North Western Railway
Introduction
This line is partly open. The section between Wennington and Skipton is still open. The section between Wennington and Lancaster is closed and the branch to Ingleton is closed.
The company was also known as the Little North Western to differentiate it from the London and North Western Railway.
Dates
| 24/11/1845 | ~London and North Western Railway Adlington opened |
| 01/01/1846 | London and North Western Railway London and Birmingham Railway, Grand Junction Railway and Manchester and Birmingham Railway merge to form the London and North Western Railway. |
| 26/06/1846 | North Western Railway Act passed. |
| 31/12/1846 | North Western Railway First sod cut. |
| /09/1848 | London and North Western Railway Consideration of abandoning Leamington to Rugby line promoted by the former Rugby and Leamington Railway. |
| 30/07/1849 | North Western Railway Skipton to Ingleton opened. |
| 14/08/1849 | Mold Railway Line opened from Saltney Ferry to Mold, worked by the London and North Western Railway. |
| / /1850 | London and North Western Railway Work resumes on the Rugby to Leamington Spa branch. |
| / /1851 | London and North Western Railway Rugby to Leamington Spa opened as a single track railway. |
| /06/1852 | North Western Railway Line worked by Midland Railway. |
| 02/01/1854 | Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Opened from Hereford Barton to Coedygric on the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company. Worked by the London and North Western Railway. |
| / /1859 | North Western Railway Line leased by Midland Railway. |
| / /1859 | Northampton and Market Harborough Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line opened with stations at Lamport, Brixworth, Spratton, Pitsford and Brampton. |
| 01/06/1860 | Ingleton Branch (London and North Western Railway) Ingleton to Low Gill opened. |
| 01/08/1860 | ~London and North Western Railway Adderley Park opened |
| 08/11/1861 | Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway Agreement reached for lease for 1000 years by the London and North Western Railway. |
| 01/07/1862 | Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Leased jointly by the London and North Western Railway, West Midland Railway and Great Western Railway. |
| 07/08/1862 | Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway Lease agreement with London and North Western Railway confirmed by Act. |
| 01/10/1862 | Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway, London and North Western Railway London and North Western Railway takes possession of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway. |
| 01/03/1864 | London and North Western Railway, South Wales Extension from Brynmawr to Nantybwch. |
| 25/07/1864 | Rhymney Railway Act for Caerphilly to Cardiff Line (Rhymney Railway) and connection to the Caerphilly Branch (Brecon and Merthyr Railway). Traffic agreement made with the London and North Western Railway. Larger company helps finance smaller company's plans. |
| 30/07/1865 | London and North Western Railway Makes traffic agreement with the Vale of Neath Railway. |
| 05/10/1865 | London and North Western Railway Uses running powers over the Taff Vale Extension Railway and an agreement with the Vale of Neath Railway to serve Swansea. |
| / /1866 | Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway, London and North Western Railway Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway bought by the London and North Western Railway. |
| 16/07/1866 | Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway Act passed, backed by the London and North Western Railway. |
| / /1867 | London and North Western Railway Act for north facing junction at Abergavenny for the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway. |
| 01/09/1867 | Beaufort Ironworks Tramway, London and North Western Railway South Wales Link between lines opened. |
| / /1868 | Settle and Carlisle Line (Midland Railway) An agreement with the London and North Western Railway is reached over use of the Ingleton Branch (Lancaster and Carlisle Railway) and Lancaster and Carlisle Railway by the Midland Railway. The route would involve the North Western Railway. The Midland Railway tries to abandon the Settle and Carlisle Line (Midland Railway). The North British Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway block the abandonment. |
| / /1869 | Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway Incorporated into the London and North Western Railway. |
| / /1871 | Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Abergavenny Junction station re-built at London and North Western Railway expense. |
| 05/09/1871 | Rhymney and Nantybwch Joint Line (London and North Western Railway, South Wales and Rhymney Railway) Joint line from Rhymney to Nantybwch opened. |
