Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway (GCR) was a British railroad company that existed from 1897 to 1922 . The length of their route network was 1372 km. The main line of the GCR, the Great Central Main Line , ran from Marylebone station via Leicester and Nottingham to Sheffield and was closed between 1966 and 1969.
history
Foundation of the GCR
The GCR was founded in 1897 by renaming the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), which had existed since 1847 . At that time it operated a route from Manchester ( London Road Station ) via Penistone , Sheffield , Brigg and Grimsby to Cleethorpes . A second route branched off in Penistone and opened up Barnsley , Doncaster and Scunthorpe and met in Barnetby on the route to Grimsby.
Further routes connected Sheffield with Barnsley (via Chapeltown ) and Doncaster (via Rotherham ) and Lincoln with Wrawby Junction. Branch lines in northern Lincolnshire led to Barton-upon-Humber and New Holland and opened up the iron ore mines in the Scunthorpe region. Around Manchester there were routes to Stalybridge and Glossop .
In the 1890s, the MS&LR began building the "Derbyshire Line", which should allow expansion to the south. This branched off at Beighton Junction - about 9 km east of Sheffield - from the east-west main line and led through the Nottinghamshire coalfield to Nottingham . A branch line connected Chesterfield to this connection.
Extension to London
In 1893, the MS&LR had received parliamentary approval to extend its southern route to London. Construction began in 1895, on August 1, 1897, the MS&LR changed its name to Great Central Railway. The new, 148 km long route was initially opened to coal traffic on July 25, 1898, to passenger traffic on March 15, 1899 and to other goods traffic on April 11, 1899.
The new connection to London connected in Annesley in Nottingham to the previously opened southern line and led to Marylebone station. The section between Quainton Road station in Buckinghamshire and Harrow led over the existing route of the Metropolitan Railway . On April 2, 1906, an "alternative main line" was opened from Grendon Underwood to Neasden , the section between High Wycombe and South Ruislip was jointly owned by the GCR and the Great Western Railway .
With the entry into force of the Railways Act 1921 , the GCR went on January 1, 1923 in the London and North Eastern Railway .
Other new GCR routes
- Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway (LD & ECR): This line opened in 1897 to connect coal mines to deep water ports. It was originally supposed to run from Sutton on Sea in Lincolnshire to Warrington in Lancashire . Ultimately, however, only the section of Pyewipe Junction near Lincoln and Chesterfield Market Place was built. The GCR acquired the LD & ECR on January 1, 1907.
- Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway, acquired January 1, 1905
- North Wales and Liverpool Railway, acquired January 1, 1905
- Wigan Junction Railway, acquired January 1, 1906
- Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, acquired January 1, 1906
- North Lindsey Light Railway (Scunthorpe - Whitton ), opened on December 1, 1910, operated by GCR, mainly iron ore transport in addition to a little passenger traffic
Business communities
With the exception of the three above-mentioned branches in the Liverpool area , all GCR routes were in the north of England east of Manchester. Nevertheless, the GCR was able to run trains from coast to coast within the framework of joint ventures with other companies. The largest of these operating groups was the Cheshire Lines Committee (together with the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway ). Other joint ventures were (from west to east):
- Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (GCR / LNWR)
- Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Guide Bridge Railway (GCR / LNWR)
- Macclesfield, Marple and Bollington Railway (GCR / NSR)
- South Yorkshire Joint Railway (GCR, GNR, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, MidR and North Eastern Railway)
- Sheffield District Railway (GCR and MidR)
- West Riding and Grimsby Joint Railway (GCR / GNR) - access to Wakefield and Leeds
