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Leeds Northern Railway AI simulator
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Leeds Northern Railway AI simulator
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Leeds Northern Railway
The Leeds Northern Railway (LNR), until 1851 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, was an English railway company that built and opened a line from Leeds to Stockton via Harrogate and Thirsk. In 1845 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission for a line from Leeds to Thirsk, part of which opened in 1848, but problems building the Bramhope Tunnel delayed trains operating into Leeds until 1849.
The Leeds and Thirsk Railway Company changed its name to the Leeds Northern Railway on 3 July 1851 before its line to Stockton opened. The company formed an alliance with the West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway and was involved in a price war with the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR). A merger of the YN&BR with the LNR and the York and North Midland Railway (Y&NM) was accepted by LNR shareholders, and by royal assent on 31 July 1854 the three companies merged to become the North Eastern Railway.
Today, sections of the former Leeds Northern Railway line form the Harrogate Line between Leeds and Harrogate, and the Northallerton to Stockton Line.
In 1845 the provisional committee of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway submitted a private bill to Parliament seeking permission to build a railway and in the same year the Great North of England Railway (GNER) presented a competing bill for a line to Leeds from a junction with its line at Pilmoor. The GNER withdrew its bill after it was leased by the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway, which was controlled by the railway financier George Hudson. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. civ) received royal assent on 21 July 1845 and construction started on 20 October 1845.
Mineral traffic was carried between Ripon and Thirsk on 5 January 1848, and this section officially opened on 31 May with public services starting the following day. The section between Weeton and Wormald Green opened on 1 September and was connected to the line at Ripon on 13 September. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway's station in Harrogate was at Starbeck (initially called Harrogate) outside the town centre in the Crimple Valley. The York & North Midland Railway opened Harrogate station in the town centre at Brunswick, which was accessed via a line over the Crimple Viaduct. The Leeds and Thirsk Line passed under the viaduct en route to Starbeck. Although the station at Brunswick was more convenient, the Leeds and Thirsk offered a shorter journey to Leeds from Starbeck.
Extension of the line into Leeds was delayed by problems encountered during the construction of the 3,761-yard (3.439 km) long Bramhope Tunnel. Tunnellers encountered large quantities of water that had to be pumped out and many workers died during its construction. A memorial in the form of a replica of the tunnel's northern portal is in Otley churchyard. The completed line opened on 9 July 1849 when three trains carried 2,000 shareholders from Leeds to Thirsk and back. A temporary terminus opened on Wellington Street Leeds until services were accommodated at Leeds Central and then at the Midland Railway's Wellington Street station.
The Leeds and Thirsk presented a bill in 1845–46 for a line from Wath (later Melmerby) to join the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway at Billingham. Under pressure from Hudson the route was changed so that the GNER would be used between Thirsk and Northallerton and the Leeds and Hartlepool Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cxlix) received royal assent on 16 July 1846. The Leeds and Thirsk returned for permission for a direct line from Melmerby to Northallerton which was approved on 22 July 1848. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission to change its name to the Leeds Northern Railway on 3 July 1851.
The East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway (E&WYJR) began constructing a line from York to Knaresborough in 1847, opening to a temporary station at Hay Park Lane on 30 October 1848 before being taken over by the York & North Midland on 1 July 1851. A Leeds Northern branch from Harrogate (now Starbeck) opened to Knaresborough on 4 August 1851, which was also served by the York & North Midland after completion of the E&WYJR viaduct over the River Nidd on 1 October 1851.
Leeds Northern Railway
The Leeds Northern Railway (LNR), until 1851 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, was an English railway company that built and opened a line from Leeds to Stockton via Harrogate and Thirsk. In 1845 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission for a line from Leeds to Thirsk, part of which opened in 1848, but problems building the Bramhope Tunnel delayed trains operating into Leeds until 1849.
The Leeds and Thirsk Railway Company changed its name to the Leeds Northern Railway on 3 July 1851 before its line to Stockton opened. The company formed an alliance with the West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway and was involved in a price war with the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR). A merger of the YN&BR with the LNR and the York and North Midland Railway (Y&NM) was accepted by LNR shareholders, and by royal assent on 31 July 1854 the three companies merged to become the North Eastern Railway.
Today, sections of the former Leeds Northern Railway line form the Harrogate Line between Leeds and Harrogate, and the Northallerton to Stockton Line.
In 1845 the provisional committee of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway submitted a private bill to Parliament seeking permission to build a railway and in the same year the Great North of England Railway (GNER) presented a competing bill for a line to Leeds from a junction with its line at Pilmoor. The GNER withdrew its bill after it was leased by the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway, which was controlled by the railway financier George Hudson. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. civ) received royal assent on 21 July 1845 and construction started on 20 October 1845.
Mineral traffic was carried between Ripon and Thirsk on 5 January 1848, and this section officially opened on 31 May with public services starting the following day. The section between Weeton and Wormald Green opened on 1 September and was connected to the line at Ripon on 13 September. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway's station in Harrogate was at Starbeck (initially called Harrogate) outside the town centre in the Crimple Valley. The York & North Midland Railway opened Harrogate station in the town centre at Brunswick, which was accessed via a line over the Crimple Viaduct. The Leeds and Thirsk Line passed under the viaduct en route to Starbeck. Although the station at Brunswick was more convenient, the Leeds and Thirsk offered a shorter journey to Leeds from Starbeck.
Extension of the line into Leeds was delayed by problems encountered during the construction of the 3,761-yard (3.439 km) long Bramhope Tunnel. Tunnellers encountered large quantities of water that had to be pumped out and many workers died during its construction. A memorial in the form of a replica of the tunnel's northern portal is in Otley churchyard. The completed line opened on 9 July 1849 when three trains carried 2,000 shareholders from Leeds to Thirsk and back. A temporary terminus opened on Wellington Street Leeds until services were accommodated at Leeds Central and then at the Midland Railway's Wellington Street station.
The Leeds and Thirsk presented a bill in 1845–46 for a line from Wath (later Melmerby) to join the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway at Billingham. Under pressure from Hudson the route was changed so that the GNER would be used between Thirsk and Northallerton and the Leeds and Hartlepool Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cxlix) received royal assent on 16 July 1846. The Leeds and Thirsk returned for permission for a direct line from Melmerby to Northallerton which was approved on 22 July 1848. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission to change its name to the Leeds Northern Railway on 3 July 1851.
The East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway (E&WYJR) began constructing a line from York to Knaresborough in 1847, opening to a temporary station at Hay Park Lane on 30 October 1848 before being taken over by the York & North Midland on 1 July 1851. A Leeds Northern branch from Harrogate (now Starbeck) opened to Knaresborough on 4 August 1851, which was also served by the York & North Midland after completion of the E&WYJR viaduct over the River Nidd on 1 October 1851.
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