Middleton Railway (heritage)
The Middleton Railway is a heritage railway in south Leeds with a credible claim to be the oldest continuously working railway in the world. The original Middleton Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1758, the first railway anywhere to be sanctioned by an Act of Parliament, and has operated continuously as a railway ever since (initially as a horse-worked colliery line and from 1812 as a steam-worked railway).
The line's historical significance is exceptional on multiple counts. In 1812, it became the world's first commercially successful steam locomotive railway, when Matthew Murray of the Round Foundry, Holbeck, supplied the rack-and-pinion locomotive Salamanca to John Blenkinsop's patent design, predating the Stockton & Darlington Railway (1825) and the Liverpool & Manchester (1830) by over a decade. Three further Murray engines followed, working a regular coal-hauling service between Middleton Colliery and Leeds.
The current heritage operation began in 1960 when the Middleton Railway Trust took over the surviving section, making it the first standard-gauge railway anywhere to be operated by volunteers, predating Bluebell (also 1960) by a few weeks, depending on how one measures "operating".
History
The Middleton Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1758, the first railway Act in history. Initially a wooden-railed waggonway carrying coal from Charles Brandling's Middleton Colliery to Leeds, it was rebuilt with cast-iron rails in the 1790s. In 1812, John Blenkinsop's rack-and-pinion patent and Matthew Murray's engineering gave the line the world's first commercially successful steam locomotive railway, with engines including Salamanca, Prince Regent, Lord Wellington, and Marquis Wellington.
The line operated as an industrial railway under various owners (latterly the National Coal Board) until 1958, when the threat of closure prompted the formation of the Middleton Railway Trust in 1960. Volunteer-operated trains began later that year, making this one of the earliest railway preservation schemes anywhere.
Original line history
The 1758 Middleton Railway Act was the first in history; the line was a wooden waggonway with horse haulage. Murray's 1812 steam locomotives ran successfully for over twenty years (1812–c. 1834), after which the line reverted to horse and stationary-engine working until conventional locomotives were introduced later in the 19th century.
Stations and infrastructure
Moor Road is the operating headquarters, with locomotive shed, museum, and the Engine House visitor centre. Park Halt is the southern terminus, in Middleton Park.
Route and stations
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Special events and operations
Events include themed running days, vintage train weekends, and Santa Specials. The historical significance of the line is the principal interpretive theme of the visit.
Visitor information
Moor Road is in Hunslet, south Leeds, signposted from the M621 motorway. Leeds city station is the nearest mainline interchange.