Hull and Barnsley Railway

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Hull & Barnsley Railway

Legend Saltend King George Dock Alexandra Dock River Hull Hull Cannon Street Beverley Road Hull Paragon Neptune Street Boothferry Park to Hessle Springhead Halt Willerby & Kirk Ella Little Weighton Drewton Tunnel (1 mile 356 yds) Sugar Loaf Tunnel (132 yds) Weedley Tunnel (132 yds) South Cave North Cave Newport & Wallingfen Sandholme North Eastrington Selby to Hull Line South Howden Barmby River Ouse Drax power station Drax Selby to Goole Line Carlton Towers to Snaith & Pollington Gowdall Junction Pontefract Line East Coast Main Line Balne Moor Doncaster to Knottingley (Freight Only) Kirk Smeaton Barnsdale Tunnel (1,226 yds) Wrangbrook Junction Upton & North Elmsall East Coast Main Line (Leeds Loop) Hemsworth & South Kirkby Brierley Tunnel (685 yds) Moorhouse & South Elmsall Hickleton & Thurnscoe Pickburn & Brodsworth Sprotborough Dearne Valley Railway Cudworth Wath Denaby & Conisborough to Mexborough

Contents 1 History 2 Present day 3 Hull Docks Branch improvements 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The Hull and Barnsley Railway (H&BR) was opened on 20 July 1885. On incorporation and until 1905 it was the Hull, Barnsley and West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company. The projected total length was 66 miles, but as built it did not reach Barnsley. Its Alexandra Dock in Hull opened 16 July 1885. Various joint lines were operated in conjunction with the HBR.

The main line ran from Hull to Cudworth, and the company included two other lines, the South Yorkshire Junction Railway from Wrangbrook Junction to Denaby, and later a connection to the Great Central Railway at Lowfield Junction, near Conisbrough and The Hull & South Yorkshire Extension Railway, in effect an eight-mile branch to Wath-upon-Dearne, opened 31 March 1902. Before the Grouping of 1923, the line was taken over by the North Eastern Railway.

[edit] Present day

Alexandra Dock remains in use, though rail connection was severed when the dock was closed from 1982 to 1992. Most of the embankment line from the Neptune Street depot to Alexandra Dock remains in use, albeit mostly singled, as the sole rail access to the King George Dock and the Salt End oil refinery in east Hull.
About three miles of the H&BR through Carlton Towers was re-opened in the 1970s for MGR coal trains which supply Drax power station.

The steam powered Ouse swing bridge over the River Ouse was dismantled in the 1970s.

[edit] Hull Docks Branch improvements

As reported in The Railway Herald issue 76 (March 2007) the Hull Docks branch is being upgraded to increase traffic capacity. This includes the installation of a double track junction at Hessle Road, and some restoration of double track. This will increase the capacity to 22 trains per day. The work is being carried out by GrantRail Ltd and is due to be completed in summer 2008.^[1][2]

The later H&BR armorial device.

HBR Bridge over the Hull-Scarborough Line in Hull

Bridge over Newland Avenue, Hull.

Hessle Road Junction Relaying Christmas 2007

[edit] See also

• Locomotives of the Hull and Barnsley Railway
• Matthew Stirling - Chief Locomotive Superintendent

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hull and Barnsley Railway Stock Fund
• Google Maps view of the remaining line in Hull, starting at Hessle Road (HBR branches to the north east)
• Images of the Hull & Barnsley Railway

The "Big Four" pre-nationalisation British railway companies v • d • e
█ Great Western • █ London Midland & Scottish • █ London & North Eastern • █ Southern
GWR constituents: Great Western Railway • Cambrian Railways • Taff Vale Railway Barry Railway • Rhymney Railway • (Full list) LNER constituents: Great Central • Great Eastern • Great Northern • Great North of Scotland Hull & Barnsley • North British • North Eastern • (Full list) LMS constituents: Caledonian • Furness • Glasgow & South Western • Highland Lancashire & Yorkshire • London and North Western • Midland • North Staffordshire • (Full list) SR constituents: London and South Western Railway • London, Brighton and South Coast Railway South Eastern Railway • London, Chatham and Dover Railway • (Full list)
See also: History of rail transport in Great Britain 1923 - 1947 • List of companies involved in the grouping