Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
Overview | |
---|---|
Dates of operation | 1841–1847 |
Successor | Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne. The Peak District formed a formidable barrier, and the line's engineer constructed Woodhead Tunnel, over three miles (4.8 km) long. The company amalgamated with the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway and Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway companies, together forming the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1847.[1]
In the twentieth century the line carried an exceptionally heavy freight traffic, and it was electrified in 1954; at that time a new Woodhead Tunnel was driven. In 1974 the major part of the route was closed to passenger trains, leaving passenger operation continuing only on the Manchester–Hadfield section, and in 1981 the line east of Hadfield closed completely. The Manchester–Hadfield–Glossop section and a branch to Stalybridge remain in use.
Origins
At the end of the 18th century the need for improved transport links between Manchester and Sheffield, only 35 miles (56 km) apart but separated by the upland Peak District, was increasing. The canal route involved a long northwards detour through the Pennines, and the journey took eight days.[2]
In 1826 a land surveyor in Sheffield, Henry Sanderson, put forward a line to Manchester via Edale and a prospectus for a "Sheffield and Manchester Railway" was published in August 1830, with George Stephenson appointed to be the engineer.[3]
There were concerns about the severity of the gradients on this line, which would involve rope-worked inclines. He suggested an alternative route, via Penistone, that would involve less tunnelling, and have gentler gradients which could be worked by locomotives, but this scheme too failed to attract support.[2]
In 1835
After parliamentary expenses of £18,000 (equivalent to £1,700,000 in 2021),
Construction and first opening
The first sod was cut near the western end of the Woodhead Tunnel site on 1 October 1838. The following year the line had been marked out, land purchase was proceeding well, and construction had begun with Thomas Brassey as contractor. However a number of shareholders were defaulting on their payments, and there were concerns about the cost of construction. The Woodhead Tunnel would be built as a single-track bore to reduce costs. The relationship between the board and its engineer, Vignoles, was becoming strained, and Vignoles resigned. Joseph Locke agreed to act as engineer in a consultative capacity only, if the board would appoint resident engineers for the day-to-day supervision of the work.[9]
In 1841 Locke reported that construction of the tunnel would probably cost £207,000 (equivalent to £20,030,000 in 2021),
The arrangements for safe working at the junction seem to have been lax, and the Manchester Guardian observed that
Some caution will be requisite here to prevent two trains... coming into contact at this point. This, of course, may be done by arranging the times, or by keeping the rails separate, which is indeed to be the case when the line is completed to the new Manchester station, but at the present, the proper precaution seems to be to stand a watchman there to keep a look-out on both lines, and see that when a train is arriving on one line, there is no train arriving on the other, or if there be, to make the signal to one of them to slacken speed.[12]
Permanent way maintenance was put to contract.[11]
Completion of the line, and a cancelled alliance
The M&BR and SA&MR opened the jointly-owned
The main line was opened as far as Woodhead in 1844, with stations at Hadfield and Woodhead.[14] Construction of Woodhead Tunnel was the next hurdle, but improved pumping machinery had been installed, enabling better progress.
Alliances and extensions of the network were in the minds of the directors. Encouragement was offered to a proposed Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway, to run from the SA&MR at Sheffield to Gainsborough.[15] At the same time (1844) friendly relations with the Manchester and Birmingham Railway were further developed, and at length this led to a proposal by the M&BR with the Midland Railway to lease the SA&MR, giving those companies better access to Manchester. This seemed to be going well, and an authorising Act was passed, but the proposal was voted down in May 1845 by shareholders, who were persuaded that their line would be merely a remote satellite of the Midland Railway.[16]
A branch line was being built from Ashton to Stalybridge. However disaster took place: on 19 April 1845 a nine-arch viaduct under construction collapsed: 17 workmen were killed.[17]
On 9 June 1845 a short single line branch to Glossop was opened; powers were obtained in the 1846 parliamentary session to take it over from the Duke of Norfolk, who had caused it to be built. The branch joined the main line facing Manchester some distance to the east of the original Glossop station, now renamed Dinting.[16]
The (unconnected) eastern section of the main line was opened on 14 July 1845; there were stations at
Finally on 22 December 1845 Woodhead Tunnel was ready and a ceremonial opening of the entire line, including the Stalybridge branch, took place; the following day it opened to the general public. The tunnel was at the time the longest in the country, at 3 miles 22 yards (4.848 km). Two extra stations were added at the site of previous coal sidings at Oxspring and at Thurgoland.[19]
Besides Woodhead, there were short tunnels at Audenshaw Road, Hattersley (two), Thurgoland and Bridgehouses. Among the bridges the two most notable were the Etherow Viaduct and the Dinting Viaduct, the latter with five central and eleven approach arches.
