- Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
company_
fate = Amalgamation
successor =London and North Western Railway
foundation = 9 July 1847
defunct = 1 January 1922
location =Lancashire andYorkshire
industry =Railway company
products =Electrification
num_employees =
parent =Manchester and Leeds Railway
subsid = 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.The intensity of its service was reflected in the 1,650 locomotives it owned, and that one third of its 738 signal boxes controlled junctions averaging one every convert|3.5|mi|km|0. No two stations were more than convert|5.5|mi|km|0 apart and its 1,904 passenger services occupied 57 pages in "Bradshaw", a number exceeded only by the
Great Western Railway , theLondon and North Western Railway , and theMidland Railway . It was the first railway to introduceElectrification of some of it's lines, and it also ranSteamboat services across theIrish Sea andEnglish Channel .It amalgamated with the
London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922. The company was later a constituent of theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway .Pre-grouping history
The L&YR was incorporated in 1847, being an amalgamation of several important lines, the chief of which was the
Manchester & 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. [Awdry (1990)]
*Manchester and Leeds Railway ,4 July 1836 –9 July 1847
** Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway,23 August 1831 –18 July 1846 Paget-Tomlinson (2006), p. 148–149]
** Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway,30 June 1845 –27 July 1846 , now thePenistone 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 from28 July 1849 )
***Preston and Wyre Railway and Harbour Company ,3 July 1835 –1 July 1839
**West Riding Union Railway ,18 August 1846 –17 November 1846
***West Yorkshire Railway , 1845 –18 August 1846
***Leeds and West Riding Junction Railway , ? –18 August 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 West Junction Railway ,27 July 1846 –9 July 1847
*Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Goole Railway ,7 August 1846 –2 August 1858
* 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 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 toBlackpool andFleetwood ;
** Manchester toBolton ,Wigan ,Southport andLiverpool ; and the direct line to Liverpool;
* "East Lancashire" or "Central Division"
** Manchester toOldham ,Bury ,Rochdale ,Todmorden ,Accrington ,Burnley andColne . 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 , andDoncaster .Whereas there were various lines between the Central and Western Divisions there was only one route between the Eastern and Central Divisions. This line cut through thePennines between Lancashire and Yorkshire using a number of long tunnels, the longest of which wasSummit Tunnel (convert|2885|yd|m|0 in length) near Rochdale. There were six other tunnels each more than convert|1000|yd|m|0 long.Manchester Victoria railway station
Victoria railway station was one of the largest railway stations in the country. It occupied convert|13.5|acre|km2 sqmi|lk=on and had 17 platforms with a total length of convert|9332|ft|m|0. After the grouping, a structural change led No. 11 platform to run through and join with No. 3 platform in the adjacent
Manchester Exchange railway station , at convert|2238|ft|m|0 between ramps becoming the longest railway platform in Britain. [Harvnb|Rennison|1996|p=258.] Lately the station capacity has been reduced to two platforms for Metrolink trams, two bay platforms, and four through platforms under theManchester Evening News Arena , which now replaces a significant area once occupied by the station. The main facade and station building of the original Hunts Bank station still exist and are kept in relatively good condition.Electrification
The L&Y was the first in the country to electrify a mainline route. In Liverpool, the Fourth Rail system was used at 600 V DC, although this was later converted to a
Third rail system. Suburban lines in the Liverpool area were electrified to reach a total of 37 route miles.
* Liverpool Exchange –Southport andCrossens :22 March 1904
* Liverpool –Aintree (two routes): July and December 1906
* Southport –Meols Cop railway station : 1909
* Aintree –Ormskirk : 1913In 1912 Dick, Kerr & Co.'s
Preston factory was considering tendering for a Brazilian contract, and approached the L&YR to use theBury to Holcombe Brook Line for test purposes at Dick, Kerr’s expense. The line from Bury Bolton Street Station to Holcombe Brook was electrified with the overhead 3.5 kV DC system, rolling stock was also supplied at their cost. After prolonged trials the trains entered public use on 29 July 1913. The L&YR purchased the equipment and stock on the successful completion of the trials in 1916.In 1913 a decision was taken to electrify the Manchester to Bury route at 1.2 kV DC in an attempt to overcome competition from trams. Using the Third Rail system, Electric locomotives began running on 17 April 1916 but as Horwich was by then involved in war work, deliveries of the new electric stock were delayed and it was not until August 1916 that steam trains were withdrawn from the route. In 1920 the L&YR also considered electrifying the Manchester–Oldham–Shaw and Royton lines, but no work was carried out. During 1917 work began to convert the Bury to Holcombe Brook line to a Third Rail system, matching the Manchester to Bury system. Third Rail trains started to run on 29 March 1918.
