in 1801 most people still lived in the uplands; todmorden itself could be considered as a mere village. during the years 1800–1845 great changes took place in the communications and transport of the town which were to have a crucial effect on promoting industrial growth. these included the building of: (1) better roads; (2) the rochdale canal (1804); and (3) the main line of the manchester and leeds railway (1841), which became the lancashire and yorkshire railway in 1847. this railway line incorporated the (then) longest tunnel in the world, the summit tunnel. a second railway, from todmorden to burnley, opened as a single line in 1849, being doubled to meet demand in 1860. a short connecting line, from stansfield hall to hall royd, completed the "todmorden triangle" in 1862, thus enabling trains to travel in all three directions (manchester, leeds and burnley) without reversing.