North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masborough) and Leeds in May 11th 1840 and from Rotherham to Leeds on June 30th 1840. At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station.
The North Midland did not pass through the Sheffield because, to do so, this would have necessitated the climbing of steep gradients through Dronfield. [1]
The big station at Derby was provided by the North Midland. Its importance in those days may perhaps be judged from the fact that when the Victoria Station, Manchester, was opened in 1844, it was said of the latter that for "extent and accommodation it eclipsed the celebrated station at Derby."[2]
The North Midland terminus for Leeds was in Hunslet - now (1924) the goods yard - and it was not until July 1st, 1846, that the railway entered the Wellington Station, Leeds. On that date the [[Leeds and Bradford Railway]] was opened, and a connection therewith was made from Hunslet Goods Junction to just outside the Wellington Station. [3]
George Carr Glyn was the first Chairman of the new company, with George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson appointed as engineers. First Directors were: G. C. Glyn, Kirkman Hodgson, Frederick Huth and Josiah Lewis
George Stephenson surveyed the line in 1835 with his secretary, Charles Binns. It would be 72 miles long, meeting the York and North Midland, at Normanton, and also the projected Manchester and Leeds Railway.
Frederick Swanwick was the engineer on the line
It received Parliamentary Assent in 1836, and was completed to Masborough on 11 May 1840, and to Leeds on 1st July.
In 1840 the journey from Derby to Leeds took around three and a half hours.
In 1844 when George Hudson was chairman, the three companies merged to form the Midland Railway. This step was followed by the opening, on August 5th, 1846, of the line from Nottingham to Lincoln, on September 6th 1847, of that from Trent to Condor Park and two years later the extension of the latter to Pinxton.[4]
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia
- Bradshaw’s Railway Companion 1840
- The Midland Railway: Its Rise and progress by Frederick S. Williams. Published 1875.