 Following the consolidation of the smaller railway companies in the mid-19th century, the MSJ&AR passed to joint ownership by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), which was the successor of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester and the predecessor of the Great Central Railway.Frequent disagreements between the two owners resulted in the appointment of a full-time independent arbiter to resolve disputes and ensure the day-to-day functioning of the railway.The MSJ&AR owned its own coaches, but the haulage was provided by locomotives belonging to both the L&NWR and MS&LR companies.