Royton branch

The Royton Branch was a mile-long Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway built double track branch railway line in Greater Manchester, England, that ran from Royton Junction (renamed Royton in 1978) on the Oldham Loop Line to Royton.[1]

Oldham Lines
 Past, Present and Future 
Kirklees South Lines
to Huddersfield
Delph
Diggle
Measurements
Dobcross
Saddleworth
Uppermill
Moorgate Halt
Friezland
Tameside Lines
to Tameside
Rochdale Lines
to Rochdale
Greenfield
Shaw and Crompton
Tameside Lines
to Tameside
Royton
Grasscroft
Royton Junction
Grotton and Springhead
Derker
Lees
Oldham Mumps
Oldham Glodwick Road
Oldham Central
Oldham Central
Oldham King Street
Oldham Clegg Street
Westwood
Oldham Werneth
Tameside Lines
to Ashton
Chadderton
Freehold
Middleton Junction and
Oldham Branch Railway
South Chadderton
Rochdale Lines
to Middleton and Rochdale
Hollinwood
Middleton Junction
Failsworth
Manchester Lines North
to Manchester
Manchester Lines North
to Manchester

History

Opening

Royton Station opened on 21 March 1864 by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway to link the mill town of Royton to their rail network.

Ownership changes

Passing in 1923 to the London Midland & Scottish Railway it was considered for electrification in 1924 but those plans were shelved. In 1948 the line was nationalised becoming part of British Railways London Midland Region who ran the line until it fell foul of the Beeching cuts.

Closure

The line closed to freight on 2 November 1964, and passengers on 16 April 1966, officially closing on 18 April.

Accidents

Although a short line, it was well-used but poorly maintained. This led to a number of accidents, the most serious being a collision on 31 October 1908 that killed a fireman,[2] and on 8 February 1961 when a train derailed at Royton hitting local houses but fortunately causing only minor injuries.[3]

gollark: But it forces you to do lots of things even when you don't particularly like them and are uninterested in continuing them.
gollark: One example *is* excellent evidence of general trends, yes.
gollark: My school was mostly okay, but I think it's a suboptimal system for anything but somewhat bad subsidized childcare.
gollark: If you keep lying to people, they will probably stop believing you at some point.
gollark: Um, it does mean that? Or at least freedom from some sets of consequences. If I tell you you're free to eat some chocolate or something, then punish you for it when you do, I think this is stretching "freedom" somewhat.

References
  1. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/royton/index.shtml
  2. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_Royton1908.pdf
  3. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Royton1961.pdf

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