page_title: "Little" North Western Railway
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: "Little" North Western Railway / Construction
caption_attribution_description: Railway Junctions in Adlington, Blackburn, Cherry Tree, Chorley, Hincaster; Ingleton &amp; Wennington pre grouping
context_page_description: The North Western Railway was an early British railway company in the north-west of England. It was commonly known as the "Little" North Western Railway, to distinguish it from the larger London and North Western Railway.
  The NWR was first leased, and later taken over, by the Midland Railway. The MR used part of the line for its London to Scotland Settle and Carlisle main line.
  The NWR main line, which ran from Skipton in the West Riding of Yorkshire to Morecambe on the Lancashire coast, gave the MR access to the west coast in an area dominated by the rival LNWR.
  Part of the line, between Lancaster and Morecambe, was used in the early twentieth century for pioneering overhead electrification.
  Two-thirds of the line, in North Yorkshire, is still in use today, mainly for local services. Of the dismantled Lancashire section, two-thirds has been reused as a combined cyclepath and footpath.
context_section_description: What was the original 'main line' opened between Skipton and Ingleton, on 31 July 1849. However, due to economic recession, work on the Ingleton-to-Low Gill section was suspended, so the NWR was forced to concentrate on the branch to Lancaster.
  Soon after, the line eastwards along the Lune valley from Lancaster Green Ayre to Wennington opened on 17 November 1849. The line extended further east to Bentham by 2 May 1850 and finally to Clapham where it joined the already completed line from Skipton, a month later on 1 June 1850. A horse bus had been used to bridge the gap between Wennington and Clapham during construction.
  Upon completion of the Morecambe-to-Skipton line, the Clapham-to-Ingleton section was closed, just ten months after opening, as the prospect of completion of the partly built branch to Low Gill seemed remote.
  The whole line was originally single track. By 1850, the Hornby-to-Hellifield section had been doubled, extending to Skipton by 1853. However, Morecambe-to-Lancaster remained single track until 1877, and Lancaster-to-Hornby until 1889. The curve between the two Lancaster stations was never doubled.
  From 1 June 1852, the NWR was worked by the Midland Railway (MR). Later, on 1 January 1859, both the NWR and the MH&R were leased to the MR, and on 30 July 1874 the NWR was absorbed by the MR.
caption: Map of lines from Clapham to Ingleton and Wennington in 1903 (left of diagram)
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