Leeds, Dewsbury and Manchester Railway

Leeds Intelligencer (20 Jul 1844)

The Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway (LD&MR) was a scheme to build a new line from a junction east of Mirfield (Dewsbury Junction) through Dewsbury and on to Leeds, and acted as a companion scheme to the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway (H&MR). Together, the two schemes opened up a new route from Stalybridge to Leeds via Huddersfield, providing a more direct journey from Leeds to Manchester.

The company was formed after a meeting "of gentlemen favourable to the project of forming a railway betwixt [Leeds] and Dewsbury" held at the Scarborough Hotel in the Leeds on Monday 24 June 1844. Civil engineers Granger & Miller reported on a suitable route and estimated the total cost to be around £320,000. On the basis of that, a decision that the capital should be £400,000 in shares of £50 each, with a deposit of £2 10s. per share, was made.[1]

The Parliamentary Act received Royal Assent on 30 June 1845.

In July 1847, before the line officially opened, it was amalgamated into the London & North Western Railway (L&NWR) along with the H&MR.

The surviving railway station at Dewsbury was built as part of the scheme and opened on 18 September 1848.

Stations

The stations on the line were:

  • Ravensthorpe & Thornhill
  • Dewsbury
  • Staincliffe & Batley Carr (closed 1952)
  • Batley
  • Morley
  • Churwell (later replaced by Cottingley Station)
  • Wortley & Farnley (closed 1952)
  • Leeds Central (closed 1967)

Route

Further Reading

Notes and References

  1. ↑ "Leeds, Dewsbury and Manchester Railway" in Leeds Times (29/Jun/1844).