Selby was an important location from the earliest days of the railways, with the arrival of the Leeds & Selby Railway in 1934. Over the succeeding years it became an important nodal point, with the opening of railways to Market Weighton and Driffield, to Hull, to Goole, to Leeds, northwards on the East Coast Main Line to York and south to London. Not to be forgotten, there is also the charmingly rural Cawood, Wistow & Selby Railway. Close by were the Hull & Barnsley Railway and the Derwent...

The pre-Grouping companies were fiercely competitive and would defend any incursion by another company penetrating what they considered to be their ‘territories’. Nevertheless, at times they would cooperate. This cooperation resulted in a large number of joint lines. These joint lines ranged from fully independent operations, complete with their own staffs, locomotives and rolling stock, to short lengths of railway used by the joint companies, with the cost of maintenance shared.Th...

The pre-Grouping Companies were fiercely competitive and would defend any incursion by another company penetrating what they considered to be their ‘territories’. Nevertheless, at times they would cooperate. This cooperation resulted in a large number of joint lines. These joint lines ranged from fully independent operations, complete with their own staffs, locomotives and rolling stock, to short lengths of railway used by the joint companies, the cost of maintenance of which was shared.

During the railway mania of the nineteenth century many places gained more than one station, and not just in the big cities. Many small settlements ended up with two or even three stations. This was almost always as the result of competition between the railway companies, anxious to secure more business for themselves, though there were exceptions. As the railway network continued to grow and develop, many of these locations ended up with no stations at all.This is the lavishly ill...

During the railway mania of the nineteenth century many places gained more than one station, and not just in the big cities. Many small settlements ended up with two or even three stations. This was almost always as the result of competition between the railway companies, anxious to secure more business for themselves, though there were exceptions. As the railway network continued to grow and develop, many of these locations ended up with no stations at all.This is the lavishly ill...

The first railway to penetrate Sussex was the Brighton Line of the LBSCR. From this beginning, lines spread out along the coast. Over the succeeding years further lines stretched across out the rest of the county, all built by the ‘Brighton’, which was by far the dominant railway company in the area and established a major works at Brighton. The company, however, didn’t have it all its own way. In the south-west corner the LSWR penetrated as far as Midhurst, and in the east the SECR had th...

The pre-Grouping companies were fiercely competitive and would defend any incursion by another company penetrating what they considered to be their ‘territories’. Nevertheless, at times they would co-operate. This co-operation resulted in a large number of joint lines. These joint lines ranged from fully independent operations, complete with their own staffs, locomotives and rolling stock, to short lengths of railway used by the joint companies, with the cost of maintenance shared....

The range and variety of British railway stations is truly astonishing; from the tiny wayside halt made of corrugated iron to the magnificent stone-built city centre terminus. No less remarkable in their variety are the buildings devoted to the transport of goods, and indeed for most years of their existence this traffic was by far the most important to the railway companies. Author Patrick Bennett also covers signal boxes and signalling, locomotive depots, bridges and viaducts and much el...

The Chilterns consist of a band of chalk hills to the north-west of London stretching from Oxfordshire to Hertfordshire. It so happened that these hills were directly on the routes of five major companies’ routes to the North and Midlands. These were: the Great Northern, the Midland, the London & North Western, the Great Central and the Great Western. As well as the main lines there was a large number of branches, now nearly all closed. To complete the picture, to the north of the Chiltern...

Derbyshire is a county of contrasts, and the development of the railways reflect this. In Limestone Country in the west the LNW held sway with its railways from Ashbourne and Cromford to Buxton involved in the extraction of limestone. Meanwhile, in the east of the county, no fewer than four different companies fought over the lucrative business of coal carrying in the huge North Midlands Coalfield. From the historic railway town of Derby, the Midland Railway had routes south to London, wes...

The railway in 1980 had not changed much since the 1960s. There were certainly no more steam locomotives, but passenger trains consisted largely of carriages hauled by locomotives, which had mostly been constructed in the 1950s or early 1960s. Secondary services were provided by various types of multiple units from the same era. Freight traffic was still buoyant and marshalling yards busy. There were numerous freight branches and sidings. Traditional signalling was still very much in evide...

No fewer than sixteen pre-grouping companies were represented within Cumbria’s borders, seven of these in Carlisle alone. To the east of the mountains are the great Anglo-Scottish lines of the London and North Western and the Midland. Venturing across the Pennines were the transversal routes of the North Eastern Railway, from Newcastle to Carlisle, and Darlington to Tebay and Penrith. The Cumbrian coast presents a completely different picture. Here the multiple competing companies were con...