The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern England (after the Midland and North Eastern Railways).

The intensity of its service was reflected in the 1,650 locomotives it owned – it was by far the most densely trafficked system in the British Isles with more locomotives per mile than any other company – and that one third of its 738 signal boxes controlled junctions averaging one every . No two adjacent stations were more than apart and its 1,904 passenger services occupied 57 pages in Bradshaw, a number exceeded only by the Great Western Railway, the London and North Western Railway, and the Midland Railway. It was the first mainline railway to introduce electrification of some of its lines, and it also ran steamboat services across the Irish Sea and North Sea, being a bigger shipowner than any other British railway company.

It amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922. One year later, the merged company became the largest constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

History

The L&YR was incorporated in 1847 by the (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxiii), being an amalgamation of several important lines, the chief of which was the Manchester and Leeds Railway (itself having been incorporated in 1836).

Constituent companies The following companies, in order, were amalgamated into the L&YR. The dates shown are, in most cases, the acts of Parliament authorising the incorporation and amalgamation of each company. In a few instances the effective date is used. Manchester and Leeds Railway, 4 July 1836 – 9 July 1847 Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal Navigation and Railway, 23 August 1831 – 18 July 1846 Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway, 30 June 1845 – 27 July 1846, now the Penistone Line. Liverpool and Bury Railway, 31 July 1845 – 27 July 1846 Preston and Wyre Railway, Harbour and Dock Company, 1 July 1839 – 3 August 1846 (joint LNWR from 28 July 1849, in proportion two-thirds L&YR, one-third LNWR) Preston and Wyre Railway and Harbour Company, 3 July 1835 – 1 July 1839 West Riding Union Railways, 18 August 1846 – 17 November 1846 Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway, 19 July 1844 – 9 July 1847 Wakefield, Pontefract and Goole Railway, 31 July 1845 – 9 July 1847 Manchester and Southport Railway, 22 July 1847 – 3 July 1854 (joint ELR) Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway, 2 July 1847 – 14 June 1855 Blackburn Railway, 24 July 1851 – 12 July 1858 (joint ELR) Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway, 9 July 1847 – 24 July 1851 Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway, 30 June 1845 – 9 July 1847 Blackburn, Clitheroe and North Western Junction Railway, 27 July 1846 – 9 July 1847 Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Goole Railway, 7 August 1846 – 2 August 1858 (acquired northern half of line) East Lancashire Railway, 21 July 1845 – 13 May 1859 Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway, 4 July 1844 – 21 July 1845 Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington and Colne Extension Railway, 30 June 1845 – 21 July 1845 Blackburn and Preston Railway, 6 June 1844 – 3 August 1846 Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway, 18 August 1846 – October 1846 Fleetwood, Preston and West Riding Junction Railway, 27 July 1846 – 17 June 1866 (joint LNWR) Preston and Longridge Railway, 14 July 1836 – 23 June 1856 Blackpool and Lytham Railway, 17 May 1861 – 29 June 1871 (joint LNWR) Lancashire Union Railway, 25 July 1864 – 16 July 1883 (joint LNWR) North Union Railway, 22 May 1834 – 26 July 1889 (joint LNWR) Wigan Branch Railway, 29 May 1830 – 22 May 1834 Preston and Wigan Railway, 22 April 1831 – 22 May 1834 Bolton and Preston Railway, 15 June 1837 – 10 May 1844 Bury and Tottington District Railway, 2 August 1877 – 24 July 1888 West Lancashire Railway, 14 August 1871 – 15 July 1897 Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway, 7 August 1884 – 15 July 1897

Joint lines The L&YR was a co-owner of several joint railways and joint stations. Besides those listed above, they included: Axholme Joint Railway (L&YR, NER) Halifax and Ovenden Junction Railway (GNR, L&YR) Halifax High Level Railway (GNR, L&YR) Huddersfield railway station (LNWR, L&YR) Knottingley railway station (GNR, L&YR) Leeds Central railway station (GNR, LNWR, L&YR, NER) Methley Joint Railway (GNR, L&YR, NER) South Yorkshire Joint Railway (GCR, GNR, L&YR, MR, NER) Wakefield Kirkgate railway station (GNR, L&YR) Unless otherwise stated, the owning railways had equal shares. In addition, the L&YR had a one-third stake in the Dearne Valley Railway, the remaining two-thirds of which was owned by private shareholders.

