South Yorkshire Railway

:"For the Preservation Society South Yorkshire Railway Co. Ltd. see Heritage Shunters Trust" The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company which was based in the south of the former West Riding of Yorkshire. Its first section of line opened on 10 November 1849 between Swinton Junction and Doncaster. It was amalgamated into the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1864.

Early History

The company, originally named as The South Yorkshire Coal Railway, set out its plans in a prospectus in 1845. Its proposals were given as being "To connect the South Yorkshire coalfield with the existing and proposed main lines of railway, in connection with the canals and navigation of that district": Nothing further than to move coal from the area where it was mined to its major markets.These met with opposition in Parliament, principally from the North Midland Railway and the, still at proposal stage line of the Manchester, Midland and Great Grimsby Junction Railway which saw the South Yorkshire proposals as a rival to its own intentions. The opposition won the day and the South Yorkshire Coal Railway Bill was defeated. Also presented in this session of Parliament was a Bill for the long-titled Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Goole Railway, a line which was to run close by the edge of the working coalfield, Sheffield and Chapeltown, the home of Newton, Chambers & Company, one of the leading industrial companies in the area. The railway company sold its rights for the lines, those north of Barnsley to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and those to the south of the town to the South Yorkshire Railway, although they had no line and no authority to build one.

The North Midland Railway completed its line between Leeds and Derby passing through Swinton, its nearest point to Doncaster. This led to pressure for a line to be built connecting the North Midland to Doncaster.

The First Section

In the next era of railway proposals came schemes of all types throughout the area including a new "South Yorkshire Railway"; now titled "The South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway Company". Introduced into Parliament in 1846 it failed to win the required powers but was re-introduced later, in a shorter version, a main line from Doncaster to a junction with the Midland Railway at Swinton and several branches. On 23 July 1847 Parliament granted the South Yorkshire the necessary powers for its main line but powers for a branch from Mexborough to Rotherham, due to opposition from the Midland, and from Worsborough to Penistone were declined. The Act also gave the S.Y.R. the power to purchase the "lines south of Barnsley" from the S.R.B.W.H & G.R., and gave confirmation of the purchase of the River Don Navigation and the Dearne and Dove Canal.

Work on the main line was under way by October 1847, the first, ceremonial sod being cut in "Warmsworth Field", the site of the present day cutting. Work ran overtime but the line was ready for a trial run to take place on 29 October 1849 when a special train left Doncaster, Cherry Tree Lane (later Cherrytree), actually in Hexthorpe, to Swinton. The train, made up of two first class carriages loaned by the Midland Railway and a Great Northern Railway open wagon fitted with seats, was propelled by a four-coupled tank locomotive which had been used for ballasting the line. The Board of Trade inspector, Captain Winn, passed the line for opening and the date of Saturday, 3 November set, however delays put this back by a week. The passenger service, to run from Sheffield, was to be operated by the Midland Railway and was timed to connect with their trains from the North, Derby, Birmingham, Gloucester, Bristol and London. At the opening the only intermediate station on the S.Y.R. was at Conisbrough although further stations were added from 1st February 1850 to serve the villages of Hexthorpe and Balby and for Warmsworth and Sprotborough.

In the other direction and just one day later the line in the opposite direction, at least as far as Elsecar, where a junction ran to serve Earl Fitzwilliam 's colliery, was opened and carried its first traffic - the S.Y.R. was in the coal carrying business! The coal was passed to the G.N.R. for shipment to Boston Docks. It was always the intention of the S.Y.R. to convey the coal over its own metals for onward shipment and a line was projected to run east of Doncaster for this purpose.

Nearer to Barnsley

The line was built to Worsborough and opened in 1850, continuing to Moor End, near Silkstone Common in 1852. This gave the company access to more collieries and so more traffic over its rails. The track towards Barnsley left this line at Oldham Mill Junction, later Aldham Junction, between Wombwell and Stairfoot and reached the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at the south end of its station, where it made an end-on junction and gave the S.Y.R. passenger access to the town. The line opened on 1st July 1851 and a passenger service from Doncaster was begun, not operated by the S.Y.R., it still did not own any passenger coaches, but by the G.N.R. with its locomotives and stock.

