Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion : Foldout

The Manchester & Leeds Railway Company

The company was formed in 1825.

The Manchester-Liverpool Railway opened in 1830.

In 1831, there was a proposal to connect Manchester and Leeds, and a railway surveyed by George Stephenson was proposed.

This first trans-Pennine railway followed the route of the Rochdale Canal. The railway was eventually authorised by Act of Parliament in 1836.

Work began in 1837
The Summit Tunnel began in 1837
The Manchester to Littleborough section opened of 3rd July 1839
The 5-mile stretch between Littleborough and Todmorden presented the most difficult engineering problems
The Hebden Bridge to Normanton section of the line opened on 5th October 1840. This was the longest stretch
The Hebden Bridge to Leeds section opened on 5th October 1840. It was reported that
At Hebden Bridge, so many people boarded the train that they climbed onto the roof, and had to stand as there were so many up there
The line from Hebden Bridge to Summit was opened to public transport on 1st March 1841
The line from Littleborough to Hebden Bridge was completed and opened on 1st January 1841

The route by-passed Halifax, and passengers and goods had to depart and arrive at Sowerby Bridge or Elland. The branch from North Dean to Shaw Syke opened in 1844.

In 1847, the Manchester & Leeds Railway amalgamated with the Manchester & Bolton Railway, the Liverpool & Bury Railway, and the West Riding Union Railway to become the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway

See