leading to the appointment for the first time of a "Public Relations" manager. Within a year the SR reinstated the Victoria to Portsmouth expresses.
The Portsmouth Line was still used by fast & semi-fast trains from Victoria and London Bridge to Portsmouth after nationalisation. Then in 1978 to meet growing demand at those services were re-routed via the Brighton Main Line to Three Bridges then the Mid-Sussex Line, reverting to the service that operated between 1863 and 1867.
The Portsmouth Line is now used only for suburban services and occasional diversionary routing. A representative (but not exhaustive) selection of services as of 2020 (weekday off-peak):
Southern.
Epsom Downs services usually run via Wallington and only interchange with the Portsmouth Line at Sutton.
Thameslink.
Thameslink Sutton Loop services join the Portsmouth Line at Tulse Hill. The Thameslink Peterborough to Horsham service runs via Three Bridges.


Eaton Park Miniature Railway

The Eaton Park Miniature Railway (EPMR) is situated in Eaton Park, in Norwich, Norfolk.
Construction began in 1957 and the loop of elevated and gauge track opened in May 1960, with public being carried on Summer Sundays. In the 1970s the line was extended to . In 2004 a second ground level line, of mixed and gauge, was constructed, and there is now over of track on the site. In February 2013 work started on a tunnel, designed to also serve as a secure trolley shed.
Weather permitting, the railway is open to the public every Sunday from Easter to the end September.
References.
For More info visit the link below,
http://www.friendsofeatonpark.co.uk/railway.html


Reading Tramways Company

Reading Tramways Company operated a horse-drawn tramway service in Reading in the English county of Berkshire between 1879 and 1901.
The company is one of the ancestors of the current Reading Buses, the town's municipally owned bus operator.
History.
The origins of Reading Transport can be traced back to 1878, when the privately owned Reading Tramways Company (part of the Imperial Tramways Company) was formed. They were initially authorised to construct and operate a horse tram route on an east-west alignment from Oxford Road through Broad Street in the town centre to Cemetery Junction. Significantly, this route formed the core of what became known as the "main line" of the tram and trolleybus network.
Construction started in January 1879, with the entire line being open by May. A fleet of six single decked cars were initially used, with 31 horses, providing a 20-minute frequency. The cars operated from a depot on the south side of the Oxford Road, immediately to the east of where Reading West railway station (opened 1906) was later built. By the 1890s the whole fleet had been replaced by double decked cars operating at a 10-minute frequency. The company made several proposals to extend the system, add routes and electrify the system. But none of these came to anything, and in 1899 the borough corporation decided to purchase the system.
Closure.
The purchase deal was completed on 31 October 1901, and the Reading Corporation Tramways came into being. The corporation set out about first extending, and then electrifying the system. The extensions were completed by December 1902, and the last horse cars ran in July of the following year.


New Guildford line

The New Guildford line, presently operated by South Western Railway, is a commuter line between and . It branches off the South Western Main Line just south of , at the same point as the short branch line to . On timetables, trains on this route are advertised as going to "Guildford via Cobham".
Rush hour services provide two (inbound) morning services and one (outbound) evening service non-stop between Surbiton and Waterloo. Off-peak services run twice per hour (once on Sundays) and are slower, stopping at all intermediate stations except between Surbiton and Wimbledon.
The line was electrified using the third rail system as far as Claygate in 1916 and onwards to Guildford in 1925.
Current services.
At present on Monday to Saturday there are two trains per hour to Guildford. These trains stop at , , , and then all stations between Surbiton and Guildford.
There is one additional train during the morning peak period to London and conversely in the evening to Guildford on weekdays. This extra train runs non-stop between London Waterloo and Surbiton in both directions. On Sundays there is just one train per hour in each direction.
South Western Railway also operates another service from Waterloo to Guildford which runs via the Mole Valley line between and then follows the branch through and joins the New Guildford line at and runs in parallel with the Cobham trains to the terminus at Guildford. Southern Railway also operates peak time services between Guildford and Effingham Junction. These trains go to and via and , with one train per hour in each direction on both routes.
On 9 May 2011 Network Rail applied to the local planning authority to extend the platforms at , , and to take 10-car trains as part of a 2012/13 Network Rail plan that included Effingham Junction, , and .
History.
The New Line was opened on 2 February 1885 by the London and South Western Railway. Successor companies to run the line were the Southern Railway, British Rail Southern Region, later Network SouthEast, South West Trains, and currently South Western Railway. A note on the geology of the line as revealed by the construction of the cutting at the Guildford end was made by Godwin-Austen in 1884. Originally the line left the main line at Hampton Court Junction with two parallel tracks off the main line. The bridge just south of the down line junction is to this day big enough for two tracks when it now only has to accommodate one. In 1908 the up line was diverted under the main line to reduce congestion. Details of this venture were noted in The Railway Magazine in 1908 which referred to the bringing into use of a "new burrowing line".
Electric train service and its development since 1916.
The section of the New Guildford line from London Waterloo to Claygate was the final suburban electrification carried out by the London and South Western Railway, with the first services using the 660 V DC third-rail system on 20 November 1916. The journey from Claygate to Guildford was then a steam hauled service. The journey from Waterloo to Claygate took 29 minutes on commencement of the electric service which was supplemented by steam hauled services during the mornings and evenings. The First World War halted the LSWR's electrification program, and the Claygate to Guildford electrification was completed under the auspices of the Southern Railway, with the first electric train arriving at Guildford station on 12 July 1925. A new bay platform, now Platform 1, was added at the north-east end of the station to cater for the electric trains as the Portsmouth line wouldn't be electrifed until 1937. Until then down steam trains had used what is now Platform 2.
Currently electric train stock is stabled and serviced at Wimbledon and, until 1993, at Effingham Junction. The latter is now used by Colas Rail as a servicing centre for multiple-purpose track maintenance vehicles (MPV) for Network Rail. From electrification to the early 1960s train stock was formed of 3 and latterly 4 car 3SUB and 4SUB units. In the early 1940s a new 4SUB was introduced. For a while in the late 1950s and 1960s the line was the only route from Waterloo that had 4SUB units substituted by EPB units. For many years new train stock was tested for long periods on this route. New mainline 4LAV units were tried out in public service in the spring of 1932 on the Waterloo – Cobham – Guildford route, where a publicity shot was taken of a unit carrying headcode H with a bar above, the original route code for the line. The line received the first post-World War 2EPB electric stock that became the standard for British Railways Southern Region for many years. In January 1952, 4EPB set number 5001 entered service on the line.
For most of the life of the New Guildford line, only second (formerly known as third) or standard-class stock has been available. For a brief period starting in October 1973, first class service was provided but the total number of seats was much reduced from the former second class only stock, from 772 to 560 seats, and this resulted in much dissatisfaction due to the consequent overcrowding. However, the first-class train stock used consisted of 4VEPs and, owing to a shortage of this stock available for the stopping services between Waterloo and , first-class service was abruptly withdrawn from the New Guildford line and second-class only service reinstated. During the period of first-class service, a number of trains ran as stopping services to and from Portsmouth. Very occasionally, during times of disrupted working, 4COR sets with 2HAL and 2BIL units that had been cascaded from the main line would be seen – the former causing substantial delays owing to the lack of doors for quick rush-hour loading.
Current rolling stock.
Currently the services to Guildford and London Waterloo are using Class 455 sets built in the early to mid-1980s, which have now all undergone an extensive refurbishment program which was completed in 2008. Refurbished 2 car sets of Class 456 formerly in service with Southern (Railway), have been used since 2017 to extend peak hour services and some off peak services to 10 car operation.
Accidents and incidents.
1925.
Shortly after the line to Guildford was electrified there were three minor accidents. In each case the drivers lost control of their trains due to unfamiliarity with the new style Westinghouse brake equipment. These incidents happened on 16, 23 and 31 July. The report of the Ministry of Transport Inspector notes that the three trains were all coming into the new terminal bay platform that had recently been installed for the electric services.
1953.
On 18 September there was another incident of the same type as in 1925 when a train overran the buffers at Guildford and collided with the station offices, killing the assistant station master. Once again the driver was not familiar with the new type of brakes that had been introduced with the new train stock – this time 1951 electro pneumatic brake electric multiple units.
2010.
On 5 November 2010, a lorry fell off a bridge over the railway line near Oxshott railway station, landing on the 3:05 pm South West Trains service from Guildford to London Waterloo. The lorry driver and one passenger suffered serious injuries; a further five passengers suffered minor injuries.