The completed network consisted of 40 miles (64 km) of main line, 2+1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) on the Stalybridge branch and one mile (1.6 km) on the Glossop branch.[20]
1845: Expansion
The state of the money market considerably improved in 1844–45, and the
Of greatest significance was a meeting on 5 September 1845 between the SA&MR, the promoters of the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway, and the
Part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
On the first day of existence of the new company, a 1⁄2-mile (0.80 km) connecting line from Bridgehouses station to the Sheffield station of the Midland Railway. It had originally been opened as the terminus of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway; it was known as Sheffield Wicker station from 1852.[23] The short steeply graded line was enclosed within a tunnel for almost its entire length, and was known locally as the Fiery Jack.[24] It was used for wagon transfer purposes.[25]
The through line required a better Sheffield station: a station was built, and opened on 15 September 1851, and named Victoria station.[26]
An express passenger train service was run from Manchester to London, from 1857, in association with the Great Northern Railway. A timing of 5 hours 20 minutes was operated, the same time as on the rival London and North Western Railway (successor of the Manchester & Birmingham Railway), although that company soon accelerated its services to a speed that the MS&LR and GNR service could not match. For a time there was bitter hostility from the LNWR with some underhand tactics employed by it to discourage use of the rival service.[27]
Woodhead Tunnel
There were a number of viaducts on the original line, although few survived into the 20th century in their original form. The principal engineering feature was Woodhead Tunnel. At 3 miles 22 yards (4.848 km) in length it was the longest tunnel in the United Kingdom when built, and still the longest on the LNER system in 1947. It was originally planned to build a double-track tunnel, but to economise a single-track bore was made. The track rose at 1 in 201 towards the east.
No less than 157 tons of gunpowder were used for blasting and eight million tons of water were pumped out, whilst the total quantity of excavation was 272,685 cubic yards (208,483 m3), about half of this being drawn up the shafts. It was completed at a cost in the region of £200,000. The formal opening of the Woodhead tunnel and of the whole line between Manchester and Sheffield took place on 22 December 1845, more than seven years after the first ground had been broken.[28]
Special precautions were taken to ensure against accidents during operation through the tunnel. An SA&MR pilot engine was stationed at the tunnel and attached to the front of every train that passed through. On the front of the engine was fixed an argand lamp, with a large polished metal disc for reflection, so that a powerful beam of light was thrown forward on the track ahead. A contemporary newspaper account also stated that "Cooke & Wheatstone's patent magnetic telegraph was being fixed in the tunnel with an index, etc., at the stations at each end, capable of being worked by the station clerks."
The single line through the Woodhead tunnel soon proved to be an acute bottleneck and in 1847 (after the formation of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway) work upon a second bore was begun. This new tunnel, which was to accommodate the up road (towards Manchester), was driven alongside the original one, it opened on 2 February 1852.[29]
After the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was renamed the Great Central Railway on 1 August 1897.[30]
In 1923 most of the main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" in to one or other of four new large companies. The Great Central Railway was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway.
In 1936 the LNER approved a scheme for electrifying the whole line from Manchester via Sheffield to Darnall, together with the branches from Guide Bridge to Ashton-under-Lyne, from Dinting to Glossop and from Penistone to Wombwell and Wath upon Dearne – a total of 74 miles (119 km). The system chosen was 1,500 V DC with overhead wires. All freight as well as passenger traffic was to be hauled by electric traction. For many years about 80 trains travelled through the tunnel each way, each day, of which 90% were loaded or empty coal workings and ventilation was a major problem. The decision to electrify was made as much to increase line capacity as any other consideration. Electrification work was well in hand before the advent of war in 1939 stopped it. In 1946–47 each bore of Woodhead Tunnel in turn was closed for 9 months for major repairs. However, following the nationalisation of railways in 1948, it was decided to close them permanently and bore a new double-track tunnel alongside, with enough clearance for the overhead electrification catenary. The new tunnel was 3 miles 66 yards (4.888 km) long. It was opened by the Minister of Transport on 3 June 1954. The two old tunnels were later sealed off, and they were later purchased by the Central Electricity Generating Board to carry power cables through the Pennines.[31][32]
On 5 January 1970 the passenger service between
On 10 December 1984, Manchester to Glossop and Hadfield electric trains started running at 25 kV AC (the same system as used on the West Coast Main Line which it adjoined) following conversion from the old 1500 V DC system. The system continues in use at the present day.[34] The Stalybridge branch remains in use by local and express trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Huddersfield and Leeds.
