The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took leases of, many local railways, whether actually built or not. In so doing, it overextended itself financially.
The Hallam Line is a railway connecting Leeds and Sheffield via Castleford in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. It is a slower route from Leeds to Sheffield than the Wakefield line. Services on this line are operated by Northern Trains. Services from Leeds to Nottingham also use the line.
The Wakefield line is a railway line and service in the West Yorkshire Metro and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive areas of northern England. The Wakefield line is coloured yellow on maps and publications by West Yorkshire Metro. The line was electrified in 1989, between Leeds & Wakefield Westgate, as part of the programme to electrify the East Coast Main Line.
The Dearne Valley line is the name given to a railway line in the north of England running from York to Sheffield via Pontefract Baghill and Moorthorpe. The route was built over several years and consists of lines built by several railway companies.
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Wakefield Westgate railway station, Kirkgate is unstaffed. The station is managed by Northern but also served by Grand Central. It is on the Hallam, Pontefract and Huddersfield lines. It has a limited number of services to London King's Cross.
Wakefield Westgate railway station is a mainline railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It is 10 miles (16 km) south of Leeds to the west of the city centre, on the Wakefield Line and Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line.
Moorthorpe railway station serves the village of Moorthorpe and town of South Kirkby in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Wakefield Line and the Dearne Valley Line, 18+1⁄4 miles (29.4 km) north of Sheffield and is served by Northern.
Goole railway station is a railway station in town of Goole on the Hull and Doncaster Branch in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Castleford railway station serves the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. It lies on the Hallam and Pontefract lines, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Leeds.
Pontefract Monkhill railway station is the busiest station in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Pontefract Line managed by Northern but is also served by Grand Central and is 14 miles (23 km) south east of Leeds.
Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, and serves Pontefract Races, the racecourse located just down the street from the station. It lies on the Pontefract Line operated by Northern and is 8 miles (13 km) east of Wakefield Kirkgate. In the days of coal mining in the Pontefract area, the station served the needs of the local workforce with regular and frequent services timed for the beginning and the end of mining shifts. The station is the closest to the former Prince of Wales Colliery which closed in 2002. The station serves Beechnut Lane, the home ground of Pontefract Collieries F.C.
Featherstone railway station serves the town of Featherstone in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Pontefract Line, operated by Northern, 6 miles (10 km) east of Wakefield Kirkgate railway station.
Knottingley railway station serves the town of Knottingley in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Pontefract Line, operated by Northern, and is 16 miles (26 km) south east of Leeds railway station.
Pontefract Baghill railway station is one of the three railway stations that serves the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. The other stations, Monkhill and Tanshelf, both lie on the Pontefract Line, while Baghill lies on the Dearne Valley Line 21+1⁄4 miles (34 km) south of York towards Sheffield.
The West Riding and Grimsby Railway was a railway company that promoted a line between Wakefield and Doncaster, in Yorkshire, England. There was also a branch line connection from Adwick le Street to Stainforth, which gave access towards Grimsby. The company was promoted independently, but it was sponsored by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway, and became jointly owned by them.
Methley railway station was opened in 1841 by the North Midland Railway on its line from Derby to Leeds. At one time, there were three railway stations in Methley and in 1950, British Railways renamed it Methley North. It closed in 1957.
Methley Junction railway station was one of three stations that served the village of Methley, West Yorkshire, England. It opened on 1 October 1849 and closed on 4 October 1943.
The Methley Joint Railway was a short English railway line constructed by the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway company, connecting its Leeds direction line with other companies' eastward routes to York, the north-east, and Goole. The line connected collieries along its route. The BW&LR changed its name to the West Yorkshire Railway at the same time. The line was double track, just over five miles in length, between junctions at Lofthouse and Methley.
The Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway was an independent railway company that built a line between Wakefield and a junction close to Leeds, in Yorkshire, England. It opened its main line in 1857, and was worked by the Great Northern Railway. The line shortened the GNR route to Leeds.
The Great Northern Railway developed an extensive network over time, having started in 1846 with the intention of connecting London and York, as well as other major Yorkshire towns. The Great Northern Railway in Yorkshire was a major part of that, although the GNR did not succeed in reaching York as it originally intended. By acquiring running powers it reached Leeds, Bradford and Halifax over other companies' lines, as well as Barnsley Sheffield and Grimsby, and then York too. After acquiring local companies it developed a network, chiefly in West Yorkshire. Later it built lines north and west of Bradford into hilly terrain, and these were very expensive to build, and never repaid the initial cost.