Railways of Shropshire

The English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines, as well as a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway running along its eastern border with Worcestershire.
The majority of the county's public rail services are run by Transport for Wales. The remainder are run by West Midlands Trains (under their "West Midlands Railway" brand) and Avanti West Coast.
National Rail services.
National Rail services in Shropshire are centred about Shrewsbury station (all other 'national rail' stations in Shropshire have a direct train service to Shrewsbury, which is the county town), which is managed by Transport for Wales. The station is at the junction of the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line, Shrewsbury to Chester Line, the Welsh Marches Line (between Cardiff and Manchester) and the Cambrian Line (towards Welshpool). Craven Arms station is at the junction between the Welsh Marches Line and the Heart of Wales Line, although services on the Heart of Wales Line begin at Shrewsbury, rather than Craven Arms itself. There are direct train services from Shrewsbury (and elsewhere in the county) to the cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff, as well as the port at Holyhead where regular ferries to Dublin depart.
There are no electrified railways, as such, in the county despite the surrounding railway nodes of Crewe, Chester and Wolverhampton all being electrified. (The funicular Bridgnorth Cliff Railway although electrically powered is cable worked). This has meant that since the mid-1990s rail privatisation there has been a reluctance to establish a direct service to London by the cross-country railway companies (previously British Rail ran direct trains from Shrewsbury to London), notably Virgin Trains West Coast, who previously ran services to London Euston from the county in 2000. There was a direct service to London Marylebone, provided by the open-access company Wrexham & Shropshire, which operated from 28 April 2008 to 28 January 2011 and used diesel locomotives. On 11 December 2014, Virgin Trains recommenced direct services between Shrewsbury and London Euston.
Freight only lines.
There are two freight only lines in operation in the Telford area. One is the line from Madeley Junction on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line to Ironbridge Power Station via the historic industrial area of Coalbrookdale. The other is the newly restored line from Wellington to the Telford International Railfreight Park in Donnington which links the Terminal at Donnington with the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line.
There is also the short Abbey Loop line in Shrewsbury which is generally only used by freight trains.
The Gobowen to Blodwell line, which runs through Oswestry, has been a mothballed line since the 1980s. It previously served a small number of stone quarries in the area. In 2008 the line was bought by the County Council and will likely be used in part by the Cambrian Heritage Railways being set up in the area (by the Cambrian Railways Trust and Society, see Heritage section below) and also as a cycle path from Oswestry to Gobowen.
Former railways.
There are many closed lines in Shropshire, including
Many were closed in the 1960s, although the county did not fare too badly under Dr Beeching's massive nationwide railway cuts. The Heart of Wales Line was saved from closure. However, some previously major railway centres in the county, such as Oswestry, Newport and Market Drayton, now have no public railways.
Heritage railways.
There are three heritage railways in Shropshire: the Severn Valley Railway from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster (in Worcestershire), the Telford Steam Railway at Horsehay, and two restored stretches of the Cambrian Railways, being run by Cambrian Heritage Railways between Oswestry and Weston Wharf, and between Llynclys and Pant.
Cambrian Heritage Railways also (since taking on the former Cambrian Railway Society CRS) aims to restore part of the Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway at Nantmawr for use as a heritage railway. The CHR have a second operating base at Oswestry railway station, with a small collection of locos and rolling stock.
As well as the heritage only lines, the national lines of Shropshire witness a regular number of special charter trains with heritage diesel and steam locomotives and historic carriage stock in operation.
Stations.
Here are listed the 19 "National Rail" stations in current use in the county.
1 Sometimes written as "Hoptonheath".<br>
2 Although the town of Knighton is in Powys, Wales, the railway station is in Shropshire, England.
Tunnels.
There are four railway tunnels in use at present in Shropshire:
A notable disused tunnel exists running beneath High Town of Bridgnorth, which once carried the railway from Bridgnorth station northwards towards the Ironbridge Gorge. The tunnel continues to be maintained and is in good condition. There is the possibility of the Severn Valley Railway extending northwards through the tunnel, with the tunnel's owner BRB (Residuary) Ltd offering the heritage railway first refusal, however there would be substantial difficulties in reinstating the railway beyond the tunnel to the north of Bridgnorth.