Station list
Main line
- Manchester Store Street (or "Bank Top"); opened jointly with the Manchester Piccadilly12 September 1960; still open;
- Travis Street; temporary terminus opened by the M&BR 4 June 1840; served by SA&MR trains from 17 November 1841; closed 10 May 1842;
- Ardwick; opened 20 November 1842; still open;
- Ashburys; opened July 1855; still open;
- Gorton; opened 23 May 1842; still open;
- Fairfield; opened 17 November 1841; re-sited to the east 2 May 1892; still open;
- Ashton & Hooley Hill; opened 17 November 1841; renamed Guide Bridge 1845; still open;
- Dukinfield (Dog Lane); opened 17 November 1841; closed 23 December 1845; reopened nearby as Dog Lane 1 May 1846; closed 1 November 1847;
- (Flowery Field; opened 13 May 1985; still open;)
- Newton; opened 17 November 1841; Newton for Hyde from 1848; still open;
- Godley Toll Bar; opened 17 November 1841 as temporary terminus; closed 11 December 1842;
- Godley Junction; opened 1 February 1866; renamed Godley 6 May 1974; renamed Godley East 7 July 1986; closed after last train on 27 May 1995;
- (Godley; opened 7 July 1986; still open;)
- Broadbottom; opened 11 December 1842; renamed Mottram 1845; Mottram & Broadbottom 1 July 1884; Broadbottom for Charlesworth 1 January 1954; Broadbottom 1955; still open;
- Glossop; opened 25 December 1842; renamed Dinting 9 June 1845; closed 1 February 1847; see next;
- Glossop Junction; opened 9 June 1845; renamed Dinting February 1847; renamed Glossop & Dinting 10 July 1922; renamed Dinting 26 September 1938; still open;
- Hadfield; opened 8 August 1844; renamed Hadfield & Tintwistle between 1862–63 and 1880–81; Hadfield for Hollingworth 12 October 1903; Hadfield from 1955;
- Crowden; opened 1 July 1861; closed 4 February 1957;
- Woodhead; opened 8 August 1844; closed 27 July 1964;
- Dunford Bridge; opened 14 July 1845; closed 5 January 1970;
- Hazlehead Bridge; opened 1 May 1846; closed 1 November 1847; reopened January 1849; closed 6 March 1950;
- Penistone; opened 14 July 1845; relocated at junction with the L&YR 1 February 1874; still open;
- Oxspring; opened 5 December 1845; closed 1 November 1847;
- Thurgoland; probably opened soon after 5 December 1845; closed 1 November 1847;
- Wortley; opened 14 July 1845; closed 2 May 1955;
- Deepcar; opened 14 July 1845; closed 15 June 1959;
- Oughtibridge or Oughty Bridge opened 14 July 1845; closed 15 June 1959;
- Wadsley Bridge; opened 14 July 1845; closed 15 June 1959;
- Neepsend; opened 1 July 1888; closed 28 October 1940;
- Sheffield (Bridgehouses); opened 14 July 1845; closed 15 September 1851 (when Sheffield Victoria station was opened by the amalgamated MS&LR).
Stalybridge branch
- Guide Bridge (as above);
- Dukinfield; opened 23 December 1845; resited to south west March 1863; renamed Dukinfield Central 1954; closed 4 May 1959;
- Park Parade or Ashton Park Parade; opened 23 December 1845; closed 5 November 1956;
- Stalybridge; opened 23 December 1845; junction with LNWR from 1848; still open.
Glossop branch
- Dinting (as above);
- Glossop; opened 1 July 1845; renamed Glossop Central 10 July 1922; renamed Glossop 6 May 1974; still open.[35]
Chief officers
Chairman
- James Stuart-Wortley, 1st Baron Wharncliffe 1837–1840[36]
- John Parker MP 1840–1846
- John Chapman1846
Deputy Chairman
- William Sidebottom 1837–1843
- John Chapman1843–1846 (then Chairman)
Secretary
- Thomas Asline Ward 1837–1838
- Charles Thompson 1838–1841
- John Platford 1841–1845
- James Meadows 1846
Engineer-in-Chief
- Charles Blacker Vignoles 1838–1839
- Joseph Locke 1840–1846
- Alfred Stanistreet Lee 1846
Resident Engineer
- Alfred Stanistreet Lee 1840–1846
- John Bass 1846
Notes
- ^ Godley Toll Bar station was then closed.
References
- ISBN 071101468X, page 84
- ^ a b Dow, Great Central, pages 1 to 17
- ^ George Dow, The First Railway Across the Pennines, published by the London and North Eastern Railway, York, 1945, page 5
- ^ a b Dow, Great Central, pages 18 to 37
- ^ Dow, First Railway, page 7
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ Dow, First Railway, page 9
- ^ ISBN 978 1785893 537, pages 499 and 500
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 25 to 37
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 37 to 39
- ^ a b Dow, Great Central, page 42
- ^ Manchester Guardian, 20 November 1841, quoted in Dow, First Railway, page 14
- ^ Quick, page 152 and map 53
- ^ Dow, Great Central, page 46
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 46 and 48
- ^ a b Dow, Great Central, pages 48 to 50
- ^ Dow, Great Central, page 50
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 51 and 52
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 57, 59 and 60
- ^ Dow, First Railway, page 20
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 46, 75, 77, 80 and 81
- ^ Dow, Great Central, pages 80 and 81
- ^ Quick, page 362
- ^ Atkinson, Kate. "Spital Tunnel, the Fiery Jack!". archive.burngreavemessenger.org.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ Dow, Great Central, page 71
- ^ Dow, First Railway, page 39
- ^ Dow, First Railway, pages 41 and 42
- ^ Dow, First Railway, page 18
- ^ Dow, First Railway, pages 23 and 25
- ISBN 0-946537-34-8, page 133
- ISBN 0 71101392 6, page 108
- ^ Holt, page 159
- ^ Holt, page 137
- ^ Holt, page 243
- ^ Michael Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales: A Chronology, the Railway and Canal Historical Society, Richmond, Surrey, fifth (electronic) edition, 2019
- ^ Dow, Great Central, 268