Middleton Railway

Middleton Railway
Main station building on Moor Road.
LocaleHunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire
TerminusMoor Road
Coordinates53°46′30″N 1°32′19″W / 53.775070°N 1.538600°W / 53.775070; -1.538600
Commercial operations
NameMiddleton Railway
Built byCharles Brandling
Original gauge4 ft 1 in (1,245 mm) until 1881
4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge from 1881
Preserved operations
Owned byThe Middleton Railway Trust Ltd.
Operated byThe Middleton Railway Trust Ltd.
Stations2
Length0.96 miles (1.54 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
1758Construction of first waggonway
1799Wooden tracks replaced with iron edge rails
1812Introduction of steam locomotives
c. 1835Line reverts to horse drawn trains
1866Return of steam locomotives
1881Line converted to
4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
1947Rationalisation of the Line
1960Line taken over by preservation society
Preservation history
June 1960One week passenger service
1960Start of freight service
1969Start of regular passenger service
1983End of freight service
HeadquartersMoor 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.

  1. ^ Winn, Christopher (2010). I never knew that about Yorkshire. London: Ebury. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-09-193313-5.