The Barnsley Coal Railway was a short railway which, when fully opened, ran between Stairfoot Junction, on the Mexborough

Mexborough railway station

Mexborough railway station serves the former mining town of Mexborough, South Yorkshire, England. It is a station on the Sheffield-Hull Line south west of Doncaster....

 to Barnsley line of the South Yorkshire Railway

South Yorkshire Railway

The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company which was based in the south of the former West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its first section of line opened on 10 November 1849 between Swinton Junction and Doncaster...

 and a triangular junction at Nostell

Nostell

Nostell is a village in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, near Hemsworth. It is in the civil parish of Huntwick with Foulby and Nostell, which has a population of 90, and is the site of an Augustinian priory which received its charter in 1121.Nostell Priory is an 18th century...

 on the West Riding and Grimsby

West Riding and Grimsby Railway

The West Riding and Grimsby Railway was a joint railway whose main line linked Wakefield with Doncaster, whilst a branch line ran between Adwick and Stainforth...

 line.
The railway rights were purchased by the S.Y.R. in July 1863, just one year before that company was absorbed into the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...

.

The first section of the line to be completed ran from Stairfoot

Stairfoot railway station

Stairfoot railway station was a railway station on the South Yorkshire Railway's main line between Mexborough and Barnsley. It was situated between Wombwell Central and Barnsley...

 to Applehaigh, to the north of Royston

Royston, South Yorkshire

Royston is a suburban village within the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was incorporated in to the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley in 1974 and is now on the border with West Yorkshire...

 and served Rosa Colliery. This opened to traffic in January 1870.

The second section, which took the line further north, was opened for goods traffic in August 1882. This section ran from Applehaigh to the W.R.& G.R. at Nostell where a triangular junction was laid and included passenger stations at Staincross and Mapplewell

Staincross and Mapplewell railway station

Staincross and Mapplewell railway station was one of three stations built on the Barnsley Coal Railway and opened when that line was completed in 1882. The station was situated adjacent to the main Wakefield road , slightly to the east of Staincross, on the edge of the present day Athersley estate....

, Notton and Royston

Notton and Royston railway station

Notton and Royston railway station was a railway station that served the village of Royston, South Yorkshire, England. It was situated on the Barnsley Coal Railway between Staincross and Mapplewell and Ryhill....

 and Ryhill

Ryhill railway station

Ryhill railway station was situated on the Barnsley Coal Railway, later the MS&L, Great Central and London and North Eastern Railway and opened for passenger traffic on 1 September 1882...

, later renamed Ryhill and Wintersett. A passenger service commenced on 1 September 1882.

The passenger service on the line was part of a Leeds(Central) / Barnsley(Court House) service via Wakefield(Westgate)

Wakefield Westgate railway station

Wakefield Westgate railway station is the mainline railway station for the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the western edge of the main city centre, on the opposite side from Wakefield's other station, Kirkgate.-Services:...

. The July 1922 issue of Bradshaw's Railway Guide shows 5 trains in each direction on Mondays to Fridays, 6 trains on Saturday from Barnsley to Leeds and 7 on Saturday from Leeds to Barnsley. There was no Sunday service. Regular passenger services were withdrawn in the 1930s but at least one excursion to Cleethorpes ran from Notton & Royston in the 1950s.