‘Lost’ siding from 1850 unearthed in Huddersfield
A FORGOTTEN siding dating back at least 172 years has been rediscovered in Huddersfield by engineers working on Network Rail’s Transpennine Route upgrade.
The siding at Hillhouse, which used to accommodate off-duty trains, was unearthed while teams studied maps from 1850 to help plan the multi billion-pound rail upgrade set to transform the region.
It is believed that the siding, which served sheds and two turntables, was used to house and maintain trains, as well as transport cattle, coal and other materials across Britain when the line formed part of the Manchester & Huddersfield Railway.
During the last three months, Network Rail has been carefully uncovering the historic site near Alder Street, to prepare the route for twice as many tracks, making way for faster, more frequent trains running along a greener electrified railway.
A programme of survey work was carried out with support from Archaeological Services WYAS. The results confirmed that the foundations of the old sidings were buried just below the surface, spurring the specialists to bring the area back to how it would have looked over 172 years ago.
Hannah Lomas, principal programme sponsor at Network Rail, said: “This is an amazing insight into what the siding would have looked like over a century ago.
“Understanding the history and makeup of the railway along the Transpennine route is key to delivering a better, more reliable railway capable of running faster, more frequent trains in the future.
“Working closely with Archaeological Services WYAS has allowed us to carefully excavate the site at a much faster speed while also providing useful information about the origin of the materials used and how the sidings helped transport goods around the UK.”
Delicately extracted samples of the brick and mortar will now help the team of experts to learn as much as they can about the site.
Kevin Moon, project manager at ASWYAS said: “As part of the planned development of Hillhouse sidings, ASWYAS investigated the remains of the mid-19th century railway sidings underlying the modern industrial buildings on the site.
“During the project, the team of archaeologists uncovered two train turntables and a series of brickbuilt engine sheds, providing valuable information on the early development of the railway system in Huddersfield.”