Sheffield and Rotherham Railway

Sheffield and Rotherham Railway
Westgate Station c. 1840
Overview
Locale	South Yorkshire, England
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Opened	31 October 1838
Closed	21 July 1845 (line and operations taken over by the Midland Railway)
Technical
Line length	5 miles (8.0 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a railway line in England, between the named places. The North Midland Railway was being promoted but its route was planned to go through Rotherham and by-pass Sheffield, so the S&RR was built as a connecting line. It opened in 1838. In Sheffield it opened a terminal station at Wicker, and in Rotherham at Westgate. When the NMR opened in 1840 a connecting curve was made between the two routes.

The opening of the S&RR encouraged heavy industry to be located along its route in Sheffield. The S&RR was absorbed by the much larger Midland Railway in 1845. The Wicker passenger terminal was cramped and restrictive and in 1870 the Midland Railway opened a new access route to Sheffield from the south, via Bradway Tunnel, and a new main station in Sheffield. Trains proceeding north from the new station joined the S&RR route, which continued in use. Over the years a number of branch lines were constructed diverging from the S&RR line, and in 1987 a connection was made into another line at Rotherham, giving access to a more central passenger station there. Nearly the whole extent of the original S&RR line continues in main line use in 2023.