The Great Central and Midland Joint Railway, formerly, before 1897, Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee

Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee

The Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1869 as a joint venture between the Midland Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.-Origins:...

, was a collection of joint railways, mainly in the Manchester and South Yorkshire areas.

Description of route

In the South Yorkshire area most of the lines were colliery branches, where the companies joined forces to tap the coal measures and gain a foothold in the lucrative traffic. The main line within South Yorkshire was in two sections:

1. From Brantcliffe Junction, on the former M.S.& L.R. Sheffield to Retford line northwards to an end-on junction with the Great Central, Hull & Barnsley and Midland Joint Railway Committee at Braithwell Junction, north of Dinnington Colliery.

2. Leaving the G.C., H&B and M.R. Joint at Braithwell a line to both the Midland and former M.S.& L.R. lines in the Kilnhurst and Parkgate (Roundwood) area, much of this originally being built by the colliery company and being known locally, from 1910, as John Brown's Private Railway

John Brown's Private Railway

John Brown's railway was a line constructed in the Rotherham area of South Yorkshire, England, in order to link Silverwood Colliery to staithes situated alongside the River Don...

 , linking their Silverwood Colliery to the staithes on the River Don and to Roundwood Colliery

Roundwood Colliery

Roundwood Colliery was a coal mine situated in the Don Valley, about 2 miles north of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England on the borders of Rotherham and Rawmarsh.- History :...

. This was incorporated into the Rotherham, Maltby and Laughton Railway, which became a contituent of the G.C. & M. Joint.

Also included in the joint committee were short curves linking the partners lines.

In Manchester, most of these lines were on the eastern side of the city:

1. From Ashburys Junction, on the Woodhead Line

Woodhead Line

The Woodhead Line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels...

, to New Mills where a branch line took the Great Central to Hayfield whilst the main section went to New Mills South Junction and joined the Midland line to Derby or Sheffield, via Chinley.

2. From the Woodhead line at Hyde Junction to Romily Junction, an alternative line (and diversion) from above.

At grouping these lines became joint L.N.E.R./L.M.S.R. property.