The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsby. It pursued a policy of expanding its area of influence, especially in reaching west to Liverpool, which it ultimately did through the medium of the Cheshire Lines Committee network in joint partnership with the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Midland Railway.
Its dominant traffic was minerals, chiefly coal, and the main market was in London and the south of England. It was dependent on other lines to convey traffic southward. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was an exceptionally hostile partner, and in later years the allied itself with the Great Northern Railway. Passenger traffic, especially around Manchester, was also an important business area, and well-patronised express trains to London were run in collaboration with the . Nevertheless, the was never greatly profitable.
For many years its general manager, and then chairman, was Edward Watkin, a dynamic leader who sometimes allowed personal vanity to drive his priorities. Watkin was determined that the should get its own route to London, and this became the scheme for the London Extension, a fearfully expensive project that risked alienating friendly companies. The London extension scheme changed the character of the completely and dominated its final years. In 1897 the company changed its name to "The Great Central Railway", and it was under that company name that the London Extension was opened in 1899.
Origin The Sheffield, Ashton under Lyne and Manchester Railway (SA&MR) had opened throughout on 23 December 1845. Its line ran through the Woodhead Tunnel, a little over 3 miles in length. The line connected with the Manchester and Birmingham Railway at its western end, and had a basic terminus in Sheffield at Bridgehouses. There was a branch from Dinting to Glossop, and another from Guide Bridge to Stalybridge. The had been short of money during construction, and the Woodhead Tunnel was built as a single track to save money.
As the Railway Mania took hold, it became evident that enlargement of the network dominated by a railway company was key to competitive survival, and in 1846 the had been authorised, by the (9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxviii) of 27 July 1846, to amalgamate with three as-yet unbuilt railways: they were:
The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway had been authorised by the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. l) of 30 June 1845 to build from Gainsborough to Grimsby. At Gainsborough it was to connect with the proposed Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway, and this justified the word "Sheffield" in its title. A further act of Parliament, the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway (Lincoln Extension) Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. xcix) of 26 June 1846 authorised a branch from Wrawby South Junction at Barnetby down to Lincoln, and an extension from there to Newark, on the Great Northern Railway; and in addition a branch to Barton-on-Humber from Brocklesby and a branch to Cleethorpes from Grimsby. The Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway was authorised by the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. ccciv) of 3 August 1846 to build from Sheffield to Gainsborough. The was also authorised by the (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxix) on 3 August 1846, connect with the at Clarborough Junction, east of Retford, and to run south-east to Sykes Junction, north of Lincoln, where it joined the Great Northern Railway and ran by running powers into Lincoln.
The amalgamation took effect on 1 January 1847, and the combined company was named the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. It had headquarters at Manchester London Road station. The first board meeting of the amalgamated company took place on 6 January 1847.
Canals As well as the railway interest, the new acquired a considerable canal network. The Sheffield, Ashton under Lyne and Manchester Railway had acquired three canals in March 1846; they were the Ashton Canal (connecting Manchester, Ashton, Stalybridge and Stockport); the Peak Forest Canal, which ran from Ashton to Whaley Bridge, and which had a plateway extension to Dove Holes; and the Macclesfield Canal, which left the Peak Forest Canal at Marple and had a long southward main line through Macclesfield and Congleton to join the Trent and Mersey Canal.
These canals cost the company £33,608 annually in guaranteed payments to the original proprietors.
The Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway had already purchased the Sheffield Canal and it was vested in the on 22 July 1848 by the Sheffield Canal Purchase Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. xciv), and the acquired the Chesterfield Canal on 9 July 1847.
First years 1847–1849
In 1847 the railway network of the consisted of nothing more than the network of the , with one small addition. On the first day of 1847 a short spur connection was opened from the Sheffield terminal to the Sheffield station of the Midland Railway (former Sheffield and Rotherham Railway). At this time the Midland approached from the Rotherham direction only, and it had a terminal station adjacent to Wicker, and named after that thoroughfare. The short connecting link was steeply graded and almost entirely in tunnel; it was only used for wagon exchange purposes.
Having now taken over three large railway schemes that were authorised but not yet started, the had to let large contracts for construction. In February 1847 nearly half a million pounds worth of work was commissioned; the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway main line from Woodhouse (near Sheffield) to Gainsborough, the Grimsby line to Market Rasen, and a second bore of the Woodhead Tunnel. The eastward construction from the Bridgehouses terminus across Sheffield was started in May 1847.
