Sheffield exists to promote chamber music. It describes itself as the largest promoter of chamber music outside London. Sheffield has two large theatres, the Lyceum Theatre and the Crucible Theatre, which together with the smaller Studio Theatre make up the largest theatre complex outside London, located in Tudor Square. The Crucible Theatre is the home (since 1977) of the World Snooker Championships and hosts many well-known stage productions throughout the year. The Lyceum, which opened in 1897, serves as a venue for touring West End productions and operas by Opera North, as well as locally produced shows. Sheffield also has the
Transport in Sheffield waggonway was laid over a distance of 2 miles from the Duke of Norfolk's collieries into the town, this was later relaid with cast-iron L-shaped rails by John Curr; one of the earliest railways to use this type of rails. The opening of the Sheffield Canal in 1819 opened Sheffield to the large-scale transportation of freight. This was followed by the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway in 1838, with Sheffield's first railway station opening at the Wicker. The first main line railway station in Sheffield was opened in 1845 at Bridgehouses by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. This line was