Sheffield Victoria Station
Encyclopedia
Sheffield Victoria was the main railway station in Sheffield
, South Yorkshire
, England
on the Great Central Railway
, between Chesterfield
and Penistone
.
, the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
linking Manchester
and Sheffield opened in 1845. Originally, this line terminated at the Bridgehouses station
about 0.7 miles (1 km) to the west of the future Victoria station. In 1847, the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway merged with two other railway companies to form the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
. The station at Bridgehouses had been outgrown and an extension and new station were planned. John Fowler
, who later gained fame for co-designing the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland
, was employed to engineer the extension and station. Fowler's design included a viaduct over the Wicker
that was 40 feet (12.2 m) high, 750 yards (685.8 m) long and two island platforms 1000 ft (304.8 m) long. The extension was completed in 1847–1848 and the new Victoria station opened on 15 September 1851. The station gained a 400 ft (121.9 m)-long ridge furrow patterened glass roof likened at the time to The Crystal Palace
(in London) which spanning the main line platforms in 1867 and was further enlarged in 1874, the well-known railway contractors Logan
and Hemingway being awarded the contract.
The station received a new frontage in 1908 and took on great importance when the line through the Pennines
—known as the Woodhead Route
after the long Woodhead Tunnel
on it which was electrified for freight purposes after World War II
.
The 1950s saw the station at its zenith: Manchester London Road
– Sheffield Victoria – London Marylebone travelled the Great Central line
, other expresses ran to London Kings Cross over the East Coast Main Line
and the named expresses The Master Cutler, The Sheffield Pullman and The South Yorkshireman served the station. There were also many semi-fast trains running trans-Pennine from Manchester to destinations on the East Coast, and local trains to Chesterfield
, Barnsley
, Nottingham
, Doncaster
, Retford
, Penistone
and Lincoln
.
The electrification of the line reached Sheffield Victoria by 1954, reducing the journey time to Manchester to 56 minutes. This was the first main line in the UK to be electrified, but the only one at 1500 V d.c., a system which was already obsolescent. From this point onwards, all passenger trains heading to Manchester required a change of locomotive at Victoria to a British Rail Class 76
or express passenger British Rail Class 77
.
Although the 1950s saw services at the station reach their peak, this period also marked the beginning of its decline. In 1953 Barnsley was an early casualty as the line ran almost parallel to the former Midland Railway's Sheffield Midland - Barnsley line, serving mostly the same communities. By the end of the decade, the expresses to Marylebone were either cut or re-routed to Kings Cross (in the case of The Master Cutler). In the mid-1960s there was a concerted effort to concentrate Victoria's remaining local and express train services at Sheffield (Midland) station. After September 1966, Victoria was left with just an hourly Manchester service and the daily Liverpool-Harwich "Continental" Boat train service.
In 1965 the second Beeching Report
recommended that the Sheffield to Manchester service be consolidated; after much local wrangling British Rail
ways favoured the Hope Valley Line
which was slower and not electrified but served more local communities. In 1967, plans were announced to withdraw passenger services along the Woodhead route. Following public outcry, an enquiry was launched that took two years to be completed. Eventually the enquiry backed British Rail's plans and passenger services were withdrawn from the line on 5 January 1970. The last train to Victoria station, an enthusiasts' special, arrived at 00:44 on 5 January and from that point the station was closed.
The station re-opened very briefly in 1972 for diverted trains while Sheffield (Midland)station was closed for re-signalling.
The Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway
was entirely closed east of Hadfield
in July 1981; and the tracks through the Woodhead Tunnel were lifted in 1986. Except for the now single track goods avoiding line, which still exists to serve the steelworks at Stocksbridge
, all the track through the station was lifted in the mid-1980s and the station buildings were demolished in 1989 to make way for an extension to the adjacent Victoria Hotel complex. The slope that once led up to Platform 1 survives as part of a pedestrian path to the car park.
, and may also be used for the proposed Don Valley Railway
, which will terminate at Nunnery, linking into the Supertram
approximately 3900 feet (1,188.7 m) to the east where the proposed DVR will also interchange with train services on the Sheffield to Lincoln Line
.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
, between Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
and Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
.
