Railway Times (13/Jun/1846) - Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway Company

The following is a transcription of a historic article and may contain occasional errors.

HUDDERSFIELD AND SHEFFIELD JUNCTION RAILWAY COMPANY.

The meeting of shareholders of this Railway Company, under the Sessional Orders of Parliament, took place on Monday week, at the Guildhall, Huddersfield.

Josh. Armitage, Esq., the Chairman of the Company, having been called to the chair, proceeded in a short speech to explain to the meeting the various difficulties which had occurred in the way of carrying the Darfield Branch Bill to its present stage, but he was happy to say that the importance of the line was so great that after a very severe struggle the Committee had determined to report in its favour. After assuring the shareholders of the desire of the Directors still further to carry out the advantages originally contemplated from the formation of the Huddersfield and Sheffield, the Chairman proceeded to call upon the Secretary to read the Report, which contained a brief but plain and satisfactory statement of the position in which the Company were placed. The Directors said they had given the deepest consideration to the subject of the Darfield branch, and they were bound to admit that they had at the outset only a very limited idea of the great value of the scheme, but that its importance had been more and more developed as it became contrasted with rival schemes.

The Secretary next read the Bill for amalgamating the Huddersfield and Sheffield with the Manchester and Leeds, and also the Bill for the Darfield branch.

After the reading of each Bill resolutions were carried unanimously enabling the Directors to proceed with the respective Bills.

During the time of calculating the number of shares represented by proxies and those present,

Mr. C.H. Jones, Deputy-Chairman, explained to the shareholders very minutely the route taken by the Darfield branch, its capabilites and its extreme importance as a feeder to the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway, particularly as a means of introducing coal along the Marsden Valley and into Saddleworth. He also pointed out the great saving of distance between the several towns and the district to be affected by the branch

Mr. Joseph Shaw thanked Mr. Jones and the Directors for their explanations, and confessed that hitherto he had never seen the importance of the Darfield Branch to the Huddersfield and Manchester, but that now he was quite satisfied that it would be of immense importance to the Huddersfield and Manchester ; that he was a large shareholder in that Company, and he begged to thank the Directors for the great pains they had taken to secure the Darfield Branch.

Mr. Jon Es said, that if Mr. Shaw was not aware of the importance of the Darfield Branch to the Huddersfield and Manchester Company, he could only refer him to the people of Saddleworth, who, strange enough, were all alive to the necessity for such an opening for the supply of coal, whatever the Huddersfield, and Manchester Company might be; and they had sent a petition to Parliament, signed by above 2,000 respectable partics, that there they were paying 15s. and 17s, a ton for coal, while the Darfield branch would enable them to be supplied for 6s. or 7s, a ton ; and all the coal must go along the Huddersfield and Manchester.

After a further conversation, the Secretary reported that the proxies amounted to 3,113, and the votes present, 860; total, 3,973.

The Chairman then declared that the votes were amply sufficient to answer the ends intended by the Sessional Orders, and he congratulated the meeting on the fact that the last call, although only recently made, had been so remarkably well paid up.

A vote of thanks was then given to the Chairman and Directors, and the meeting separated.