the manchester and leeds railway company, which had approached the calder and hebble in 1836, but had been rebuffed, opened their line between 1839 and 1841. it followed the line of the canal and that of the rochdale canal. a year later, with canal shares having lost 66 per cent of their value, the canal company approached the railway, who agreed to lease the canal for £40,000 per year for 14 years, commencing on 25 march 1843. the aire and calder navigation objected to the lease, and in april 1847, the attorney general and the solicitor general ruled that it was illegal, and must cease. soon afterwards, the aire and calder offered to lease the canal itself, and the agreement started in september. after the aire and calder's lease expired in 1885, the navigation company again took charge, rebuilt many of the bridges, and established the calder carrying company. shareholders continued to receive dividends until the canal was nationalised in 1948, and the canal was used by commercial traffic until 1981.