The Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway was a British railway company formed to connect the Midland and

Great Central The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the L ...

lines at Swinton, north of

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, with the North Eastern Railway at

Ferrybridge Ferrybridge is a village in West Yorkshire, England. Ferrybridge lies at a historically important crossing of the River Aire which borders the North Yorkshire village of Brotherton. It is linked to other communities by the A1, which follows t ...

, near

Knottingley Knottingley is a market town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, inc ...

, a distance of , opening up a more direct route between

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

area.

History

The line between Swinton and Ferrybridge was jointly owned by the North Eastern and Midland Railways and later was jointly worked by their successors the London and North Eastern Railway and the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

. The line was opened on 1 May 1879, with stations at

(1882), Pontefract Baghill, Ackworth (1 July 1879),

Moorthorpe Moorthorpe is a village in the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe in the City of Wakefield district of West Yorkshire, England. It is governed by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council. Meaning of the name 'Moorthorpe' Moorthorpe lit ...

, Frickley and Bolton-on-Dearne (1 July 1879).John Speller's Web Pages: Midland Railway - Swinton & Knottingley Joint Railway
www.spellerweb.net; Retrieved 2014-02-12 The route is now the central section of the Dearne Valley Line between York and Sheffield and is operated by Northern. The section from Swinton to Moorthorpe is part of the line from Sheffield to Leeds, known as the Wakefield Line, since the closure of the North Midland route via due to mining subsidence in 1985.

References

Pre-grouping British railway companies British joint railway companies Swinton, South Yorkshire Railway lines opened in 1879 {{England-rail-transport-stub