The system The system consisted of many branches and alternative routes, so that it is not easy to determine the location of its main line. For working purposes the railway was split into three divisions: Western Division: Manchester to Blackpool and Fleetwood; Manchester to Bolton, Wigan, Southport and Liverpool; and the direct line to Liverpool; East Lancashire or Central Division Manchester to Oldham, Bury, Rochdale, Todmorden, Accrington, Burnley and Colne. It also included the connection to the LNWR at Stockport for through traffic to London. Eastern Division: Todmorden to Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Normanton, Goole, and Doncaster. Whereas there were various lines split between the Central and Western Divisions there was only one route connecting the Eastern and Central Divisions. This line cut through the Pennines between Lancashire and Yorkshire using a number of long tunnels, the longest of which was Summit Tunnel ( in length) near Rochdale. There were six other tunnels each more than long.

Manchester Victoria railway station

Manchester Victoria railway station was one of the largest railway stations in the country at the time. It occupied and had 17 platforms with a total length of . After the grouping, a structural change led platform 11 to run through and join with platform 3 in the LNWR's adjacent Exchange station; at between ramps it became the longest railway platform in Britain. Lately the station capacity has been reduced to two platforms for Metrolink trams, two bay platforms, and four through platforms under Manchester Arena, which now replaces a significant area once occupied by the station. The main façade and station building of the original Hunts Bank station still exist and are kept in relatively good condition.

Electrification

The L&YR was the first in the country to electrify a mainline route, and when amalgamated into the LNWR in 1922, the combined total length of the suburban lines in Liverpool and Manchester reached , with the main principle routes being : Liverpool Exchange – and : 22 March 1904 Liverpool – (two routes): July and December 1906 Southport – : 1909 Aintree – : 1913 Bury Bolton Street - : 1913 (Converted to 3rd Rail in 1918) Manchester Victoria - Bury Bolton Street: 1916

Liverpool to Southport The first route to be electrified was between Liverpool Exchange and . The primary reasoning for this was due to the line because increasingly traffic heavy, with up to 36 through and 40 local trains daily, with the terminating facilities at Liverpool Exchange no longer able to cope with any more additional traffic. Alongside this, the completion of the electrification of the Liverpool Tramways Company's lines in 1901 also saw passenger numbers decrease, and such the decision to electrify the route was put forward as early as 1902 by the recently appointed General Manager John Audley Frederick Aspinall.

It was originally intended for the services on the line to be mixed traffic, making use of both current steam traction and the to-be-built electric stock, with single coach electric units being considered. This would ultimately be rejected, with all passenger services to be operated by electric stock. Come October 1902, the final decisions had been made, and it was decided that Dick, Kerr & Co. would be the ones to undertake the electrification of the whole route, with the overall estimated cost coming in at £286,724 for the full Southport to Liverpool line. In 1903, the L&YR Board decided that the line between Southport and Crossens would also be electrified, due to the large residential population along the route.

The line would first be electrified first using a fourth rail system, similar to what had been used on the tube railways in London, with the positive rail being energised at 650 Volts D.C. (Then trains themselves would only require 600). As standard, a fourth rail would be laid down the middle for the return current, although this would be later removed. The L&YR would have a power station built between Hightown and Formby by the River Alt, referred to as "Power House", in order to provide the necessary power required for the full route. Four sub-stations would also be constructed, one at Power House itself, then at Bank Hall, Seaforth and Litherland, and Birkdale. It has been noted that the speed at which the route was electrified was remarkably quick, with partial services beginning on 22 March 1904, with full services starting on 13 May, roughly two years after the final decisions had been made.

Extensions to the Liverpool and Southport line In 1906, the old North Mersey Branch to Aintree would be electrified, with services beginning on 1 June. In the meanwhile, the line from Aintree to Kirkdale was also being electrified, with services beginning in December of the same year. On the line between Crossens and Southport, electric services would reach Meols Cop on 15 February 1909, with only one platform being electrified as to permit trains to pull in and reverse out again to either Southport and Crossens, with the aid of the triangle junction just West of Meols Cop, which itself would see and new workshop built in the middle of it in 1912, coming into use the following year. On the 1 October 1909, electrification on the North Mersey Branch would reach Maghull, with services reaching Town Green on 3 July 1911, before finally reaching Ormskirk on 12 July 1913. A new terminus station for the North Mersey Branch would open to the public in 1914, referred to as Gladstone Dock, not to be confused with the later Liverpool Overhead Railway station of the same name, using the Lightweight Stock that was now surplus due to the withdrawal of the Southport to Dingle services. The station would not be profitable, due to passengers favouring the nearby and more convenient Seaforth Sands railway station, and was closed in 1924 by the LMS.

Liverpool Overhead Railway connection By 2 July 1905, a new connecting route from Seaforth and Litherland to the Liverpool Overhead Railway at Seaforth Sands railway station was opened, permitting the L&YR to operate services from Southport to Dingle, with this service beginning on 2 February 1906, running hourly. Whilst the trains of the LOR would not run beyond Seaforth and Litherland, specially laid on services did run up to Aintree, in order to serve the Grand National at Aintree.

Manchester to Bury