Heaton Lodge Junction

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Heaton Lodge Junction
A black and white image of a train hauling freight wagons
Heaton Lodge East Junction; the train is coming off the spur built on the formation of the Leeds New Line
Overview
StatusOpen
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleMirfield, West Yorkshire, England
Service
TypeRailway junction
Services
Operator(s)
Ridership50 million (yearly average)
History
Opened1847 (as a junction)
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Heaton Lodge Junction 1988-c. 2030[1]

Heaton Lodge Junction is a railway junction on the Trans-Pennine line, which connects Manchester Piccadilly with Leeds via Huddersfield, and the Calder Valley Line through Sowerby Bridge to Wakefield. The line and junctions were historically important as they connected the industrialised areas of Lancashire and Yorkshire.[2]

History[edit]

The line through the Heaton Lodge area was first opened in October 1840 as part of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, (later the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)).[3] In 1847, the London North Western Railway's (LNWR) section of railway between Heaton Lodge and Huddersfield opened to traffic, which had an east-facing junction at Heaton Lodge.[4] Initially, the route, which was part of the Standedge Line (the modern Trans-Pennine Line) was to have run through Mirfield on separate tracks, but the L&YR acknowledged that it could not oppose the route, so accepted the LNWR having running powers between Heaton Lodge and Thornhill.[5] Due to a growth in traffic from both companies, the line between Heaton Lodge and Huddersfield was widened to four lines in 1884,[6] and the section eastwards to Thornhill was completed at the same time, with the LNWR later building an independent line on the northern side of the quadrupled track.[7][8][9] The 2.5-mile (4 km) section of line between Heaton Lodge and Mirfield was constrained by a two-track bridge over the River Calder. This was finally enlarged in 1932 into a four-track railway.[10]

Despite the quadrupling of track, the line between Thornhill and Leeds via Dewsbury was still constrained by the two running lines. A secondary line was constructed between Heaton Lodge and Leeds via Gildersome, and became known as the Leeds New Line, opening in 1900.[11]

In the 1930s, the section between Heaton Lodge and Thornhill Junction was fitted with an experimental signalling system installed by the LMS known as "speed signalling" and based on an American practice of signalling.[2] The system indicated which direction the train was to take and the speed it was to assume on taking that route. However, the driver could be presented with red, yellow and green lights on the one signal as they approached. A major re-signalling project in the 1969 changed all of this back to normal UK practice.[12][13] Further rationalisation occurred after the Leeds New Line had closed in 1965. The trackbed of the Leeds New Line, where it burrowed under the Calder Valley Line, was re-instated as a new chord connecting the dive-under line to the east direction of the running lines towards Mirfield. This was completed in 1970.[14] The new chord allowed fast passenger services between Huddersfield and Leeds to use lines separate from those on the Calder Valley Line, so freight trains and passenger trains could remain separate.[15] At the same time, the slow Calder Valley lines west of Heaton Lodge Junction were used for wagon storage.[14] A further fall in traffic saw the double-track dive-under reduced to a single line, and the line between Heaton Lodge and Thornhill rationalised into a reduced three-track railway in 1988, with three platforms at Mirfield railway station.[16][17]

The line and junction is utilised by trains from Grand Central, Northern Trains, and Trans-Pennine Express, carrying on around 50 million passengers a year on average. Freight operators also use the section of line.[18]

Transpennine Route Upgrade[edit]

As part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, the junction will be remodelled so that the line between Huddersfield and Thornhill Junction will have four lines. Two fast lines will run on the eastern to the southern side, whilst the slower lines, serving Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe, will be on the western and northern side.[19] This part of the TRU project (known as contract W3) will include the restoration of over 7 miles (11 km) of quadruple track (currently at two lines to Thornhill Junction, three to Heaton Lodge Junction, and then two lines to Huddersfield).[20] With the gauge clearance, track reinstatement, the re-siting of Mirfield and Ravensthorpe stations, and the electrification of the route, the final bill for the section between Dewsbury and Huddersfield is expected to be £3 billion (estimated in 2023).[21]

Chronology[edit]

Heaton Lodge in LNWR days c. 1911
Heaton Lodge post TransPennine Upgrade. The final layout may differ from the projected design dated 2023.[1]
Huddersfield, Bradley Wood, Heaton Lodge, Thornhill, Mirfield & Dewsbury
  • 1841 – the line through Heaton Lodge opens as a plain line between Hebden Bridge and Normanton[4]
  • 1847 – Heaton Lodge becomes a junction with the addition of the line to Huddersfield joining at Heaton Lodge[22]
  • 1884 – the section between Ravensthorpe and Heaton Lodge was quadrupled in February[9]
  • 1884 – the section from Heaton Lodge to Huddersfield was quadrupled in April[6]
  • 1900 – Leeds New Line opens[23]
  • 1965 – Leeds New Line closes in August[24]
  • 1970 – dive-under for Leeds New Line formation re-used to allow Huddersfield trains to access the Calder Valley Line without using the flat crossing Junction at Heaton Lodge[16]
  • 1988 – Thornhill to Heaton Lodge remodelled to three lines[10]
  • 2030s (estimated) – track between Huddersfield, Heaton Lodge and Thornhill Junction re-quadrupled, (and the whole TRU project completed)[25]

