A relic of the Victorian era has been uncovered at Huddersfield in West Yorkshire during work on the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Railway sidings dating back to 1850 near Alder Street at Hillhouse in Huddersfield, which had been long-forgotten, were discovered while teams studied maps during design work on the multi-billion-pound rail upgrade that is set to transform the region.

The sidings consist of train sheds and railway turntables that are thought to have been laid by the Manchester & Huddersfield Railway. They were originally used to stable and maintain trains, and to transport cattle, coal, and other materials across the UK.

With support from the West Yorkshire Archaeological Services, a programme of survey work was carried out, which confirmed that the foundations of the old sidings were buried just below the surface. That confirmation encouraged the specialists to clear the area to its original formation from 172 years ago.

During the last three months, Network Rail has been working to carefully uncover the historic site to prepare the route for twice as many tracks in the future. The preparation work also includes delicately extracting samples of the brick and mortar that will assist the team of experts in learning as much as they can about the site.

The addition of extra tracks is one of the main aims of the Transpennine Route Upgrade as it will allow faster and more frequent trains to operate along a greener, electrified railway.

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 ASWYAS 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.”

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 turn tables and a series of brick-built engine sheds, providing valuable information on the early development of the railway system in Huddersfield.”