Livery
L&YR locomotives originally were painted dark green with ornate brass work and copper capped chimneys. Lining was black and white. In 1876 the dark green was changed to a light green and goods engines were painted plain black. 1878 saw the goods locomotives also appearing in light green. This livery was discontinued from 1883 when all locomotives were painted black. Lining was red and white for passenger locomotives and, if present, red only for goods locomotives.
Coaching stock was originally painted teak, changing in 1875 to an overall light brown. In 1879 a decision was made to use ‘a little brighter shade’. Finally in June 1881 it was announced that the lower panels were to be painted ‘lake colour’. Between 1896 and 1914 the upper panels became buff with the lower in purple-brown, ends were dark brown. Roofs were normally dark grey but some did appear in red oxide. Wagons were unpainted until 1902 except for the ironwork which was black. After 1902 it was painted dark grey. The illiterate symbol of an inverted solid triangle within a circle was replaced from 1902–3 with the letters LY. Break/brake vans were black and special traffic wagons were painted in various colours e.g. Gunpowder- red, Fish – white, Butter – pale blue etc.
The football team of the L&YR Carriage and Wagon works at
Newton Heath , Manchester, evolved intoManchester United F.C. .hipping
The L&YR had the largest fleet of all the pre-grouping railway companies. In 1913 they owned twenty six vessels, with another two under construction, plus a further five under joint ownership with the
London and North Western Railway . The L&YR ran steamers between Liverpool andDrogheda , Hull andZeebrugge , and betweenGoole and many continental ports includingAmsterdam ,Copenhagen ,Hamburg , andRotterdam . The jointly-owned vessels provided services between Fleetwood,Belfast and Londonderry.Post-grouping history
The L&YR amalgamated with the
London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922, prior to the 1923 Grouping, which involved the expanded LNWR forming part of the newLondon Midland and Scottish Railway . The general manager, secretary and chief mechanical engineer positions of the expanded company were taken by L&YR employees. The LMS did little to develop the former L&YR routes. Nationalisation followed in 1948 followed by a period of rationalisation and modernisation. The L&YR system has survived largely intact, although the following routes have been closed:*Manchester to Bury (converted to
Manchester Metrolink operation).
*Preston to Southport
*Bury to Accrington and Bacup
*North Lancs Loop – Blackburn to Burnley via Great Harwood and PadihamMost ex-L&YR routes are now operated by
Northern Rail .Manchester Victoria station has been rebuilt in a more modest form and retains the former terminal building.ee also
Caldervale Line : a service operated byMetro (West Yorkshire) , which uses a large part of the former L&YR.Notes
Bibliography
* Awdry, C. (1990) "Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies", Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-049-7
* Blakemore, Michael (1984) "The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway", Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-1401-9
* Coates, Noel (1997) "150 Years of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway", Hawkshill Publishing, ISBN 1-900349-11-6
* Earnshaw, Alan (1992) "The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway: Then & Now", Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-2058-2
* Haigh, A (1978) "Railways in West Yorkshire", Dalesman Books, ISBN 0-85206-459-4
* Marshall, John (1969) "The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway", Volume 1, David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4352-1
* Marshall, John (1970) "The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway", Volume 2, David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4906-6
* Marshall, John (1972) "The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway", Volume 3, David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-5320-9
* Mason, Eric (1975) "The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in the Twentieth Century", 2nd Ed., Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-0656-3
* Nock, O.S. (1969) "The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway - A Concise History", Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-0130-8
* Paget-Tomlinson, E.W. (2006) "The Illustrated History of Canal & River Navigations", Landmark countryside collection, Ashbourne : Landmark, ISBN 1-84306-207-0
*External links
* [http://www.lyrs.org.uk/ Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society]
* [http://www.lyrs.org.uk/LYMAP.gifMap of the LYR]
* [http://www.lyrtrust.org.uk/ L&Y Trust, restoring engines & coaches]
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