| 02/10/1871 | Rhymney and Nantybwch Joint Line (London and North Western Railway, South Wales and Rhymney Railway) Joint line from Rhymney to Nantybwch opened to public traffic. The London and North Western Railway diverts all of its Cardiff bound traffic to the Rhymney Railway route. |
| 01/01/1873 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Line extended to Dowlais Top and Ivor Junction with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway and access to Dowlais Lloyd Street and the Dowlais Iron Company. |
| /11/1873 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Bill for line to Merthyr and the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, Vale of Neath Railway and Geothin Railway. |
| 18/05/1874 | London and North Western Railway South Wales, Brecon and Merthyr Railway London and North Western Railway agrees to withdraw Merthyr bill in exchange for joint ownership of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway branch from Dowlais to Merthyr. A link was to be opened from Penywern Junction, by Ivor Junction, and run from there to Morlais on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway. |
| 14/06/1874 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Morlais Tunnel completed. |
| 16/07/1874 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Act for extension from Penywern Junction to Morlais. |
| 01/01/1875 | Pontypool Caerleon and Newport Railway London and North Western Railway uses line for Shrewsbury to Newport Mill Street. |
| /07/1875 | Sirhowy Tramroad, London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway starts to run trains on the Sirhowy Tramroad. |
| 21/08/1875 | Sirhowy Tramroad, London and North Western Railway Date of retrospective working agreement. |
| 01/10/1875 | London and North Western Railway Opens depot at Tyndall Street Goods, Cardiff, approached by 1/2 a mile of traffic from the Rhymney Railway. |
| 13/07/1876 | Sirhowy Tramroad, London and North Western Railway Act merging the Sirhowy Tramroad into the London and North Western Railway. |
| / /1877 | Llanmorlais Branch (London and North Western Railway) Penclawdo to Llanmorlais opened. |
| 01/05/1878 | Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway Extension to Abersychan and Talywain opened to passengers. Track in the station was jointly owned by the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway as the line met its Talwain Branch here. |
| /03/1879 | Pontypool Caerleon and Newport Railway London and North Western Railway stop using line for passengers. Cwmbran to Mill Street becomes freight only. |
| 09/06/1879 | Dowlais and Merthyr Joint Line London and North Western Railway passenger service starts to run to Merthyr. Access also opened to the Crawshays Private Railway. |
| / /1881 | London and North Western Railway Rent the Nantyglo to Brynmawr railway from the Nantyglo and Blaina Iron Company. |
| 14/02/1881 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Cwmbargoed Junction to Cwmbargoed (LNWR) opened. |
| / /1882 | Glasgow and North Western Railway Route surveyed |
| / /1883 | Glasgow and North Western Railway Glasgow and North Western Railway proposed by North British Railway. The route was to have been Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It was not built. |
| / /1884 | Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Private coal and stores siding laid to Abergavenny Lunatic Asylum from south junction at triangle. London and North Western Railway had running powers to hospital. |
| 01/07/1884 | Bethesda Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line opened from Penrhyn, by Bangor, to Bethesda. |
| 28/07/1884 | Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway (HighlandRailway) Act passed. This was partly in response to the proposed incursion of the North British Railway's Glasgow and North Western Railway from Glasgow to Inverness via Loch Lomond, Crianlarich, Glencoe, Fort William and the Great Glen. |
| / /1885 | Portpatrick Railway The Caledonian Railway's lease expires - the Portpatrick Railway and Wigtownshire Railway become jointly run as the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway - controlled by the Caledonian Railway, London and North Western Railway, Glasgow and South Western Railway and Midland Railway. The stock was owned by all four companies and operated by the two Scottish companies. The Joint company also owned 4/5 of the Larne and Stranraer Steamship Joint Committee, the remaining 1/5 owned by the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway. |
| 04/05/1885 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Dowlais High Street opened, through trains to Merthyr stop using Dowlais Lloyd Street, and Dowlais Top closed. |
| / /1895 | Weedon, Daventry and Leamington Spa Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line opened. |
