Middleton Railway

LS10 2JQ Hunslet, Leeds, Great Britain (UK) (West Yorkshire)

Route and stations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway, 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.Regular operation of passenger services began in 1969.

Coal has been worked in Middleton since the 13th century, from bell pits, gin pits and later "day level" or adits.
The first waggonway in 1755 crossed Brandling land and that of friendly neighbours to riverside staithes at Thwaite Gate.
In 1757 he proposed to build a waggonway towards Leeds, and to ensure its permanence Brandling sought ratification in an Act of Parliament, the first authorising the building of a railway.
The Middleton Railway carried coal cheaply from the Middleton pits to the Staith at Casson Close, Leeds (near Meadow Lane, close to the River Aire). The line operated, initially as a waggonway using horse-drawn waggons.
Around 1799 the wooden tracks began to be replaced with superior iron edge rails to a gauge of 4 ft 1 in (1,245 mm).

1812 the Middleton Railway became the first commercial railway to use steam locomotives successfully.

John Blenkinsop had decided that an engine light enough not to break the cast iron track would not have sufficient adhesion. He relaid the track on one side with a toothed rail, which he patented in 1811 (the first rack railway), and approached Matthew Murray of Fenton, Murray and Wood, in Holbeck, to design a locomotive with a pinion which would mesh with it.

The Middleton Steam Railway
is home to a representative selection of locomotives built in the Jack Lane, Hunslet area by the famous Leeds manufacturers of
John Fowler & Co.,
Hudswell Clarke,
Hunslet Engine Company,
Kitson & Co. and
Manning Wardle.
The locomotives include "Sir Berkeley", which was featured in the 1968 BBC TV version of "The Railway Children". The locomotive is owned by the Vintage Carriages Trust of Ingrow near Keighley.

middletonrailway.org.uk:
Museum Highlights

The largest part of our Engine House building is the display hall, where our collection of locomotives and other rolling stock is displayed.  

One of the first things that you will see as you come into the display hall is the replica that we have produced of one of the rack wheels from the original 1812 steam locomotives.  This was manufactured in 2012, in connection with the events that we organised to celebrate 200 years of successful commercial steam locomotives.  Along with this rack wheel, we also have displays explaining why those early locomotives used a rack and pinion system, how it worked then, and where the modern equivalents are used.

Also at this end of the display hall there are exhibits that illustrate how steam locomotives were built and how they are maintained now.  These exhibits include various items that have had to be replaced, and the wooden patterns used in making the replacements.  In particular there is an old locomotive boiler, which has been opened up so that you can see inside it, to show how such boilers are made.

Another very popular exhibit is that two of our steam locomotives are arranged with steps up to them, and a walkway alongside them, so that you can visit their cabs.  Children (and adults as well!) really can pretend to be an engine driver here.  Then, further along the display hall, there are some fine models on display, as well as real locomotives - both diesel and steam.

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