Early history
Engineered by Joseph LockeJoseph Locke
Joseph Locke was a notable English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway projects...
, the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
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...
linking Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Sheffield opened in 1845. Originally, this line terminated at the Bridgehouses station
Bridgehouses railway station
Bridgehouses railway station was the terminal station of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway from its opening in 1845 until the opening of the Wicker Arches, a long viaduct across the Don Valley, which supported the new Sheffield Victoria opened on 15 September 1851...
about 0.7 miles (1 km) to the west of the future Victoria station. In 1847, the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway merged with two other railway companies to form 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 station at Bridgehouses had been outgrown and an extension and new station were planned. John Fowler
John Fowler (engineer)
Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet KCMG LLD was an English civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. In the 1850s and 1860s, he was engineer for the world's first underground railway, London's Metropolitan Railway, built by the "cut-and-cover" method under...
, who later gained fame for co-designing the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, was employed to engineer the extension and station. Fowler's design included a viaduct over the Wicker
Wicker Arches
The Wicker Arches form a long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare The Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheffield Parkway, the main route eastwards from the...
that was 40 feet (12.2 m) high, 750 yards (685.8 m) long and two island platforms 1000 ft (304.8 m) long. The extension was completed in 1847–1848 and the new Victoria station opened on 15 September 1851. The station gained a 400 ft (121.9 m)-long ridge furrow patterened glass roof likened at the time to The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
(in London) which spanning the main line platforms in 1867 and was further enlarged in 1874, the well-known railway contractors Logan
John William Logan
John William Logan, known as "Paddy" Logan, , was a civil engineering contractor and Liberal Member of Parliament for Harborough in Leicestershire....
and Hemingway being awarded the contract.
The station received a new frontage in 1908 and took on great importance when the line through the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
—known as the Woodhead Route
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...
after the long Woodhead Tunnel
Woodhead Tunnel
The Woodhead Tunnels are three parallel trans-Pennine 3-mile long railway tunnels on the Woodhead Line, a former major rail link from Manchester to Sheffield in northern England...
on it which was electrified for freight purposes after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Electrification
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
– Sheffield Victoria – London Marylebone travelled the Great Central line
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line , also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , is a former railway line which opened in 1899 linking Sheffield with Marylebone Station in London via Nottingham and Leicester.The GCML was the last main line railway built in...
, other expresses ran to London Kings Cross over the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
and the named expresses The Master Cutler, The Sheffield Pullman and The South Yorkshireman served the station. There were also many semi-fast trains running trans-Pennine from Manchester to destinations on the East Coast, and local trains to Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, Retford
Retford
Retford is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, located 31 miles from the city of Nottingham, and 23 miles west of Lincoln, in the district of Bassetlaw. The town is situated in a valley with the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal running through the centre of the...
, Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
and Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
.
The electrification of the line reached Sheffield Victoria by 1954, reducing the journey time to Manchester to 56 minutes. This was the first main line in the UK to be electrified, but the only one at 1500 V d.c., a system which was already obsolescent. From this point onwards, all passenger trains heading to Manchester required a change of locomotive at Victoria to a British Rail Class 76
British Rail Class 76
The British Rail Class 76, also known as Class EM1 , is a class of 1.5 kV DC, Bo-Bo electric locomotive designed for use on the now-closed Woodhead Line in Northern England.-Tommy — the prototype:...
or express passenger British Rail Class 77
British Rail Class 77
The British Rail Class 77, also known as Class EM2, is a class of 1.5 kV DC, Co-Co electric locomotive. They were built by Metropolitan-Vickers in 1953–1954 for use over the Woodhead Line between Manchester and Sheffield.-Description:...
.
Although the 1950s saw services at the station reach their peak, this period also marked the beginning of its decline. In 1953 Barnsley was an early casualty as the line ran almost parallel to the former Midland Railway's Sheffield Midland - Barnsley line, serving mostly the same communities. By the end of the decade, the expresses to Marylebone were either cut or re-routed to Kings Cross (in the case of The Master Cutler). In the mid-1960s there was a concerted effort to concentrate Victoria's remaining local and express train services at Sheffield (Midland) station. After September 1966, Victoria was left with just an hourly Manchester service and the daily Liverpool-Harwich "Continental" Boat train service.