Treffry Tramways

The Treffry Tramways were a group of mineral tramways in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, constructed by Joseph Treffry (1782-1850), a local land owner and entrepreneur. They were constructed to give transport facilities to several mines and pits producing non-ferrous metal, granite and china clay in the area between the Luxulyan Valley and Newquay, and were horse-operated, with the use of water and steam power on inclines, and at first operated in conjunction with the Par Canal and Par Docks, also constructed by Treffry. One of the routes crossed the Luxulyan Valley on a large viaduct, the largest in Cornwall when it was built.
The tramways were opened in stages from 1835 to 1870. They provided a dramatic improvement in mineral transport, but they were technically obsolescent, and they were taken over in 1874 by the Cornwall Minerals Railway, a cash-rich company which invested heavily in improving railway transport in the area, making the lines suitable for locomotive operation and extending them.
The original sections were laid without the need for an Act of Parliament, as a private venture, and the name of the lines is not defined; some writers refer to them as "Treffry's Railway" and other variants of the title. Tramway means a lightly constructed railway which is not generally fenced off. This is the essential character of a tramway, including street-running passenger lines in urban areas.
Today sections of the tramway route are still in use by passenger trains operating as the Atlantic Coast Line between Par and Newquay.
History.
Par Canal and Fowey Consols.
Joseph Treffry inherited large estates in Cornwall, including non-ferrous mines in high ground on both sides of the Luxulyan Valley. Transport of the heavy extracted minerals to market was a significant challenge, relying on horse-drawn carts on inferior roads.
Treffry's home was in Fowey where there was deep water berthing for coastal shipping; he had built improved quay facilities there in 1811 and 1813. He hoped to build a tramway to bring mineral products from the Luxulyan Valley to Fowey, but Charles Rashleigh owned intermediate lands that Treffry would need. Rashleigh also owned the harbour at Charlestown, which would be disadvantaged by Treffry's scheme, and he refused to allow the use of his land.
Treffry turned his thoughts to developing a harbour at Par, and he had one built there to the west of the mouth of the Par River; it was in operation from 1833. He built the Par Canal, connecting Pontsmill with the harbour. It was operational in 1840. He had a mine at Lanescot to the east of Pontsmill; it proved to be founded on a rich source of copper and developed into the Fowey Consols mine, and Treffry built a narrow gauge tramway on an inclined plane to bring the mineral from the shaft heads to Pontsmill.
The line was 1,127 feet long and self-acting, with a short tunnel under the St Blazey to Lostwithiel road. A second inclined plane was built, according to Bodman a little to the south of the first; it was 2,640 feet long, including a tunnel section 840 feet (256 m) long; it was double track and narrow gauge. It was powered by a 30 hp water wheel, and the leat to power it was four miles in length, being brought from Molinnis.
A contemporary plan seems to suggest the north and south sections are reversed: the northern line is double track and the tunnel mouth is close to the pit head; it is marked "Tunnel and Rail Road on an inclined Plane for conveying Materials from Mr. Treffry's Canal to the Mine". The southern tramway is marked "Rail Road for conveying the Ore from the Floors over the Inclined Plane to the Canal from whence it is taken for Sampling and Shipment per Water to the Wharfs at Par."
The incline was in operation from 1835, and Pontsmill became a centre for the processing of mineral; china clay was carted to the canal basin from the Hensbarrow area to the north-west of the Luxulyan Valley. Treffry had also installed an 80-inch steam engine, at the time the most powerful in Cornwall, at Fowey Consols, and this engine, known as the Austen engine, was symbolic of Treffry's exploitation of industrial progress.
Copper production was very demanding of transport: of coal inwards to fuel the engines, and of the ore outwards to the refining plant. In both cases this traffic was from and to South Wales, and the coastal shipping route was round Land's End, a difficult and dangerous passage. In 1835 Treffry let it be known that he intended to connect Par and Newquay by tramway or railway. There was a small harbour at Newquay, and its location on the north coast favoured communication with South Wales.
Par Consols.
Treffry repeated the technique of inclined plane tramways to connect Par Consols mine, located on high ground to the north-west of Par Harbour. It was 870 ft (265 m) long on a gradient of 1 in 7. Although the bulk of the traffic was downhill, coal had to be brought up to the mine head, and it was not possible to bring leats to the location, so that Treffry had to install a steam engine (rather than a water wheel) to power the uphaul. The tramway started work in 1841.
From Pontsmill to Colcerrow.
Undaunted by the difficult topography that a route to Newquay would have to traverse, Treffry had an initial section planned: a line from Pontsmill to Colcerrow Quarry, a distance of a little under two miles (about 3 km). The first part was to be another 1 in 9 incline, "Carmears Incline", about 950 yards (870 m) long, followed by a longer nearly-level section at the head. This line opened in 1841; the incline was cable-operated, driven by a water wheel. The wheel was 30 feet (9.1 m) diameter by 8 ft 6in (2.6 m) and it generated 76 hp, lifting 30 tons up the incline in 10 minutes. A considerable extent of new leats were made to bring water to the wheel, later augmented by a leat taken over the Treffry Viaduct. The track was formed of T-section rail on stone blocks, and was single line to the standard gauge.
The line was built on land owned by Treffry or by agreement with the owner and the commissioners of the turnpike trust, and no authorising Act of Parliament was sought. Although by this time locomotive traction had proved itself as effective in railway use, Treffry settled for horse operation as it would be three-quarters of the cost of locomotives. Treffry also used water wheels in preference to stationary steam engines where water was available, in view of the low operating cost. Coal was not naturally available in Cornwall and was expensive. Minerals brought down to Pontsmill were transshipped to barges on Treffry's canal for onward conveyance to Par Harbour and coastal shipping.
On to Molinnis.
The short section to Colcerrow was only a start, and the tramway was continued to Molinnis, near Bugle. While the gradients were easier here, it was necessary to cross to the west side of the valley, and a large viaduct was built to carry the line. Known as the Treffry Viaduct, it was 648 feet in length with ten arches, and was 98 feet high. It was the first large granite viaduct in Cornwall: the foundation stone was laid in March 1839 and weighed 10 tons. As well as carrying the tramway it contained a leat conveying water down to the Carmears waterwheel.
The viaduct cost £6,708 to build; the civil engineer for the scheme was James Meadows Rendel, and William Pease acted as project manager. As part of the construction process for the viaduct, a temporary inclined plane tramway was made, about 100 m in length leading due south up from the watercourse nearby.
The Molinnis terminal, near the Bugle Inn, gave access to numerous mineral workings in that area, particularly china clay, china stone and tin. This section of Treffry's tramway opened in early 1844.
In 1855 the Pontsmill to Bugle line was extended to Par Harbour alongside the Par Canal, thus removing the need to transship goods at Pontsmill.
