TheSheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and Midland Railway Companies (Joint Lines) Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. xxv) as a joint venture between theMidland Railway and theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
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For many years the Midland had been wishing to extend its line fromLondon St.Pancras to Manchester, viaDerby and theManchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway.
It was thwarted by theLondon and North Western Railway which already had a line from Manchester to London, viaBirmingham and had built a branch line toBuxton. Meanwhile, TheGreat Northern Railway was also averse to more competition in the area, and the MS&LR wished to expand southwards from its main line from Manchester, viaPenistone, toSheffield. The three joined forces in a series of tripartite agreements, which not being sanctioned by Parliament, were of doubtful legality.
HoweverJames Allport, with some other Midland directors, met some members of the MS&L board while surveying the area. Allport had worked for the MS&LR and was familiar with the state of their finances. Since it was clear that the Midland was determined to enter Manchester, the MS&LR agreed to a joint scheme. The Midland would take its line fromMillers Dale as far asNew Mills, and the MS&LR would build its branch fromHyde on its main line toHayfield via New Mills.
This agreement, including theSheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee, was formalised in theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. clxxviii) of 6 August 1872[1]
In 1867 the line had opened into Manchester Store Street, by then renamed London Road (nowPiccadilly), which the MS&LR shared with the LNWR. However, the committee, seeking a more direct route, opened a line throughBredbury andReddish in 1875.
Increasing friction with LNWR led to theCheshire Lines Committee being formed and whenManchester Central opened in 1880 trains were diverted atRomiley throughStockport Teviot Dale (as it was originally spelt).[2]
This entailed another new line, theManchester South District Railway, fromHeaton Mersey toChorlton-cum-Hardy. Although incorporated in 1873, there was a lack of interest on the part of the MS&LR and the GNR (the Midland's partners in the CLC). It was therefore taken under the wing of the Sheffield and Midland Committee, with the Midland taking overall control in 1877. The line finally opened in 1880.
However, by the end of the century congestion around Stockport had increased, and with speed limits, gradients and curves, the Midland looked for yet another route. TheNew Mills and Heaton Mersey Railway was authorised in 1897 from New Mills South Junction, betweenNew Mills andBuxworth throughDisley Tunnel.
The earlier lines remain busy as theHope Valley Line, as does that from New Mills throughDisley Tunnel, where it branches to the old LNWR line fromBuxton atHazel Grove railway station intoStockport. However the stations from Hazel Grove to Manchester Central closed in 1967 and have practically disappeared, although the section of the railway between Didsbury and Manchester Central has reopened as a Metrolink line. There are hopes that this will extend further in the future through Heaton Mersey, and then leaving the alignment and heading into Stockport town centre.
It became a corporate body, renamed the Great Central and Midland Joint Committee, on 22 July 1904. It was vested in theBritish Transport Commission underTransport Act 1947.