Additionally, when the LNWR Leeds New Line opened in 1900, the junction with the main running lines north of Deighton was known as:[26]

  • Heckmondwike Junction (1899–1923)
  • Spen Valley Junction (1923–1970)
  • Heaton Lodge South Junction (1970– )

Accidents[edit]

  • On 3 November 1849, a passenger train collided into the rear of a goods train at Heaton Lodge Junction. The accident report's author criticised the amount of trains using the section between Mirfield and Heaton Lodge.[27]
  • 9 September 1864 - a local passenger train between Normanton and Huddersfield was running 16 minutes late and collided with a goods train at Heaton Lodge Junction. Four people were seriously hurt.[28]
  • 22 March 1865 - a passenger train collided with a goods train that was shunting out from Heaton Lodge sidings onto the main running lines. The goods train had ben instructed to wait for passenger train to pass.[29]
  • 7 July 1918, a collision between two trains. Two people were injured, but no fatalities.[30]

At least two deaths of railwaymen occurred in the sidings at Heaton Lodge; on 30 November 1868, and 2 May 1914. Both men were run over by railway wagons and had their legs crushed. Both later died in hospital.[31][32]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Abbott, James (February 2023). "2023: key year for TRU". Modern Railways. Vol. 80, no. 893. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 58. ISSN 0026-8356.
  2. ^ a b "New LMS Signals". The Times. No. 46053. 10 February 1932. p. 14. ISSN 0140-0460.
  3. ^ Joy 1984, p. 253.
  4. ^ a b Anderson 2000, p. 4.
  5. ^ Bairstow 2001, p. 30.
  6. ^ a b Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 241. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
  7. ^ "Railway Companies and Parliament". The Times. No. 28485. 29 November 1875. p. 6. ISSN 0140-0460.
  8. ^ Pixton, Bob (2012). Manchester to Leeds. Hersham: Ian Allan. p. 68. ISBN 0711035237.
  9. ^ a b Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 243. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
  10. ^ a b Flowers 2023, p. 28.
  11. ^ Batty, Stephen (1987). British Rail at work: West Yorkshire. London: Ian Allan. p. 64. ISBN 0711017034.
  12. ^ Joy 1984, p. 108.
  13. ^ Jones, A. E. (1984). Roads & rails of West Yorkshire, 1890-1950. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 132. ISBN 0711013470.
  14. ^ a b Anderson 2000, p. 45.
  15. ^ Batty, Stephen (1987). British Rail at work: West Yorkshire. London: Ian Allan. p. 66. ISBN 0711017034.
  16. ^ a b Flowers 2023, p. 30.
  17. ^ Bairstow 2001, p. 22.
  18. ^ "The Network Rail (Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) Improvements) Order Statement of Case (NR28)" (PDF). sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net. p. 21. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  19. ^ Haigh, Philip (16 November 2022). "Trans-Pennine Transformative". Rail Magazine. No. 970. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 40. ISSN 0953-4563.
  20. ^ Ford, Roger (January 2024). "£3.9bn more for TRU while cost pressures continue". Modern Railways. Vol. 81, no. 904. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 30. ISSN 0026-8356.
  21. ^ Sherratt, Philip, ed. (December 2023). "More Trans-Pennine investment signed off". Modern Railways. Vol. 80, no. 903. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 15. ISSN 0026-8356.
  22. ^ Flowers 2023, p. 26.
  23. ^ Anderson 2000, p. 7.
  24. ^ Anderson 2000, p. 19.
  25. ^ "Dewsbury's Ravensthorpe Road to close amid rail upgrade work". BBC News. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  26. ^ Waring, Roy (1989). The Leeds New Line. Headington: Oakwood Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-85361-369-9.
  27. ^ "Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Heaton Lodge Junction on 3rd November 1849" (PDF). railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Railway colliosion near Heaton Lodge station last night". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. No. 685. 10 September 1864. p. 8.
  29. ^ "Accident at Heaton Lodge Junction on 22nd March 1865" (PDF). railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Accident at Heaton Lodge Junction on 7th September 1918 :: The Railways Archive". railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  31. ^ "A breaksman killed at Heaton Lodge station". The Huddersfield Chronicle and West Yorkshire Advertiser. No. 973. 5 December 1868. p. 5.
  32. ^ "Heaton Lodge tragedy". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. No. 14, 496. 5 May 1914. p. 3. ISSN 0962-1644.

Sources[edit]

  • Anderson, Robert (2000). Railway Memories No. 13: Huddersfield, Dewsbury & Batley. Todmorden: Bellcode Books. ISBN 1-871233-13-5.
  • Bairstow, Martin (2001) [1987]. The Manchester & Leeds Railway: the Calder Valley Line. Farsley: Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-22-8.
  • Flowers, Andy (August 2023). "Junctions in profile: Heaton Lodge". Today's Railways. No. 258. Sheffield: Platform 5. ISSN 1475-9713.
  • Joy, David (1984) [1975]. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 8: South and West Yorkshire: the industrial West Riding (2 ed.). Newton Abbot: David Charles. ISBN 0-9465-3711-9.
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