Reaching Newquay.
While Treffry's emphasis had been at the southern end of his planned line, work started by 1844 on a line from Newquay Harbour to East Wheal Rose, an important lead mine a short distance south-east of the village of St Newlyn East, itself 4 miles (7 km) south of Newquay. Work was also in progress in connecting to St Dennis and Hendra, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Newquay, and destined to be on the line to Molinnis.
An Act of Parliament was secured in 1844 for the "Treffry Estate Railway, or Newquay Railway", and this may have been due to the greater involvement in public works of the Newquay line construction. (A further Act, the Treffry's Estate (Newquay Railway) Act of 1857 confirmed the right of the trustees to operate and maintain the lines already built, but allowed the abandonment of some sections authorised but not built; this latter Act forbade the use of locomotives without the approval of the Board of Trade.)
The line from Newquay Harbour to East Wheal Rose was in operation by February 1849, and the line to St Dennis and Hendra Crazey was opened in June 1849. There were china clay workings on Hendra Downs, high above St Dennis on the east, and for the time being the intended connection there was not made.
There were three tunnels on the line; one on the incline to Newquay Harbour, one at Coswarth—at 44 yards (40 m) in length, really a bridge—and Toldish Tunnel, 500 yards (460 m) in length. The incline from Newquay Harbour was at 1 in 4.5 and was worked by stationary engine and wire rope.
The main line crossed the Trenance Valley on a viaduct 98 feet (30 m) high and 210 yards (192 m) long, of timber trestles on seventeen stone piers. Its frail appearance led to its being known as "the Tolcarne Spider".
Extensions, but closing the gap deferred.
Treffry intended to connect the two sections of tramway, forming the coast-to-coast system he had conceived, but ill health and the depressed state of the market for the minerals delayed his plans. In fact he died on 29 January 1850, and his estate was beset with legal claims. His cousin Edward Willcocks LlD managed the estate while it was in chancery, and he changed his name to Edward Willcocks Treffry on 16 May 1850.
Under his stewardship the Hendra Downs incline was made ready for use in 1852, although it may not have been actually operational until 1857. It linked the china clay workings on high ground with the St Dennis section at Gullies Wharf near Hendra Crazey. It was powered by a beam engine.
About 1855 a branch was made from the Colcerrow branch to serve minor quarries at Cairns, north-east of Luxulyan.
The Pontsmill section of tramway was extended down to Par Harbour in 1855, avoiding the transshipment to canal at Pontsmill, as the tramway could now reach ships at Par Harbour. The Cornwall Railway was under construction at this time, but it did not open until 1859, then forming a link throughout southern Cornwall passing through Par; however that lien was on the broad gauge and no direct connection with the tramway lines was possible at first.
Locomotive operation impracticable.
In the beginning, Treffry had opted for horse operation of his tramways on the basis of their lower operating cost; and the inclines were worked by water wheel wherever practicable. At that time coal had to be brought in from South Wales by a difficult passage around Land's End, and coal fuel was an expensive commodity. By 1860 the technical shortcomings of Treffry's lines were becoming obvious, and an investigation was made into the possibility of converting to locomotive traction. The Carmears incline was an insurmountable obstacle to that, and the initiative seems to have been based on the Newquay to St Dennis section. However a report by Captain H W Tyler of the Railway Inspectorate was unfavourable:
The greater part of the line is laid with light rails ... in light chairs ... The chairs rest upon stone blocks about 3 feet apart ... On portions the permanent way is still less substantial ... There is a timber viaduct near Newquay which would require to be strengthened if locomotive engines were employed and the tunnels and bridges over the line are low and narrow, less than 12 feet high above the rails, by about 10 feet wide. Under present circumstances, the railway is not fitted for locomotive engines of any description ...
Changing times.
The Fowey Consols Mine proved to have a limited life, and by 1865 it was geologically exhausted, and together with the connecting tramways it closed. In fact copper extraction in the Luxulyan Valley area declined irrevocably around that time, and although some efforts were made to mine tin ore, this never proved to be a commercial success. However granite quarrying enjoyed an upsurge, and new quarries opened on a small scale at Rock Mill Quarry and Orchard Quarry, above Pontsmill on the south-west side of the river. In 1870 a branch of the tramway was extended from near Pontsmill to serve the two quarries. The line was on the north-east side of the river, and it had two branches for the quarries; each of them crossed the river, and the Orchard Quarry line had an incline to reach the site. The tramway on the incline may have been narrow gauge and was probably gravity operated.
Joseph Treffry's original decision in 1844 to use horse operation had made his tramways technically obsolescent, and by the 1870s they were significantly inefficient. It was clear that modernisation was required, but the Treffry Estate did not have the financial resources to carry out the work.
In 1872 William Richardson Roebuck concluded negotiations with the estate trustees and on 21 February 1872 he leased the tramways. He formed a limited company, the Cornwall Minerals Railway Limited and his company obtained parliamentary authority on 21 July 1873 to acquire the lines, form a new railway to connect them, and to make an extension to Fowey, and to improve the original tramway sections so as to make them suitable for operation by steam locomotive.
The Cornwall Minerals Railway and after.
So the Cornwall Minerals Railway (CMR) took over Treffry's lines and improved them. They quickly built the link between Hendra and Molinnis, and their new line to Fowey, and Treffry's vision of a through line from Newquay to Fowey was realised when on 1 June 1874 the CMR opened the line throughout. This was a considerable project, involving relaying the track and forming a new route up the Luxulyan Valley so as to avoid the rope-worked Carmears Incline. This involved a longer conventional gradient following a sinuous course through the valley, and remained a challenge for steam traction.
The new line in the Luxulyan Valley by-passed the Treffry Viaduct, but Colcerrow Quarry continued to be rail served. Traffic from the quarry reversed at the junction with the old main line at the Par end of the viaduct, and then crossed it, joining the new line at Luxulyan. This operation was horse worked, and the track was still the original Treffry stone-block type in 1933. By 1959 the Colcerrow route at Luxulyan had been shortened to a stub siding.
Passenger operation, not part of Treffry's plan, came into action in 1876. The East Wheal Rose branch remained a mineral section until the Great Western Railway (GWR), which had taken over the CMR in 1896, built its line from Newquay to Perranporth and Chacewater, partly taking over the line of route.
In due course the GWR became part of the nationalised British Railways, and the Fowey line and the Perranporth lines closed. Newquay and Par remain connected by a passenger railway formed on much of Treffry's original route, and his Par Harbour remains (at 2014) rail connected. Treffry Viaduct was by-passed as part of the CMR developments but remains as a listed structure, and a monument to Treffry's work.


