York and North Midland Railway
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which opened in 1839, connecting York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, with the Leeds and Selby Railway
Leeds and Selby Railway
The Leeds and Selby Railway was an early British railway company and first mainline railway in Yorkshire. It was opened in 1834.The company was absorbed by the York and North Midland Railway and the line remained in use through the subsequent NER, LNER, BR and post-privatisation periods.As of 2010...
and in 1840 with the North Midland Railway
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
at Normanton
Normanton railway station
Normanton railway station serves the town of Normanton in West Yorkshire, England. It lies south-east of Leeds railway station on the Hallam Line, which is operated by Northern Rail.-History:...
near Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
Origins
Having seen the success of the Liverpool and Manchester RailwayLiverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
and, in 1833, Acts of Parliament for lines to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
– the Grand Junction
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
and the London and Birmingham
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
, the manufacturers of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
realised that they would be at a commercial disadvantage.
George Hudson
George Hudson
George Hudson , English railway financier, known as "The Railway King", was born, the fifth son of a farmer, in Howsham, in the parish of Scrayingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, north of Stamford Bridge, east of York. He is buried in Scrayingham...
, having inherited a substantial sum, invested in the North Midland, becoming a director. He then took an active part in the promotion of a connection from York, becoming chairman of the proposed York and North Midland, which obtained Parliamentary approval in 1836.
Construction
George StephensonGeorge Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
was the engineer for the line, which left York in a South Westerly direction crossing the River Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
at Ulleskelf
Ulleskelf
Ulleskelf is a small village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located four miles from Tadcaster on the River Wharfe.Its name comes from the Scandinavian personal name Úlfr. It is pronounced locally as 'Ul-la-skelf'....
. Near to South Milford
South Milford
South Milford is a small village and civil parish located in the district of Selby, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Historically an agricultural village, the population has recently boomed due to housing development...
the line was proceeding almost southwards, where it passed under the Leeds and Selby, with an eastward-facing triangular junction to the latter. At Burton Salmon
Burton Salmon
Burton Salmon is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, close to the border with West Yorkshire, and about three miles north of Knottingley, on the A162 road...
it turned westwards to join the North Midland in a northward-facing direction between Methley
Methley
Methley is a dispersed village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, south east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is located near Rothwell, Oulton, Woodlesford, Mickletown and Allerton Bywater. It nestles in the triangle formed by Leeds, Castleford and Wakefield, and is between the...
and Normanton. Further branches were added to the North Midland and the Leeds and Selby.
The path taken by the line was exceptionally easy with broad curves and a maximum gradient of 1 in 484. Thus there was little in the way of earthworks, apart from a cutting at Fairburn. There were 31 bridges, the principal ones being over the Rivers Aire
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England of length . Part of the river is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation....
, Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
and Calder
River Calder, West Yorkshire
The River Calder is a river in West Yorkshire, in Northern England.The Calder rises on the green eastern slopes of the Pennines flows through alternating green countryside, former woollen-mill villages, and large and small towns before joining the River Aire near Castleford.The river's valley is...
. They were of stone and two – those over the Calder and at Holdgate Lane – were built on the skew. The main problem was at York, where it was proposed to build the station
York old railway station
York old railway station is a former railway station in the historic city of York, England. It is a Grade II* Listed building.-Origins:The first York railway station was a temporary building on Queen Street outside the walls of the city...
within the city walls. These were pierced in such a manner as to placate the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
Yorkshire Philosophical Society
The Yorkshire Philosophical Society is a charitable learned society aimed at promoting the natural sciences, archaeology and history. The society was formed in York in December 1822 by James Atkinson, William Salmond, Anthony Thorpe and William Vernon....
.
The track was of straight sided pattern at 54¼ lb. per yard supported either on stone blocks or kyanised wooden sleepers. The gauge was 4 foot 8½ inches over blocks, or 4 foot 9 inches over sleepers. Locomotives were supplied by Robert Stephenson and Company
Robert Stephenson and Company
Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823. It was the first company set up specifically to build railway engines.- Foundation and early success :...
and the carriages were first class, with lamps at night, second class, open at the sides, and third class without cover but provided with seats.
Operation
The York and North Midland was a great success, particularly in its early years when it was part of the trunk route to London, via DerbyDerby Midland railway station
Derby railway station , also known as Derby Midland Station, is a main line railway station serving the city of Derby in England. Owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Trains, the station is also used by CrossCountry services and one Northern Rail service...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In 1845, it was paying a dividend of 10% in line with the top few railway companies.
Over the last part of its route it was in competition with the Leeds and Selby, particularly into Leeds, and George Hudson negotiated a lease of the latter and practically closed it down, finally purchasing it in 1845 when they also leased the Hull and Selby Railway
Hull and Selby Railway
The Hull and Selby Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1840, connecting Hull with the Leeds and Selby Railway-Origins:...
. Hudson then bought and upgraded the horse-worked Whitby and Pickering Railway
Whitby and Pickering Railway
The Whitby and Pickering Railway was built as the culmination of attempts to halt the gradual decline of the port of Whitby on the east coast of the United Kingdom...
for steam operation, connecting it with his own York to Scarborough Line
York to Scarborough Line
The York to Scarborough Line runs between the city of York, England, and the town of Scarborough. Towns and villages served along the way are Malton, Norton-on-Derwent and Seamer.-History:...
via a branch to Pickering. In 1851 the Knottingley
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
branch was built with Stephenson's third tubular bridge after the pattern of the one over the Menai Strait and the East & West Yorkshire Junction Railway from Knaresborough
Knaresborough
Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...
to York was taken over.
Before this, in 1849 however had come Hudson's spectacular collapse and the company had come under the guidance of T E Harrison who proposed a merger with the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway and the Leeds Northern Railway. This took place in 1854 to form 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...
. The NER inherited the lease on the H&S and it was not until 1872 that it was finally taken over.
The Leeds and Selby is still open, with the York and North Midland as a diversion, as part of the present day Dearne Valley Line
Dearne Valley Line
The Dearne Valley Line is the name given to a railway line in the north of England running from York to Sheffield via Pontefract Baghill and Moorthorpe.-History:...
.
Other lines
Parliamentary approval for a line from York to Beverley was granted to the York and North Midland Railway in 1846 and the line completed as far as Market Weighton by 1847. However, the financial problems following the exit of Hudson delayed the completion to Beverley until 1865. The line was closed in 1965 on the grounds that it duplicated the Hull to York LineHull to York Line
The Hull to York Line is a railway line in northern England. It runs from Hull north west to York, via Selby.Between Selby and York services can take one of two routes. Most services run via Sherburn-in-Elmet, but there is also a more direct route which follows the East Coast Main Line to...
, which was retained.