| Middleton Railway | |
|---|---|
 Main station building on Moor Road. | |
| Locale | Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire |
| Terminus | Moor Road |
| Coordinates | 53°46′30″N 1°32′19″W / 53.775070°N 1.538600°W |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Middleton Railway |
| Built by | Charles Brandling |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 1 in (1,245 mm) until 1881 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge from 1881 |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. |
| Operated by | The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. |
| Stations | 2 |
| Length | 0.96 miles (1.54 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| 1758 | Construction of first waggonway |
| 1799 | Wooden tracks replaced with iron edge rails |
| 1812 | Introduction of steam locomotives |
| c. 1835 | Line reverts to horse drawn trains |
| 1866 | Return of steam locomotives |
| 1881 | Line converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| 1947 | Rationalisation of the Line |
| 1960 | Line taken over by preservation society |
| Preservation history | |
| June 1960 | One week passenger service |
| 1960 | Start of freight service |
| 1969 | Start of regular passenger service |
| 1983 | End of freight service |
| Headquarters | Moor Road station |
| Website | |
| middletonrailway.org.uk/ | |
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway,[1] situated in the English city of Leeds. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway, run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. since 1960.
The railway operates passenger services at weekends and on public holidays over approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) of track between its headquarters at Moor Road, in Hunslet, and Park Halt, on the outskirts of Middleton Park.
- ^ Winn, Christopher (2010). I never knew that about Yorkshire. London: Ebury. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-09-193313-5.