Bishops Waltham branch

The Bishops Waltham branch was a railway line in Hampshire, England. It ran from Botley on the Eastleigh–Fareham line to Bishop's Waltham. The line was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) on 1 June 1863, closed to passengers on 31 December 1932 and finally closed to freight in 1962. A small part of the line is still in use at the Botley end to serve an aggregate depot.
The line followed the course of the River Hamble for most of its route, and was simply built with single track and a few under-bridges. There was a small station halfway to Bishop's Waltham called Durley Halt that opened in 1910, but traffic was always light.
Several other railways were proposed in the area in the 19th and early 20th centuries but these proposals came to nothing.
History.
Bishop's Waltham, Botley and Bursledon Railway.
The branch had its origins in a much grander plan put forward in the early 1860s. A group of businessmen in the Southampton area proposed a railway running across eastern Hampshire into Southampton. They were led by Arthur Helps, a prominent national figure (he had recently been made Clerk of the Privy Council) and writer. He owned an estate near Bishop's Waltham and had financed the creation of the town's Coke & Gas Company and a brickworks. The aim of the Bishop's Waltham, Botley & Bursledon Railway (BW,B&BR) was to link the proposed Petersfield & Midhurst Railway to the main line into Southampton which was owned by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). The LSWR was a large and established company having built the South Western Main Line between London and Southampton in the 1830s. The promoters of the Bishop's Waltham Railway, like many similar small railway undertakings, hoped to arrange for the LSWR to operate the line once it was built in return for a share of the takings.
Bishop's Waltham Railway Company.
The LSWR objected to the proposed BW,B&BR as a potential competitor to its own line and refused to an agreement. However the LSWR was equally wary that its main rival, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) would secure the rights to operate the line itself and thus be able to run its services right into the heart of LSWR territory. The LSWR and the BW,B&BR reached an agreement that the smaller company would reduce its plans to a simple branch between Botley and Bishop's Waltham. The LSWR would operate the line at a favourable rate and would consider an extension to Petersfield in the future. The BW,B&BR changed its name to the Bishops Waltham Railway Company (BWR) and an Act of Parliament secured in 1862.
Opening to Bishop's Waltham.
Enough money had already been raised for the construction of the railway's earthworks and track and these were completed quickly, with the first train reaching Bishops Waltham in June 1863. However the BWR was forced to take out further loans and a mortgage to fund the construction of a passenger station and a goods yard at Bishops Waltham, which were not completed until March 1865 at a cost of £8,000. The branch earnt its owners only minimal profits in the first few years once the small company's interest payments and the LSWR's operating costs had been paid.
Bishop's Waltham and Petersfield Railway.
The BWR tried to fix an agreement with the LSWR to extend the line further in search of extra traffic and a second company, the Bishop's Waltham & Petersfield Railway (BW&PR), again led by Arthur Helps, was formed to try to secure investment for the project. This unfortunately coincided with a minor banking crisis and a recession in the British economy which saw investment in new railway projects dry up. It also further reduced traffic over the Bishop's Waltham branch line which was dealt a fatal blow in April 1867 when the Bishop's Waltham Clay Company, the local brickworks and one of the railway's main customers, went into liquidation and ceased production.
Sale to the LSWR.
The LSWR itself was making a profit from its operations over the line since it had none of the debts incurred in the line's construction yet took a proportion of all income from the branch. It continued to run trains along the line and simply billed the BWR for its outstanding payments. The BWR existed in a state of limbo for many years. By 1870 the company's annual meeting was disbanded because no shareholders were present. Following the death of Sir Arthur Helps in 1875 the company's Board of Directors informally disbanded. When in 1881 it was arranged to sell the remains of the BWR outright to the LSWR the process was held up because the company was in chancery with no directors, treasurer or secretary to act on its behalf. The sale was eventually conducted by the BWR's chief creditor and the LSWR took over the operation at a cost of £20,000.
Proposed Alton and Petersfield line.
In the 1860s the LSWR proposed a railway line between Alton and Petersfield, This railway would have had a junction near Warnford that crossed the Meon Valley and then ran to Bishop's Waltham, thus connecting to Botley and the Eastleigh–Fareham line. This would have required major works of civil engineering including a large bridge or viaduct, and would have put Bishop's Waltham on a major railway in the region. The plans never progressed.
Proposed locomotive and carriage works.
During the 1880s, when the LSWR was looking for a site for its main locomotive and carriage works, a group of Bishop's Waltham businessmen offered a proposal to site the works at Bishop's Waltham. The LSWR did conduct a detailed study of the proposal, but the site of Eastleigh was chosen instead, being on the main line. Eastleigh grew from a village smaller than Bishop's Waltham to a large industrial town centred on the works.
Traffic.
Whilst the line was usually only lightly used, with modest passenger numbers and low levels of freight, the line usually saw a period of frenetic, heavy use in the summer months during the strawberry harvest. Southern Hampshire (including the area around Bishop's Waltham, Botley, Fareham and Titchfield) was the UK's main strawberry growing region and during the harvest there was a near-continuous stream of special trains from the region to the London markets. Botley station had numerous sidings to accommodate the special trains the LSWR put on for the harvest, and the Bishop's Waltham line was key to shipping produce from the Meon Valley and the surrounding region to the main line.
Use of railmotors.
The Bishop's Waltham branch was one of the few lines in the region to be worked by railmotors. These were popular for light rural lines around the turn of the century, and consisted of a small 0-4-0 type locomotive rigid-coupled to a single carriage. This provided a low-cost and simple vehicle. However, railmotors lacked the power to pull any other carriages, and so were unable to cope with sudden high passenger numbers, such as occurred on market days or public holidays, and so were replaced by light standard tank engines.
Proposed Droxford line.
In 1901, during the construction of the LSWR's Meon Valley Railway, yet another group of local investors formed a company to build a line eastwards from Bishop's Waltham to the new station at Droxford. The line would be built under the Light Railways Act 1896 to keep down costs. The LSWR objected to the plans, citing the disruption a branch line would cause to its own operations at Droxford station. The Board of Trade was also sceptical that the line would remain within the terms of the Light Railways Act since it would require major earthworks, a tunnel and a large bridge or viaduct to cross the River Meon. The scheme failed to obtain an Act of Parliament and was abandoned.
Closure.
Passenger traffic had dwindled so far that services ceased in 1932, but freight trains ran until 1962.
The line today.
Some track still exists as a long siding, at the southernmost (Botley) end of the line. This is used by Foster Yeoman who operate an aggregate railhead depot and coated roadstone plant at Botley station. Most of the trackbed is still evident, but often very overgrown.
Preservation.
A scheme existed in 1964 to open a passenger carrying narrow-gauge railway along some or all of the line, but this scheme came to nothing.


Preston and Wigan Railway

The Preston and Wigan Railway would have been an early British railway company operating in Lancashire.
The Preston and Wigan Railway obtained an Act of Parliament on 22 April 1831 to build a line between Wigan and Preston.
On 8 August 1833 the Board decided that it would be to their advantage to amalgamate with the Wigan Branch Railway, the directors of the Wigan Branch Railway met shortly thereafter and agreed with them. An Act of Parliament was approved and gained royal assent on 22 May 1834 incorporating the two railways as the North Union Railway. It was the first-ever amalgamation of railway companies.
The line opened formally on 21 October 1838 and to the public on 31 October.


Liverpool Tramways Company

The Liverpool Tramways Company was operated horse-drawn tramway services in Liverpool from 1869 to 1898.
History.
In 1868 the Liverpool Tramway Company obtained permission to construct an Inner Circle line and lines to Walton and Dingle. Services started at 08.00 on 1 November 1869.
By the end of 1875, the network of lines had reached 60.75 miles of tramway. Services were provided through a stable of 2,894 horses and 207 tramcars.
The Liverpool Tramways Company merged with the Liverpool Road and Railway Omnibus Company in 1876 to form the Liverpool United Tramways and Omnibus Company. In 1897, Liverpool Corporation acquired the company and services were continued by Liverpool Corporation Tramways.
Surviving relics.
Horse car 43 is held at Wirral Tramway awaiting restoration.


