Manchester–Sheffield–Wath electric railway
Following developments with electric traction in the US, the Great Central Railway (GCR) first considered the electrification of the line before the First World War.
No detailed plans were drawn up, but by the 1920s the high levels of heavy freight traffic made steam operation increasingly problematic.
In 1935 the government made credits available to the railways to provide relief for unemployed persons in the Great Depression so the LNER restarted the project: planning and works for electrification commenced.
Nearly all of the gantries for the overhead wires between Manchester London Road and the west portal of Woodhead were erected, and a prototype locomotive was constructed, by the time the Second World War intervened.
To save on costs, the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) loop line into Manchester Central station was not electrified, as was originally in the plan: Manchester-bound passenger trains terminated at London Road (later Piccadilly), while those few passenger trains destined for further afield changed locomotives at Guide Bridge.
Completion of the main line was delayed until 1954 by a collapse in the new Woodhead tunnel, and also by the decision to completely re-signal the whole main line with colour-light signals after sighting problems with the semaphore signals on the Wath branch (nevertheless, some semaphores were retained, which generally remained in service until closure).
On 30 May 1954 electric trains began running through the tunnel and the Manchester to Penistone section was fully energised on 14 June.
The difficulty in operating this steeply-graded section (which included the two Silkstone tunnels) with steam traction was a key reason for electrification.
A "Clearcall" intercom system (via the overhead electric wires) was developed to allow the crews of the front and rear locomotives to communicate, replacing earlier air-horn codes.
Some limitations of the Woodhead electrification became apparent, especially with the advent of the double-headed, double-banked merry-go-round unit trains previously mentioned.
Heavy current loads also caused flashovers in the oil-impregnated paper-insulated lead-covered 33 kV ground-level feeder cable at locations where cable segments were joined together in sealed boxes; such loads were not present in the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway and Great Eastern 1.5 kV DC schemes, both of which served only electric multiple units, not locomotive-hauled trains.
However local opposition to the closure of the alternative Hope Valley line, the high cost of providing an electrified link into Sheffield Midland station as Sheffield Victoria was scheduled for closure, and the impending opening of the massive Fiddlers Ferry Power Station requiring even more trans-Pennine freight train paths from the South Yorkshire Coalfield, all conspired against passenger use of the Woodhead line, which closed to passengers on 5 January 1970.
By the late 1970s freight traffic, including South Yorkshire coal, had declined to the extent that British Rail took the decision to close the route, effective 18 July 1981; only the Manchester–Glossop/Hadfield local passenger trains were left running.