Closure
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
recommended that the Sheffield to Manchester service be consolidated; after much local wrangling British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways favoured the Hope Valley Line
Hope Valley Line
The Hope Valley Line is a railway line in England linking Sheffield with Manchester. It was completed in 1894.From Sheffield, trains head down the Midland Main Line to Dore, where the Hope Valley Line branches off to run through the Totley Tunnel .It emerges in the stunning scenery of the Hope...
which was slower and not electrified but served more local communities. In 1967, plans were announced to withdraw passenger services along the Woodhead route. Following public outcry, an enquiry was launched that took two years to be completed. Eventually the enquiry backed British Rail's plans and passenger services were withdrawn from the line on 5 January 1970. The last train to Victoria station, an enthusiasts' special, arrived at 00:44 on 5 January and from that point the station was closed.
The station re-opened very briefly in 1972 for diverted trains while Sheffield (Midland)station was closed for re-signalling.
The Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway
Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway
The Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway was an early electrification scheme on British railways. The route featured long ascents on both sides of the Pennines with the long Woodhead Tunnel at its central summit close to the Woodhead pass...
was entirely closed east of Hadfield
Hadfield railway station
Hadfield railway station serves the village of Hadfield in Derbyshire, England. The station is one of the twin termini at the Derbyshire end of the Manchester-Glossop Line, the other being Glossop. It was opened by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1844.The line formerly...
in July 1981; and the tracks through the Woodhead Tunnel were lifted in 1986. Except for the now single track goods avoiding line, which still exists to serve the steelworks at Stocksbridge
Stocksbridge
Stocksbridge is a small town and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 13,663. It lies just to the east of the Peak District....
, all the track through the station was lifted in the mid-1980s and the station buildings were demolished in 1989 to make way for an extension to the adjacent Victoria Hotel complex. The slope that once led up to Platform 1 survives as part of a pedestrian path to the car park.
Preservation
Outlines of the platforms still remain, and the trackbed has been protected for a possible future extension of the Sheffield SupertramSheffield Supertram
The Supertram, officially called the Stagecoach Supertram, is a light rail tram system in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
, and may also be used for the proposed Don Valley Railway
Don Valley Railway
The Don Valley Railway is a Heritage Railway project began in September 2003 to restore a passenger rail link along the section of the Woodhead Line that runs between Deepcar and Sheffield Don Valley. The project is being developed by Don Valley Railway Ltd., a not-for-profit company and registered...
, which will terminate at Nunnery, linking into the Supertram
Sheffield Supertram
The Supertram, officially called the Stagecoach Supertram, is a light rail tram system in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
approximately 3900 feet (1,188.7 m) to the east where the proposed DVR will also interchange with train services on the Sheffield to Lincoln Line
Sheffield to Lincoln Line
The Sheffield to Lincoln line is a railway line in England. It runs from Sheffield east to Lincoln via Worksop, Retford and Gainsborough Lea Road. The route comprises the main line of the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, to Gainsborough, Trent Junction, where it then follows...
.
In popular culture
- Sheffield-based industrial musicIndustrial musicIndustrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
pioneers Cabaret VoltaireCabaret Voltaire (band)Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
filmed the video to their track YasharYasharYashar is a Cabaret Voltaire single released in 1982 on Factory Records Catalogue number FAC 82.The track "Yashar" also appears on the band's 2x45 album and on the live album Hai! .A. YasharB...
in the remains of the station in the early-1980s; at one point an electrically-hauled freight train is seen passing through. The band was noted for the use of decaying urban scenery in its videos.
See also
- Sheffield railway station (formerly Midland Station)
- Sheffield Wicker railway station
External links
- http://www.flickr.com/groups/sheffield-victoria-station/pool/
- Photos of Sheffield Victoria station in the 1980s
- Train services from Sheffield Victoria 1942–1969
- History and photos of the Woodhead route
- Station on 1947 OS Map