Bolton and Preston Railway

The Bolton and Preston Railway connected Bolton and Preston, in Lancashire, England. Its authorising Act of Parliament forbade its early completion to protect the North Union Railway and imposed other restrictions that limited the success of the B&PR. A change of route was authorised to by-pass the delay making it dependent on the goodwill of the NUR to reach Preston. The NUR saw the B&PR as a competitor and used underhand tactics to harm the success of the B&PR.
The B&PR opened the first part of its line in 1841, but faced with extremely difficult ground conditions when constructing a tunnel north of Chorley, it only opened from Bolton to a junction with the NUR at Euxton in 1843.
A bitter rate-cutting war with the NUR ensued, and the B&PR was forced to sell its line to the NUR in 1844. The NUR was taken over and became jointly owned by the London and North Western Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, but in 1888 the Bolton to Euxton section, the original B&PR line, was transferred to the L&YR. The main line is in operation as part of the Manchester to Preston main line.
Proposal.
In 1838 the North Union Railway opened its line from Parkside to Preston. Bolton and Preston had important commercial connections but the rail route between them involved a circuitous journey using the Bolton and Leigh Railway to Kenyon Junction and Parkside and the North Union Railway. A direct railway was proposed and a company was formed in 1836. The first chairman was Thomas Ridgway, a Horwich bleacher, and the chief engineer appointed to survey the line was John Urpeth Rastrick.
The line would form an end-on junction with the Manchester and Bolton Railway and run via Chorley and a 690-yard tunnel to meet the Preston and Walton Plateway (Lancaster Canal Tramroad) near its southern terminus at Walton Summit. After following the route of the plateway for one and a half miles, the new line would run into Preston, crossing the River Ribble and tunnelling under Fishergate, to terminate beside the Lancaster Canal basin, at a site occupied by Maxwell House.
The Preston and Walton Plateway had been built in 1803 to link the two portions of the Lancaster Canal across the deep valley of the Ribble. It was double track with a gauge of five feet to the outside of the plates, and was a little under five miles in length. The line had three inclined planes. In Preston it ran down to the level of the Ribble, and then up to the canal terminating on an incline of 1 in 6, worked by a Boulton and Watt stationary engine and an endless chain.
Construction.
The Bolton & Preston Railway Bill obtained the Royal Assent in summer of 1837. The B&PR was authorised to acquire the plateway, maintain it and keep it open. Parliament noted that the North Union Railway was under construction and that north of Chorley the B&PR would follow a closely parallel route. To protect the NUR, the B&PR was not permitted to construct this section until three years had elapsed. Capital was to be £380,000.
Reed observes that
This was one of the most complicated and lengthy railway Acts framed up to that time, and had 263 clauses for the 20-mile line. It contained provisions which nullified each other yet left heavy financial commitments and sources of friction in the process; and it provided both the seeds of discord and the ground in which they could sprout and flourish.
The B&PR did not want to accept the delay and may have been deterred by the 1 in 6 gradient of the tramway on the north bank of the Ribble. A second survey by Joseph Jackson followed a different route north of Chorley, via a 300-yard long tunnel under the Chorley to Preston road and joined the NUR at Euxton. A second Act was passed on 4 July 1838. It proved to be a mistake as running over the NUR was "on payment of a toll hereafter to be fixed."
The B&PR was to have a station in Preston adjacent to Maxwell House near the Victoria Hotel on the north side of Fishergate. Although track and a platform were built, the B&PR never used it for passengers but the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway used it from 1 January 1842. The B&PR had to maintain the tramroad even though it was redundant. Thomas Swinburn was transferred from the Bolton and Leigh Railway to take charge of the tramroad, which remained in use until 1859.
Contracts were let for the line's construction from the end of 1838 as money became available, and on 24 December 1840 Sir Frederick Smith, from the Board of Trade inspected the line. He refused permission to open until gates and signals had been completed. On 26 December some company directors made a trial trip, and it opened as a single line from an end-on junction with the Manchester line at Bolton to a temporary terminus at Rawlinson Bridge on 4 February 1841. Rawlinson Bridge was nine and a quarter miles from Bolton, where the turnpike road crossed the line, close to a canal bridge. In October 1840 agreement was concluded with the Manchester and Bolton Railway to supply engines and rolling stock and the line was extended to Chorley on 24 December 1841.
When work was started on the tunnel north of Chorley, it became obvious that the ground conditions were exceptionally difficult and work was temporarily abandoned until 3 June 1841 when John Stephenson was brought in. He had completed the Summit Tunnel on the Manchester and Leeds Railway. He undertook to complete the work in fifteen months and stood to gain a premium of £1,500 if it was completed within twelve months. Stephenson, despite strenuous efforts, particularly in pumping ground water was unable to complete the work. In April 1842, Rastrick decided the tunnel would have to be abandoned and an open cutting built instead. The tunnel was reduced to 124 yards beneath the Chorley to Preston road. In 1842 the B&PR had insufficient capital to complete the line and another Act of 13 May 1842 increased the capital by £126,500.