| / /1900 | Penllwyn Tramway, London and North Western Railway A new spur, west of Nine Mile Point, is opened to the Penllwyn Tramway by the owners, the London and North Western Railway to give access to Nine Mile Point Colliery. Formerly this tramway was accessible by a point west of Nine Mile Point and thus in Great Western Railway territory. |
| 31/07/1902 | Brynmawr and Western Valleys Railway Line taken over jointly by the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway as the Nantyglo and Blaina Iron Company were asking too high a price to buy their private Nantyglo to Brynmawr railway. |
| / /1910 | London and North Western Railway, South Wales Run-away coal train piles up after being diverted onto a dead-end siding by signalman on Ebbw Vale Branch. |
| / /1918 | London and North Western Railway Lease of the Nantyglo to Brynmawr railway expires. |
| / /1923 | London Midland and Scottish Railway 0-8-4 tanks by H.P.M. Beams introduced on the London and North Western Railway, South Wales. |
| / /1937 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Cwmbargoed branch closed. |
| 16/06/1947 | London and North Western Railway P.S. Waverley maiden voyage. Based at Craigendoran Pier. |
| / /1948 | ~London and North Western Railway Adlington renamed Adlington (Cheshire) |
| 05/02/1951 | Beaufort Ironworks Tramway, London and North Western Railway, South Wales Link closed to passengers. |
| 23/09/1953 | Rhymney Railway, London and North Western Railway, South Wales Joint line from Rhymney to Rhymney Bridge closed. |
| 22/11/1954 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Freight services transferred to Great Western Railway routes. |
| / /1958 | Weedon, Daventry and Leamington Spa Branch (London and North Western Railway) Closed to passengers. |
| 06/01/1958 | London and North Western Railway South Wales Closed to passengers. |
| / /1959 | London and North Western Railway Rugby to Leamington Spa closed to passengers. |
| 02/11/1959 | Beaufort Ironworks Tramway, London and North Western Railway, South Wales Link closed completely. |
| 04/01/1960 | Northampton and Market Harborough Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line closed to passengers. |
| / /1963 | Weedon, Daventry and Leamington Spa Branch (London and North Western Railway) Closed to goods except the Marton to Southam section which was accessed by the Rugby to Marton line. |
| 07/10/1963 | Bethesda Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line closed. |
| 06/01/1969 | Northampton and Market Harborough Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line re-opened for through passenger trains. |
| 01/05/1969 | Northampton and Market Harborough Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line closed to passengers. |
| 10/07/1972 | Northampton and Market Harborough Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line re-opened for through passenger trains. |
| 16/08/1981 | Northampton and Market Harborough Branch (London and North Western Railway) Line closed to passengers. |
Portions of line and locations
This line is divided into a number of portions.
Skipton to Lancaster
This is a two platform station. ...
More details
142013 nears Gargrave with the 10.24 from Leeds to Lancaster on 17 March 2019. ...Bill Roberton 17/03/2019
142013 calls at Gargrave with the 10.24 from Leeds to Lancaster on 17 March 2019. The former goods yard is in the background. ...Bill Roberton 17/03/2019
UK Railtours excursion from London Kings Cross to Carlisle passing Gargrave station. Looking back along the train on 3rd October 2015. ...David Bosher 03/10/2015
35018 British India Line arrives in the Up loop at Hellifield whilst on the second loaded test run around the 'Carnforth Circuit' on 17 August 2017. ...John McIntyre 17/08/2017
The 9 year tour of duty almost over, ex LMS 4-6-0 no.46115 'Scots Guardsman' prepares to head back to Carnforth with support coach on 15 August 2017. ...John McIntyre 15/08/2017
A 47 takes the route to Blackburn at Hellifield South Junction in 1989 with a diversion from the WCML. ...Ewan Crawford 25/03/1989
Black 5s 45407 and 44932 with an SLOA special from Carnforth to York on 29 April 1978, photographed between Hellifield and Bell Busk. [Ref query 7899] ...Bill Jamieson 29/04/1978
Closely following 60163 and The Border Raider through Long Preston on 16th September 2017 was DBS 66176 with a long rake of cement tankers from ...Mark Bartlett 16/09/2017
60163 Tornado pulls away from a water stop at Long Preston with the returning Border Raider tour on 16th September 2017. The train, ...Mark Bartlett 16/09/2017
Autumn colours in Ribblesdale as Northern Sprinter 150270, on a Morecambe to Leeds service, pulls away from Long Preston station on 31st October 2015. ...Mark Bartlett 31/10/2015
This was a short lived station at Settle Junction, just to its south.
