Rails Through Barnsley

In Victorian times, dozens of competing companies put forward schemes to build railways across, through and around Barnsley. Between them they constructed what some still regard as the most dense railway network in the country more complicated even than London’s commuter system or even the railway networks of our major cities. The reason almost no one knows about it is because many of the lines built never saw a passenger service. They were built for one reason: coal. A maze of semi-unknown branches served every colliery in the district and the network became so overloaded with coal trains that they even had to build a railway bypass around the town to prevent everything grinding to a standstill.

A short but fact-packed history of the multitude of lines built in and around Barnsley predominantly to exploit the huge local deposits of coal rather than passengers. Featuring many previously unpublished photographs, this back looks at how each of the railway companies, including the Midland sought to maximise their profits.