Hull and Barnsley Railway

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The Hull and Barnsley Railway (HBR) was opened on 20th July 1885. It was incorporated as the Hull, Barnsley and West Riding Junction Railway, having a total projected length of 66 miles; the Alexandra Dock in Hull, opened 16th July 1885 was included as parts of its construction. 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 Joint 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 31st March 1902. Before the Grouping of 1923, the line was taken over by the North Eastern Railway.

Alexandra Dock remains in use to this day, though rail connection was severed following its closure during the 1980s. The embankment line built to carry traffic 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 Saltend oil refinery in east Hull. A small section was re-opened from Drax power station through Carlton Towers, in the 1970s, and MGR trains continue to use this line.

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

[edit] External links

• Hull and Barnsley Railway Stock Fund

• [http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&z=16&ll=53.733342,-0.380251&spn=0.006537,0.019956 Google Maps view of the remaining line in Hull, starting at Hessle Road (HBR branches to the north east)

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 • Lancashire & Yorkshire • Glasgow & South Western 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