...
The Midland signal box at Settle Junction, as seen from a passing charter train (with opening windows!) coming off the Little North Western line from ...Mark Bartlett 21/03/2015
Giggleswick looking west. The was the site of a station called Settle until the opening of the Settle and Carlisle Line. ...Ewan Crawford //
With the autumn colours appearing in the trees a Northern service from Morecambe to Leeds departing from Giggleswick towards Settle Jct late in the ...John McIntyre 16/10/2014
Standard 4MT 4-6-0 75019 hauls a short freight towards Settle Junction on the Little North Western line from Carnforth in the summer of 1968. ...David Hindle /06/1968
Basic but tidy facilities at Giggleswick, for the five trains a day each way service, with a waiting shelter on the Skipton and Leeds platform but ...Mark Bartlett 15/12/2008
Once a junction but on a smaller scale than its southerly namesake, Clapham in North Yorkshire is rather quieter and in a more rural setting. A ...John McIntyre 16/10/2014
Early morning sunshine at Clapham station on 21st March 2015 as Brush Type 4 47760 runs through with the Wensleydale and Durham Coast rail ...Mark Bartlett 21/03/2015
A Morecambe to Leeds service leaves Clapham station (just visible far left) and crosses the substantial viaduct over the River Wenning. The river is a ...Mark Bartlett 23/03/2016
Northern railcar 153 360 on the Leeds - Morecambe route approaching Clapham, North Yorkshire, on 17 April 2011. ...Andrew Wilson 17/04/2011
This is a two platform station. The main station building is on the eastbound platform, a 1950s replacement for the original main building. The goods yard was to the west of the station, on the north side of the line. ...
More details
3-car Pacer 144020 calls at Bentham with a Morecambe to Leeds service on 25th April 2019. Bentham station is in first class order these days, not ...Mark Bartlett 25/04/2019
3-car Pacer 144014, on a Leeds to Morecambe service, clatters along jointed track at Greystonegill Bridge in the Wenning Valley near Bentham on 2nd ...Mark Bartlett 02/12/2017
A light engine movement from the National Railway Museum to Carnforth on 16th September 2017. West Coast Railway's 47245 and Slim Jim 33207 ...Mark Bartlett 16/09/2017
3-car Pacer 144020 calls at Wennington on its way to Morecambe from Leeds on 24th January 2019. The population of Wennington is only 138 but the ...Mark Bartlett 24/01/2019
142024 pulls away from the Wennington stop with a Leeds to Lancaster service on 4th November 2019. On this still autumn morning the Pacer could be ...Mark Bartlett 04/11/2019
The first revenue earning train for 35018 British India Line was the annual Lune Rivers Trust special from Carnforth to York on 30th ...Mark Bartlett 30/09/2017
First train of the day at Wennington on 30th September 2017 as 144021 leaves for Lancaster. Wennington would normally be very quiet at this time but ...Mark Bartlett 30/09/2017
This interesting five arch bridge spans the trackbed, and the River Wenning, a short distance to the west of Wennington station on the old direct line ...Mark Bartlett 31/12/2009
Station Court at Hornby, and a small industrial unit behind it, occupy the site of Hornby Station and the trackbed of the North Western line from ...Mark Bartlett 20/08/2019
The partly blocked off cutting on the right carried the former Wennington to Lancaster Green Ayre line just west of Hornby station. The line crossed ...Mark Bartlett 20/02/2019
The view Southwest along the Wennington to Lancaster trackbed from the A683 main road at Hornby in February 2019. The railway crossed the road on a ...Mark Bartlett 19/02/2019
