The Route of the Middleton Railway
From 1758, horses pulled carts of coal into Leeds from Middleton Colliery. In 1812 a new age began – not just for this short stretch railway but also for Britain and the world. Engineer Matthew Murray, of the nearby Round Foundry in Holbeck, was commissioned to build a steam locomotive to pull the wagons into Leeds. With his successful first engine in service, the colliery owner could out-compete his rivals in supplying the fuel that powered the industrial age.