Work on the cutting began in early June and within 13 months had been completed: it had a maximum depth of 80 feet, involved the removal of 650,000 cubic yards of earth. Track was laid with bridge-section rails, 49 lb per yard, on longitudinal timbers. According to a report by John Hawkshaw in 1850, nine miles of double track line had been laid with this type of rail on the B&PR and four miles of 60-lb doubleheaded section. General Pasley inspected the line for the Board of Trade, and it opened to Euxton Junction (North Union Junction) on 22 June 1843.
Operation.
The line was worked by the M&BR who had agreed to work the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway from 1 January 1842, intending to work from Manchester to Lancaster when the Bolton and Preston Railway was complete. The North Union Railway lost nearly all of its Bolton to Preston traffic because the B&PR had a shorter route from Manchester to Preston than that of the L&MR and the NUR together and the B&PR was a threat to its business. That the B&PR was dependent on the good will of the NUR for transit from Euxton to Preston gave the NUR an opportunity to harm its competitor's business.
In the first week the B&PR carried 3,697 passengers, but from the outset the NUR made difficulties, obstructing B&PR trains, sometimes causing delays at Preston of over half an hour. The NUR exacted a toll of a shilling per passenger for the miles, and did what it could to hinder B&PR trains, even preventing their use of the Maxwell House station at Preston. The B&PR was paying £8,000 a year to lease the tramway and the station at Preston, neither of which was necessary, but were required by the Parliamentary Acts. The B&PR had intended to rely on the NUR for rolling stock and engines, but as co-operative working was not forthcoming, the B&PR made agreements with the Manchester and Bolton Railway, the Preston and Wyre Railway, and the Lancaster Canal Company (which had leased the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway from 1 September 1842). By these agreements passengers could be booked from Manchester and Bolton to Lancaster or Fleetwood and vice versa without change of carriage.
The B&PR charged the same fares from Manchester to Preston as the NUR, but the NUR toll charge was disproportionate: in a single week the NUR toll amounted to about £120. The NUR reduced the first class fare from 7s 6d to 5s first, and a fortnight and later to 3s, and the other classes in proportion. The Manchester-Bolton-Preston companies were obliged to follow . The NUR toll was intolerable on the cheaper fares, and the B&PR directors decided to convey second and third-class passengers from Euxton to Preston by road coach and to apply to Parliament in the next session to revive the earlier powers to reach Preston along the course of the tramroad.
At a meeting of the B&PR on 28 October it was reported that the NUR had refused a revenue sharing arrangement of three-quarters via Bolton and one-quarter via Parkside, and later three-fifths via Bolton. In desperation the B&PR directors proposed amalgamating with the NUR, and at a NUR meeting held in Liverpool it was suggested that the amalgamation should be upon the basis of taking stock of the two companies. The NUR stock was £477,539 and that of the B&PR £262,002. Both companies' fares were restored their original prices on 1 January 1844 and at a general meeting of proprietors of the B&PR on 10 April the draft of the Bill for amalgamation was approved. The Bill received the Royal Assent on 10 May 1844.
Takeover.
From 1 January 1846 the NUR was leased jointly by the Grand Junction Railway (which merged into the London and North Western Railway in July 1846) and the Manchester and Leeds Railway (renamed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847). The NUR continued as a wholly owned company until 1888 when it was absorbed by the LNWR and L&YR jointly, and by Act of 26 July, the portions south of Euxton Junction were transferred to the ownership of the companies that used them: Bolton to Euxton Junction, the only part of the Bolton and Preston Railway built became exclusively owned by the L&YR.
The Waterhouse branch, serving several collieries to the south just over eight miles from Bolton, opened some time between 1849 and 1894.
Later years.
The Bolton to Euxton line, an important element in the trunk route from Manchester to the north, remained in use through several changes of ownership. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway merged with the LNWR in 1922, and the Grouping of the railways followed a year later, under the Railways Act 1921. The line is in use as a major route and was electrified in 2019. The Waterhouse branch has closed, as has the Preston (Maxwell House) station and its approach route.
Stations.
The original stations on the B&PR were:
Lostock Lane and Lostock Junction (opening): Lostock Lane first appears in Bradshaw in November 1846: Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) distance diagram of 1851 shows it well west of junction, on way to Horwich; in September 1852 Bradshaw it was replaced by Lostock Junction, timing same, suggesting perhaps just renaming, but diagram evidence makes it clear that was different site. In February 1856 Lostock Lane returned to Bradshaw but had been included in "co n of alterations"(quoting the Manchester Courier), Lostock Junction still present. Lostock Lane closed on 1 June 1879. and Lostock Junction on 7 November 1966. An attempt to reopen it was declined on 6 February 1897. A new Lostock (or Lostock Parkway in first timetable) opened 16 May 1988 on the site of the former Lostock Junction.
The convergence with the line from Wigan known as "Euxton Junction" was situated to the north of both the B&P and the North Union Euxton stations.