Traffic on the Elsecar Branch increased from June 1850 due to a new seam being worked at Darley Main Colliery.

The Blackburn Valley Line

In March 1852 land was bought to complete the line between Barnsley and Sheffield, although at this time the only way a through service of any type could be offered was by a reversal at Wombwell Central. The S.Y.R. diverted the route purchased from the S.R.B.W.H.& G.R. at the request of the colliery owners in the Dove Valley who had no railway line to serve their pits at Blacker Main, Platts Common and Hoyland Common. Because of this they abandoned the tunnel at Birdwell although much work had already been carried out. The line, through to a junction with the Midland Railway near Wincobank, on the outskirts of Sheffield, enabled trains to run to the Wicker station in Sheffield. The line opened for goods traffic on 11th September 1854, single track with just one passing point, Westwood. Passenger trains began in November 1855 operating between Doncaster and Sheffield. This service was operated by the South Yorkshire Railway with its own locomotives and stock.

The line was extended from Meadowhall to Tinsley in 1861 and eventually reached Woodburn Junction, on the main line of the M.S.& L.R. just east of Sheffield Victoria, opening on 1st August 1864, just after the company ceased as a separate entity. The "Darnall Curve", linking this line to an east facing junction on the main line, was also opened in 1864.

East From Doncaster

The South Yorkshire Railway were the owners of the River Don Navigation and made use of this fact when it came to build the line to Thorne as there is no record of Parliamentary powers being obtained for its construction, the route following closely the canal bank to a station near Thorne Lock. The line was inspected by the Board of Trade on 31st May 1856 but needed more work before their inspector would give a certificate for its carriage of passengers. This was, however, gained a month later and the line opened on 7th July with intermediate stations at Barnby Dun, Bramwith and Stainforth. The station at Thorne was moved nearer the town centre after only a short time and remained as such until the 'straightening' in 1864 when Thorne South was opened.There was also a short line in Thorne to Waterside, where a link was instituted to the canal. No Parliamentary powers were obtained for the next section for the S.Y.R. to Keadby, it again being constructed on the canal bank, the canal already in the railway company's ownership. The line was opened in September 1859 with only one intermediate station at Crowle, others at Maud's Bridge, Medge Hall, Godnow Bridge were opened shortly afterwatds.

Finale

In May 1864 there came news that "The Transfer Bill of the South Yorkshire Railway" had passed the Committee of the House of Lords and the company then became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.

The Locomotives

Abbreviations:

*BCK....Bury, Curtis & Kennedy
*BP.....Beyer, Peacock & Co.
*EBW....E.B.Wilson & Company
*GE.....George England & Co.
*GW.....Gilkes, Wilson & Co.(Ex-Leeds and Thirsk railway).
*K......Kitson & Company
*SYR....South Yorkshire Railway, Mexborough
*TB.....Thwaites Brothers

The Remains Today

Because of duplication of tracks between main centres, the inconvenient siting of passenger stations, closure of collieries and other lineside works much of the system have been closed or truncated. The remaining open sections are as follows:
* Between Mexborough and Doncaster. (The Swinton curve, which formed the junction to the Midland Railway, was closed in 1968 but reinstated in the late 1980s to coincide with the reopening of Swinton railway station).
* Betweek Doncaster and Keadby (The realigned route).
* Between Mexborough Junction and Woodburn Junction (Sheffield) (although the present line joins the Midland Railway at Aldwarke Junction and returns to its old route after about 100 yards).
* Quarry Junction (Barnsley) and Barnsley (former Exchange) station.
* The upper part of the Elsecar Branch, reopened by the Elsecar Steam Railway. It is expected that the section to Cortonwood will be opened at a later date as funding allows.