Sheffield Victoria station
Sheffield Victoria station was the main Sheffield station on the Great Central Railway (known prior to 1897 as the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway), between Chesterfield and Penistone.
History
Victoria station was opened on 15 September 1851 as the new Sheffield terminus of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. Previously the railway had terminated at the Bridgehouses station about 1 km to the west, which opened in 1845. The station was given a new frontage in 1908 and took on great importance when the line through the Pennines—known as the Woodhead Route because of the long tunnel on it—was electrified for freight purposes after WWII. Electrification of the line reached Sheffield Victoria by 1954, reducing the journey time to Manchester to 56 minutes. In 1965 a revised Beeching report recommended that the Sheffield to Manchester service be consolidated to the Hope Valley Line, and in 1967 British Railways announced plans 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 Eventually the enquiry backed British Rail's plans and passenger services were withdrawn from the line on 5 January 1970.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 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.
See also
External links
Categories: Sheffield | British railway stations | Transport in South Yorkshire