Halifax & Ovenden Junction Railway Company: The Great Northern Railway was keen to extend its lines from Bradford, Leeds and the south, and saw a link from Keighley as a way of achieving access to Halifax. In contrast, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company already had their lines from Manchester through Halifax to Bradford via Low Moor, so had no interest in creating a line to Keighley; nevertheless, the large number of mills in the valley ranging out beyond Ovenden offered the potential for significant goods traffic.
Against this background, Parliament agreed in 1864 to the building of a line from Halifax Station to Holmfield Mills, north of Ovenden by the Halifax & Ovenden Junction Railway Company. This was to be a line of between 2 and 3 miles from a double junction with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway to the joint passenger station of that and other railway companies at Halifax to Netherton Mill.
The line would have intermediate stations at North Bridge and Ovenden.
On 6th April 1864, a bill was passed for the railway, which it was proposed to incorporate with a capital of £90,000, and to raise £30,000 by loan.
The Company was created by Act of Parliament with equal capital provided by the L&Y Railway, the Great Northern Railway, and independent shareholders.
On 15th October 1864, at a meeting of the newly-elected Directors
and Auditors
it was reported that
arrangements had been made with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway Company to work the line when constructed, and that each of these companies agreed to subscribe £30,000 towards the £90,000 capital of the company
Land purchase for the route began in November 1865. Land clearance/construction began some years later.
On 2nd May 1867, The Halifax & Ovenden Junction Railway Bill was read a third time in the House of Commons and passed, and received the Royal assent on 12th August 1867.
The directors of the Company included
Having failed to complete the railway within the timescales set by the 1864 and 1867 Acts of Parliament, in May 1870 the Halifax & Ovenden Junction Railway Company was dissolved.
In August 1870, an Act was passed to extend the time for the purchase of lands and for the construction of the railway, and to jointly vest the railway in the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and Great Northern Railway companies.
In December 1871, the joint committee of the L&Y Railway / Great Northern Railway resolved to commence construction of the line as soon as possible;
It is about 2½ miles in length, commences near Halifax passenger station, passes through that town, and terminates at Holme Field Mills, at Ovenden. There will be one viaduct of forty-one or two arches, a tunnel of 250 yards and some heavy cuttings.
The actual construction included 2 tunnels: the Lee Bank Tunnel (267 yds), and the Woodside Tunnel (403 yds, adjacent to Old Lane), and 2 viaducts: the Charlestown Road Viaduct (36 arches) and the Woodside Viaduct (6 arches). It may be that engineers decided to tunnel/bridge at Woodside rather than create a deep cutting. Moreover, it was necessary to raise the spans of the North Bridge road bridge that crossed the Hebble Brook, to give sufficient clearance for railway traffic to pass underneath.
The Manchester Evening News [18th August 1874], reported that the line between Halifax and the North Bridge goods yard had been opened the day before.
A separate report in the Railway News confirmed that the goods facility at Ovenden was open for business from 1st September 1874, and the completion of works sidings along the route from North Bridge goods yard.
The final rail link between Ovenden and Holmfield was completed by 1st December 1879.
The engineers were Stevenson & Utley.
The cost of the line was estimated at £90,000
This & associated entries use material contributed by David Howes, Alan Longbottom & Stephen Prior
Page Ref: X409
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