HISTORY OF THE YORK TO BEVERLEY LINE - The Companies

York & North Midland Railway

On 30 December 1833, a meeting was held at Mrs. Tomlinson's hotel (Londesborough Arms) in Low Petergate, York's Railway Committee was set up and George Hudson became the treasurer. At the time there was no definite objective but this led to the formation of the York & North Midland Railway with Hudson as chairman - at a meeting in the York Guildhall on 13 October 1935. George Stephenson was appointed Engineer. This was one month after the launch of the North Midland Railway itself. The NMR was authorised to build a route from Derby to Leeds thereby creating a continuous railway from London to Leeds. The Y&NMR was to provide a branch from York to Normanton to open up a route to the south. This line was authorised on 21 June 1836 and the first part to Milford Junction, where it joins the Leeds and Selby line was opened on 29 May 1839. In May 1840 it opened to Normanton where it united with the Midland Railway, forming a direct link with London and being the final link on the east side of the country for a route from Dover to Edinburgh.

On 21 June 1836 Parliamentary approval was also given for its first railway from Selby to Hull which opened on 1 July 1840 (Act of Incorporation (6 & 7 Wm IV cap 81)). By 1840 Hudson had created rail links from York to Leeds & Selby, Birmingham and London, and indirectly to Liverpool.

North Eastern Railway

The North Eastern Railway was formed by Act of Incorporation (17/18 Vic cap 211) on 31st July, 1854 by the consolidation of the York and North Midland Railway. the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway and the Leeds Northern Railway, and three months later the Malton & Driffield Junction Railway. They had 720 miles of railway, more than any other company at the time, 26 miles of waterways and 44 acres of docks. The 720 miles consisted of the whole of Northumberland, Durham, all of Yorkshire north and east of Leeds. This was developed into the 1860's to include parts of Cumberland and Westmorland, giving virtually all the area between the Pennine Chain and the North Sea.

London and North Eastern Railway

The North Eastern Railway became one of the over 30 component parts of the London and North Eastern Railway when the railway regrouping came into force on 1st January 1923. The Railway Act of 19th August 1921 had provided for the 123 separate railway companies to be grouped into four main companies of which the LNER was one.

British Railways

Following the war years the LNER like all railways in the country was nationalised in 1948. Steam continued to be the main form of propulsion but there was no real direction or investment into the system either to retain steam or convert to a more modern form. The glory days of seam were allowed to struggle on to an iniquitous end.

The Railway's Family Tree