Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway: A brief biography
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway: A brief biography |
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One of the busiest and most complex of all the pre-group British railways.
The LYR served a greater population per mile of route than any other major line
ranking fifth in size. Not with out good claim did it style itself the Business
Line. The LYR served the great textile towns of Oldham, Rochdale, Bradford,
Burnley, Blackburn, Halifax, Huddersfield and Hebden Bridge, the coastal resorts
of Blackpool, Lytham St Annes and Southport as well as the great ports of Liverpool,
Goole and Fleetwood. Much of the line was in hilly terrain with numerous engineering
features such as tunnels, bridges, embankments and viaducts and some of the
most demanding gradients to be found in Great Britain.
The LYR was also the operator of the largest Railway owned shipping fleet and
was at the forefront of engineering development and railway management. It was
one of the first railways to have electric stock for both high capacity passenger
trains, in1903; what today we would call an EMU, but also for shunting engines.
The LYR was at the forefront in train control, pioneer in the operation of a
signal school and an advocate of high capacity fitted freight trains.
The proportion of third class carriages on the LYR was high and they were well
known for their horse hair seat covering. But they were practical for the extensive
suburban services supplied to an industrial workforce. Working arrangements
and running rights had been made with a large number of companies including
the LNWR, MR, NER and CR. Carriages were commonly seen throughout the country
with some 6 London termini, Edinburgh, Glasgow and other Scottish cities served
daily. Saloons were often seen during the shooting season in Northern Scotland
or during the summer along the North Wales and Southern coast.
In 1922 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway amalgamated with the London and
North Western Railway and became part of the LMS group the following year. The
fleet at that time was relatively modern and had a much lower average age than
other railways. The influence of the LYR on the new company was significant
with ex LYR personnel at senior positions. George Hughes, LYR CME, joined the
LMS in the same capacity.
A fair amount of the old Lanky still exists, although no longer main line there
has been a renaissance in trans Pennine rail services. Victoria Station frontage
(a listed building) has been cleaned and shows off to effect its elegant stonework.
Today Victoria is at the centre of the Manchester tram network which connects
Altrincham in the south with Bury in the north. Plans exist to extend the network
to include Oldham, Rochdale, Ashton and Hyde and ultimately Stockport.
This was one of the great pre-group railways!
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From the wide range of books on the erstwhile Lancashire and Yorkshire we
suggest the following:
The following societies are involved with researching the Lanky:
