The Barnsley Coal Railway was a short railway which, when fully opened, ran between Stairfoot Junction, on the Mexborough to Barnsley line of the South Yorkshire Railway and a triangular junction at Nostell on the West Riding and Grimsby line. The railway rights were purchased by the S.Y.R. in July 1863, just one year before that company was absorbed into the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
The first section of the line to be completed ran from Stairfoot to Applehaigh, to the north of Royston and served Rosa Colliery. This opened to traffic in January 1870.
The second section, which took the line further north, was opened for goods traffic in August 1882. This section ran from Applehaigh to the W.R.& G.R. at Nostell where a triangular junction was laid and included passenger stations at Staincross and Mapplewell, Notton and Royston and Ryhill, later renamed Ryhill and Wintersett. A passenger service commenced on 1 September 1882.
The passenger service on the line was part of a Leeds(Central) / Barnsley(Court House) service via Wakefield(Westgate). The July 1922 issue of Bradshaw's Railway Guide shows 5 trains in each direction on Mondays to Fridays, 6 trains on Saturday from Barnsley to Leeds and 7 on Saturday from Leeds to Barnsley. There was no Sunday service. Regular passenger services were withdrawn in the 1930s but at least one excursion to Cleethorpes ran from Notton & Royston in the 1950s.