Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway
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| Private | |
| Industry | Railway |
| Fate | Name Change |
| Successor | Great Central Railway |
| Founded | 1847 |
| Defunct | 1897 (Name change) |
| Headquarters | Manchester, England |
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Key people
|
James Joseph Allport Edward Watkin |
| Products | Rail Transport |
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.
The MS&LR was formed by the amalgamation of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway with two proposed lines – the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway and the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway, with its headquarters at Manchester London Road. The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway had opened between Manchester and Sheffield in 1845, but as early as 1844 the promoters of the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction had approached the SA&MR with a view to the latter leasing it. The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction had been promoted by the Grimsby Docks Company, actually the oldest company of the three. Until reaching south with its "Derbyshire Lines", the MS&LR was essentially an east-to-west Trans-Pennine line.
Before the formation of the MS&LR, the SA&MR had already absorbed a number of existing and proposed lines. Another important part of its operation was the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway, promoted as its link to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and which it owned and operated jointly with the Manchester and Birmingham Railway; although both the M&BR and the L&MR subsequently became part of the London and North Western Railway.
The first board meeting of the amalgamated company took place on 6 January 1847. At this time only the SA&MR was open and running. On 29 February 1848 the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway opened its line from New Holland to Grimsby, and, later in the year, connecting to Market Rasen and Lincoln. Despite severe financial problems the whole line was completed during the next year, with the final link from Woodhouse Junction, near Sheffield, to Gainsborough being completed in 1849. On 16 July, a special train carried the directors from Liverpool to Grimsby.
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Wikipedia