The view east along the former trackbed to Wennington from the overbridge at the site of Hornby station in the Lune Valley. The Lancaster to ...Mark Bartlett 14/07/2009
Looking towards Claughton Moor from the A683 road in August 2017, with a succession of clay buckets on the move to and from the brick works behind the ...Mark Bartlett 11/08/2017
A slightly hazy view of the Claughton Aerial Ropeway, top to bottom, looking across from the Aughton side of the Lune Valley in August 2019. Claughton ...Mark Bartlett 20/08/2019
After another period of inactivity the aerial ropeway at the Claughton Manor brick works is operating again in August 2017. Further safety ...Mark Bartlett 11/08/2017
Inside the boundary of the clay pit at Claughton Moor the aerial ropeway runs at a much lower level. One of the shorter pylons can be seen here with a ...Mark Bartlett 09/05/2014
Two views of the Caton to Lancaster trackbed cycle path from the access point at Crook o'Lune. The upper view looks towards Lancaster with the ...Mark Bartlett 11/01/2019
Caton station closed in 1960, six years before the line itself, and this picture is of the site, looking towards Hornby. The extended station house ...Mark Bartlett 10/05/2009
Trackbed view west from the easterly Crook O Lune bridge. Immediately beyond the over bridge the westerly bridge can be seen showing how close the two ...Mark Bartlett 10/05/2009
Caton closed in 1961, six years before the line from Lancaster to Wennington. The station itself has been heavily modified as a private residence and ...Mark Bartlett 29/08/2008
The station building at Halton on the shortened eastbound platform at Halton on the on-time Midland line from Wennington Junction to [[Lancaster ...John McIntyre 30/06/2013
The closed station at Halton, on the Lancaster to Wennington line on 23rd June 2015. This view looks along the outside of the retaining wall on the ...Mark Bartlett 23/06/2015
The east end of the goods shed at Halton on 30 June 2013 showing that, unlike the west end, see image 18185 the door appears to be original. The ...John McIntyre 30/06/2013
This bridge over the Lancaster to Wennington direct line was built in 1960 to carry the Lancaster By-pass, later the M6 Motorway. The railway closed ...Mark Bartlett 24/04/2009
View west along the River Lune at Lancaster - September 2014 see image 44262. ...Ken Strachan 06/09/2014
A short single track line from Lancaster Castle dropped down to Lancaster Green Ayre, alongside the River Lune. Originally electrified it closed to ...Mark Bartlett 13/12/2010
The approach to Green Ayre station site on the trackbed from Halton is quiet and feels very rural but is close to Lancaster centre and the busy one ...Mark Bartlett 07/08/2008
View towards Halton from approximately the end of the platforms at Lancaster Green Ayre station, now a park close by the River Lune. This would also ...Mark Bartlett 07/08/2008
Ingleton Branch
Once a junction but on a smaller scale than its southerly namesake, Clapham in North Yorkshire is rather quieter and in a more rural setting. A ...John McIntyre 16/10/2014
Early morning sunshine at Clapham station on 21st March 2015 as Brush Type 4 47760 runs through with the Wensleydale and Durham Coast rail ...Mark Bartlett 21/03/2015
A Morecambe to Leeds service leaves Clapham station (just visible far left) and crosses the substantial viaduct over the River Wenning. The river is a ...Mark Bartlett 23/03/2016
Northern railcar 153 360 on the Leeds - Morecambe route approaching Clapham, North Yorkshire, on 17 April 2011. ...Andrew Wilson 17/04/2011
Ingleton had two stations, one on either side of its end-on junction between the MR and the LNWR. The site of one of them is now a community centre, ...Ken Strachan 10/05/2009
