| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1841–1847 |
| Successor | Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne. The Peak District formed a formidable barrier, and the line's engineer constructed Woodhead Tunnel, over three miles (4.8 km) long. The company amalgamated with the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway and Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway companies, together forming the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1847.[1]
In the twentieth century the line carried an exceptionally heavy freight traffic, and it was electrified in 1954; at that time a new Woodhead Tunnel was driven. In 1974 the major part of the route was closed to passenger trains, leaving passenger operation continuing only on the Manchester–Hadfield section, and in 1981 the line east of Hadfield closed completely. The Manchester–Hadfield–Glossop section and a branch to Stalybridge remain in use.