The Axholme Joint Railway was a committee created as a joint enterprise between the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...

 (L&Y) and the North Eastern Railway

North Eastern Railway (UK)

The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...

 (NER) and was established by the North Eastern Railway Act of 31 July 1902.

History

The Goole and Marshland Light Railway Company was incorporated under the Light Railways Act of 1896 and confirmed by Order of the Light Railway Commissioners and by the Board of Trade on 11 March 1898. The Axholme Light Railway Company was incorporated under the Light Railways Act of 1898 and was confirmed by Order of the Light Railway Commissioners and by the Board of Trade, on 17 August 1898. The North Eastern Railway Act of 31 July 1902 dissolved, transferred to and vested both companies in the North Eastern and Lancashire & Yorkshire railway companies jointly, with three directors appointed by each company.

The line closed to passengers on 15 July 1933. The section from Haxey Junction to Epworth was closed on 1 February 1956 and the rest of the network closed on 5 April 1965. The line between Marshlands Junction and Ealand

Ealand

Ealand is a small village in North Lincolnshire, England. It lies within the Isle of Axholme, south-east of Crowle, and north of the junction between the A161 and the A18....

 (south of Crowle) was retained as a long siding until 1972 for servicing Keadby Power Station

Keadby Power Station

Keadby Power Station is a 720MWe gas-fired power station near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. It lies the B1392 and the River Trent, and the Scunthorpe-Grimsby railway...

.

Route

The Goole and Marshland Light Railway ran from Marshland Junction, south east of Goole

Goole

Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...

 on the North Eastern Railway Hull to Thorne

Sheffield to Hull Line

The Sheffield to Hull line is a railway line in northern England. It runs from Sheffield north east to Hull Paragon via Doncaster. Stopping services on the line are provided by Northern Rail, with many branching off to Adwick or Scunthorpe...

 line, to Reedness Junction with a branch line from Reedness

Reedness

Reedness is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of the town of Goole and lies on the south bank of the River Ouse....

 to Fockerby

Fockerby

Fockerby is a village in Lincolnshire, England close to the border with the East Riding of Yorkshire. It was once served by Fockerby railway station the terminus of a branch line from Goole.-External links:...

 on the River Trent

River Trent

The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

 estuary. The Axholme Light Railway ran from Reedness junction to Haxey

Haxey

Haxey is a village and civil parish within North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated to the northwest of the city of Lincoln and in 2001 had a total resident population of 4,359....

, a junction with another joint railway

Joint railway

A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.-United Kingdom:There are many examples of joint railway working in the United Kingdom...

 (Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway

Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway

The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway was a joint railway owned by the Great Northern Railway and its rival, the Great Eastern Railway. It was established in the early 1880s, and the joint company built a new, primarily freight, route between Cambridge and Doncaster, a distance of...

) between Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

 and Gainsborough

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...

. There was a freight-only branch from Epworth to Hatfield Moor. Marshland Junction to Haxey was a distance of 19.5 miles (31.4 km).

Motive power

Unable to accept locomotives with a greater route availability

Route availability

Route Availability is the system by which the permanent way and supporting works of the National Rail network of Great Britain are graded. All routes are allocated an RA number between 1 and 10....

than 3, the line was worked by lightweight LMS 2MT 2-6-0 engines: four of the engines being used daily on the following goods workings:

1. 05.55 Goole - Fockerby/08.15 Fockerby - Reedness Jcn/08.50 Reedness Jcn - Peat Works/09.05 Peat Works - Goole/10.20 Goole - Reedness Jcn/11.20 Reedness Jcn - Goole/12.15 Goole -Reedness Jcn/12.40 Reedness Jcn - Goole.

2. 08.28 Goole - Hatfield/12.40 Hatfield - Goole

3. 10.20 Goole - Reedness Jcn/11.20 Reedness Jcn - Goole/12.15 Goole - Reedness Jcn/12.40 Reedness Jcn - Goole

4. 12.00 Goole - Reedness Jcn/12.45 Reedness Jcn - Fockerby/13.45 Fockerby - Reedness Jcn/17.30 Reedness Jcn - Goole