The Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway was an early

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

railway company which opened in 1849 between

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, 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 Historic counties o ...

and

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

. It amalgamated with the

Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway 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 ...

and the

Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway was an early British railway company which existed between 1845 and 1847 with the intention of providing rail services between Grimsby, New Holland and Gainsborough in the county of Lincolnshire. ...

, the three being renamed the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

in 1847. It is now the

Sheffield to Lincoln Line 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 and ...

Plans

The line originated with a plan in 1836 to connect the SA&MR at Sheffield with the proposed

Midland Counties Railway The Midland Counties' Railway (MCR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1839 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, to London. The MCR s ...

at a time when the latter was planning to run to

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. This was changed to proposal for Sheffield Union Railway to connect instead with the

North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...

at Woodhouse Mill. This plan, in turn, was superseded by one for a connection to Chesterfield. At this point, in 1844, it was suggested that the people of Sheffield would be better served by extending the SA&MR eastwards. This was supported, not only by the SA&MR, but by the councillors of

Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfie ...

and

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...

Authorisation

The line received approval in 1846, along with the Sheffield and Lincolnshire extension, which was the branch to Lincoln, which would run from near Retford. Parliamentary decree meant that the way from

Saxilby Saxilby is a large village in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, about north-west from Lincoln, on the A57 road at the junction of the B1241. It is part of the civil parish of Saxilby and Ingleby, which includes the village of ...

to Lincoln would be shared with the

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...

. The latter built this part of the line and shared it with the S&LE with the agreement that it could have running powers from Retford to Sheffield.

Construction

The first board meeting of the amalgamated Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway took place on 6 January 1847. Construction had begun on 15 October 1846 with the section between Sheffield and to what was by then the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

at Beighton. The final link in the line between Sheffield and

was completed in 1849 with stations at

Kiveton Park Kiveton Park is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, from the Norman conquest to 1868, Kiveton was a hamlet of the parish of Harthill-with- ...

Shireoaks Shireoaks is a former pit village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, located between Worksop and Thorpe Salvin on the border with South Yorkshire. The population of the civil parish was 1,432 at the 2011 census. Shireoaks colliery was opene ...

and Sturton.

Officers

*John Jobson Smith (Chairman){{rp, 271 *John Woodcroft (Deputy Chairman) *John Hambly Humfrey (Secretary) * John Fowler (Engineer)

References

Early British railway companies Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Railway companies established in 1847 Railway lines opened in 1849 1847 establishments in England Woodhead Line British companies established in 1847