Hull & BR - NER connecting spur query?

[John B]

Whilst there are a few Hullensians contributing to the Dairycoates question I thought I would take advantage of any local knowledge and ask about the connecting spur that ran between the H & BR and the NER.

The spur started from the H & BR High level somewhere north of Burleigh Street and dropped down to the NER at Wilmington. I have a friend who has a photo of some wagons stored on the spur when it was disconnected.

The really interesting thing is that the spur is shown on a reproduction Godfrey 1908 OS map of Hull as being just a disused trackbed, on later maps (during and after the war I think) it is shown back in use again.

As most of you will know the two railways were always at loggerheads. The question is, when was the spur first put in? when was it disconnected and when was it reinstated and finally when was it eventually and finally removed.

B. Hinchliffe in vol. two, p 12, of the history of the H & BR, mentions the British Extracting Company's Works UP line as occupying part of an embankment from an abortive spur connecting the H & BR with The NER at Wilmington, is this the same spur as that located on the 1908 Godfreys repro map?

Any additional information would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

[bricam5]

John B:

Using Hinchcliffe again as a reference, I note that in Volume two Page 245 Quote" Chalk traffic for the cement works at Wilmington was at first worked over the H&B line and then westwards via Southcoates on to the eastern end of the Victoria Dock branch, but in October 1968 a new curve was put in at Wilmington from the H&B line to the remains of the former Hornsea branch; from Burleigh St. North Junction to Wilmington New Junction these trains could then reach the cement works by reversing.

The spur had a very short life as it, and the so-called Hornsea public delivery siding, closed on 5th January1976"

Before that time is to me and you,a mystery. I shall try and dig a bit further though.

[westrail]

There was another connection from the level crossing at Walton Street to the H&B high level near Springhead, which was built to divert H&B passenger trains from Cannon Street to Hull Paragon, built in the 1920s (?) and used until the withdrawal of the Hull to South Howden service in 1955. It enjoyed further use from 1956 to 1959 when the DMU fleet was serviced at Springhead during the conversion of Botanic Gardens to a diesel depot.

The other scheme which was never implemented was the Eastrington Loop, which was intended to close the H&B east of where it crossed the NER line and divert trains to the four track NE section from Staddlethorpe to Hessle Haven. It was to be a grade separated junction. I remember seeing the drawings when I was working in Hull DTSO Works Section in 1957/58. It was killed off by the decline in the export of coal from Hull, I believe.

[Yorkshire Exile]

The Walton Street spur continued to be used by passenger trains after 1959 in the form of the Hull Paragon to Boothferry Park shuttles (although the term was not in use then!) for Hull City's home games. I am not sure when the station finally closed but I believe it was still in use in the 1980's.

[Bryan]

Definately in use 1980s but fell out of use by 90 and in 2000 platform slabs were collapsing or more likely being collapsed.
We used the access ramp from the supermarket carpark as a foot access ramp to a renewal site just there.
Some passenger trains are routed that way very occaisionally to maintain route knowledge as a divert route.
Also used to turn trains especially ballast trains when specified on the request for example Train Ex Doncaster to arrive at the worksite on the Up at Melton at whatever time.
This would involve the train running past the worksite to Hull and turning via Hessle Rd Jn, Walton Street and Cricket ground curve back out of Hull. Normally following the last passenger service.

[IJhull]

Whilst there are a few Hullensians contributing to the Dairycoates question I thought I would take advantage of any local knowledge and ask about the connecting spur that ran between the H & BR and the NER.

The spur started from the H & BR High level somewhere north of Burleigh Street and dropped down to the NER at Wilmington. I have a friend who has a photo of some wagons stored on the spur when it was disconnected.

The really interesting thing is that the spur is shown on a reproduction Godfrey 1908 OS map of Hull as being just a disused trackbed, on later maps (during and after the war I think) it is shown back in use again.

As most of you will know the two railways were always at loggerheads. The question is, when was the spur first put in? when was it disconnected and when was it reinstated and finally when was it eventually and finally removed.

Think this came up somewhere else.. The line was in the original act (1880) - there's a description of the chord in the the submiited text for the act. I'll copy-past it in:

5c. A Railway No. 5c wholly in the parish of Sutton, commencing by a junction with the Victoria Dock Railway of the North-Eastern Railway Company, at or near the east end of the bridge carrying that railway over the River Hull, and terminating by a junction with the intended railway No. 5, at or near a point on the North-Eastern Railway (Hornsea Branch), about 2 chains west of the point at which that branch crosses Sutton Bank. The intended Railways 5a, 5b, and 5c will be wholly situate in the town and county of the town of Kingston-upon-Hull.

The act doesn't actually compell them to build it, but they started anyway. What happened next:

At the beginning of 1887, the situation became complicated by an unexpected move or rather stand on the part of the Hull and Barnsley Company. In accordance with the powers of their Act of 1880 they had all but completed a short branch at Sculcoates to connect the North Eastern system with their own when they saw that the branch might be used against them by the North Eastern, and they refused to form the actual junction between the two railways. As it was clear they did not mean to afford the facilities which Parliament had sanctioned, there was no course open to the North Eastern but to ask Parliament, in the interest of traders wishing to forward or receive traffic by their railway to or from the Alexandra Dock, to give them power to acquire and finish the branch.

When the North Eastern Bill of 1887, which contained clauses for making this connection, came before the Committee of the House of Commons it was stoutly opposed by the Hull and Barnsley Company, who contended that the junction line and dock should be opened to the North Eastern for non-competitive traffic only, that is to say, for the traffic of places on their line between which and the Alexandra Dock the North Eastern Railway formed the only route. To this the North Eastern could not assent, and after much wrangling before the Committee they withdrew this part of their Bill, leaving the Hull and Barnsley masters of the situation.

So it was built with the rest of the line , or at least before 1887

As far as I know they were never connected - though I can't be certain - it could have made sense to join them up during WW2 in case one of the lines got bombed.. I don't know the exact dates, or when it was finally removed.

B. Hinchliffe in vol. two, p 12, of the history of the H & BR, mentions the British Extracting Company's Works UP line as occupying part of an embankment from an abortive spur connecting the H & BR with The NER at Wilmington, is this the same spur as that located on the 1908 Godfreys repro map?

Yes. If you can get the 1928 map you'll see that the line to the Extracting Co.s works comes off the line half way along the chord, just west of the bridge over Cleveland St. On the map it's labelled as "LNER British Extracting Works Branch". Here's a snippet - should be enough to see:

[D2100]

There are some cracking 1930s pictures of this area on 'Britain from Above':

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/asea ... stoneferry

(hopefully that link will work for casual browsers, but if not, it's worth signing up for the added functionality).