The soon ran short of money, and a loan of £250,000 had to be negotiated; deliveries of locomotives were slowed, as were certain infrastructure improvements; the stations at Dog Lane, Hazlehead, Oxspring and Thurgoland were closed to passenger traffic as from 1 November 1847. One new station was provided, at Dinting, at the Glossop branch junction. The original Dinting station was closed after an interval. In its first year of operation, the had paid a 5% dividend on ordinary stock. This fell to % for the first half of 1848, since when there were no further payments for six years.
Progress continued on building the line between Grimsby and New Holland. The Grimsby-Louth line of the East Lincolnshire Railway (now leased to the Great Northern Railway) was nearing completion too, and both lines opened on 1 March 1848. There was a through train service between New Holland and Louth, operated equally by both companies. A pier in length had been provided at New Holland, which was the terminal of a ferry service to Hull. It was promised that "the rails of the New Holland line will be continued to the extremity of the pier".
Next opening was from a junction at Ulceby (about halfway between New Holland and Grimsby) to Brigg, and a second arm of that line to Market Rasen. These sections opened on 1 November 1848.
Notwithstanding the difficult financial conditions, the network as originally planned was completed during 1849, except for the new station at Sheffield (still under construction), the Leverton branch (as the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Extension Railway was now called) and certain dock works at Grimsby. There was an impressive succession of openings: the Barnetby-Lincoln line was opened on 1 February 1849, and the section from Sheffield to Beighton, where a junction was made with the Midland Railway, was opened on 12 February 1849. passenger trains ran through to Eckington on the Midland Railway from Beighton. A triangular junction was formed at New Holland, leading to a branch to Barton on Humber, opened on 1 March 1849. On 2 April 1849 the section between Brigg and Gainsborough was opened. There was a triangular junction at Ulceby: the eastern side of the triangle had been in use since before July 1848.
The final link, from Woodhouse junction, on the Sheffield-Beighton junction section, to Gainsborough, was formally opened on 16 July 1849. A special train conveying the Directors ran from Liverpool to Grimsby in five hours. The line was opened to the public the following day, 17 July 1849.
There were two stations at Stalybridge: the former station and one belonging to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The companies agreed to rationalise, with the station handling all passenger business, and the all the goods business. The necessary junctions between the two routes at Stalybridge were ready on 1 July 1849, and on 1 August two new junctions with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) were brought into use as well, end-on at Stalybridge with the new line from Huddersfield, and at Guide Bridge station, with the line from Heaton Norris.
At the end of 1849, the network amounted to 159 miles, with an additional 110 miles of canal.
Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway
The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Junction Railway (MSJ&AR) had originally been conceived to connect the Sheffield, Ashton under Lyne and Manchester Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The Manchester and Birmingham Railway (M&BR) would benefit too from the connection. It was authorised on 21 July 1845 as an independent private company, with three shareholders: the , the and the Earl of Ellesmere. His share was bought out in 1847 and the two railway companies had merged into the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the London and North Western Railway respectively, so that the was wholly and equally owned by the and the . The line was to be in two parts. The South Junction part was to connect the London Road station of the (used by the ) with the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway (now ) at Ordsall Lane. This connected the hitherto separate networks east and west of Manchester. The other part was the seven-mile line to Altrincham.
The line opened between Oxford Road, Manchester, and Altrincham on 20 July 1849, and it was extended back to London Road in July 1849, and from Altrincham to Bowdon in August 1849, or September 1849.
The network was now complete. As well as enabling a busy local passenger service, in time the line formed a strategic link, later enabling the to pass Manchester and penetrate westwards.
James Allport In May 1849, George Hudson, the so-called Railway King, had fallen from power as his underhand methods were exposed. The politics of the large railway companies shifted considerably, as Hudson's successors, particularly Captain Mark Huish of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), engaged in schemes to gain advantage over neighbouring lines. The directors saw that it was no longer practicable to control their company's day-to-day activities from the board, and the decided to appoint a general manager. The board selected James Joseph Allport, appointed at a salary of £1,200 a year. Due to existing commitments he was not able to take up the post until 1 January 1850. Allport's appointment at what seemed to some to be a high salary caused some shareholder disquiet.
The Great Northern Railway