1758 in rail transport
Encyclopedia

June events

  • June 9 - The Middleton Railway
    Middleton Railway
    The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...

     is the first in Great Britain
    Great Britain
    Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

     to be granted powers by Act of Parliament
    Act of Parliament
    An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

    . It was built by Charles Brandling
    Brandling of Newcastle
    The Brandlings of Newcastle were a wealthy family of merchants and land and coal owners in Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumberland.-Early Brandlings:...

     to carry coal from his pits at Middleton
    Middleton, Leeds
    Middleton is a suburb of Leeds south of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It originated as an agricultural and pit village in south Leeds and is mentioned as Mildentone and Mildetone village in the 1086 Domesday Book....

     into Leeds
    Leeds
    Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

     and was at this time a wooden, horse-drawn wagonway
    Wagonway
    Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...

     with a gauge
    Rail gauge
    Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

     of 4 ft 1 in (1.254 m); much rebuilt it survives as a heritage railway
    Heritage railway
    thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

    .
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