Manchester and Leeds Railway
| Industry | Railway company |
|---|---|
| Fate | Amalgamation |
| Successor | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway |
| Founded | 4 July 1836 |
| Defunct | 9 July 1847 |
| Headquarters | Manchester and Leeds |
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton.
Its route now forms the backbone of the present-day Caldervale Line.
It was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1836, with a second Act in 1839 which authorised the extension from the original Manchester terminus at Oldham Road railway station to join the Liverpool and Manchester Railway when the latter was extended to Hunt's Bank (later called Manchester Victoria). The Act also authorised branches to Oldham and Halifax with a diversion at Kirkthorpe. Superintended by George Stephenson, its engineer was Thomas Longridge Gooch, a brother of Daniel Gooch of the GWR.
The 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) line was opened in 1839 as far as Littleborough, and from Normanton to Hebden Bridge in 1840. The final linking section opened on completion of the Summit Tunnel in 1841.
The line became the chief constituent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, which was incorporated in 1847. Several railways had earlier been absorbed by the M&LR:
The line climbed out of Manchester with an average gradient of 1 in 260 (0.38%) until it arrived at the summit and a 2,860 yards (2,620 m) long tunnel at Littleborough. From there it descended towards Normanton.
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