Buckinghamshire Junction Railway

The Buckinghamshire Junction Railway, often known as the Yarnton Loop, was a standard gauge railway between Buckingham Junction on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) and Oxford Road Junction on the Buckinghamshire Railway. It was opened on 1 April 1854 to enable OW&W trains to and from to connect with London and North Western Railway trains to and from .
Interchange station.
Handborough station was the interchange for the line, and had a refreshment room built for the purpose. The OW&WR planned a "grand new interchange station" at Yarnton but it was never built.
Take-over by GWR.
The OW&WR amalgamated with other railways to form the West Midland Railway (WMR) on 1 July 1860; and on 30 April 1861, the WMR and the Great Western Railway (GWR) reached an agreement under which they were to work closely together from 1 July 1861 with a view to full amalgamation. The GWR, WMR and the South Wales Railway (SWR) formally amalgamated on 1 August 1863 and did not continue connecting services with the rival L&NWR. The BJR remained open for freight, and was colloquially known as the Yarnton Loop.
Closure.
British Railways closed the BJR in 1965. Since then the Woodstock Road crossing (ex-A34 road now A44 road) has been replaced with a roundabout, part of the A4260 road has been built along the trackbed and part of the A34 road has been built across the trackbed. The level crossing keeper's lodge still exists, and is now a private house ().