Now! Then! The opening of the Hull and Selby Railway counters threats to Hull’s port from Goole, Scarborough and Bridlington

Excerpt

TRAINS WITH PASSENGERS WILL START FROM HULL AS UNDER

AT SEVEN O’CLOCK, A.M.	AT THREE O’CLOCK, P.M.
AT TEN O’CLOCK, A.M.	AT SIX O’CLOCK, P.M.

ON SUNDAYS, AT SEVEN O’CLOCK, A.M., AND SIX O’CLOCK, P.M.

The Trains from LEEDS and YORK, for HULL, will depart from those Places at the same Hours; and Passengers and Parcels may be Booked through at the Leeds, York, and Hull Stations. Arrangements are also in progress for Booking Passengers to Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, and London.

	First Class.	Second Class.	Third Class.
Hull to Selby	4s. 6d.	4s. 0d.	2s. 6d.
Hull to York	8s. 0d.	6s. 6d.	4s. 6d.
Hull to Leeds	8s. 0d. [£41.67 in 2020]	6s. 6d. [£33.86 in 2020]	4s. 6d. [£23.44 in 2020]

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.
Abbreviations:

ER: East Riding
GM: Greater Manchester
NR: North Riding
NY: North Yorkshire
SY: South Yorkshire
WR: West Riding
WY: West Yorkshire

Comment

Tomlinson:

There was no partial opening of the Hull and Selby Railway — the whole line, 30¾ miles in length, from one parliamentary limit to the other, was brought into use on the 1st of July. Connecting Hull with the Midlands, as well as with the West Riding of Yorkshire, it completed one of the most important trade routes in the country. Hull was the principal port of shipment for the Baltic, and the goods shipped in its docks — cottons of Manchester, woollens and linens of Leeds, lace and net of Nottingham, etc., represented in value one-fifth of the exports of the United Kingdom.

During the early part of the opening day rain fell in torrents, and a public procession through the principal streets, which was to have formed part of the ceremonial proceedings, had to be abandoned. At ten minutes past twelve o’clock four trains left Hull for Selby, the first consisting of eleven carriages, the second of eight, the third of eight, and the fourth of seven. The locomotive engines employed on this occasion were the Exley,[ref]Tomlinson: Called after John Exley, an officer of the Custom House at Hull, whose letter in the Hull Rockingham of 28th December, 1833, started the agitation for a railway between Hull and Selby which eventually led to the formation of the Company. Eastern Counties Herald, 2nd July, 1840.[/ref] the Andrew Marvell, the Kingston, and the Selby, built by Messrs. Fenton, Murray and Jackson, of Leeds, and the Prince, lent by the Leeds and Selby Railway Company. Having the Humber for a considerable distance like a broad lake on one side and the Yorkshire Wolds on the other, the trains travelled at a moderate pace past Hessle, Brough, Eastrington, and Wressle, and, crossing the Ouse in close processional order, arrived at Selby at a quarter past two. Leaving Selby at four o’clock, they travelled at an average speed of from 20 to 30 miles an hour, the first train performing the journey in an hour and a minute, exclusive of stoppages, and the others within an hour and a quarter. Brilliant sunshine having succeeded the showers, a large number of spectators had gathered to welcome the returning trains, which were loudly cheered as they passed over the embankment along the foreshore to the terminus near the Humber Dock. There was a dinner in the new goods warehouse, at which speeches were delivered by Henry Broadley, M.P., George Hudson, and others, and then a special train passed along the line from Hull to Selby, conveying the gentlemen of York and Leeds who had been present at the dinner.[ref]Leeds Mercury, 4th July, 1840.[/ref]

A gently undulating line, the Hull and Selby Railway had no gradient steeper than 1 in 572 except when rising towards or falling from a bridge. There was no railway in the kingdom which passed over so level a surface. For 18 miles it was as straight as an arrow. The only earthwork at all noticeable was a cutting at Hessle cliff, 40 feet deep, from which about 230,000 cubic yards of chalk and gravel had been removed.[ref]Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers, vol. 128, p. 207, and vol. 57, p. 31.[/ref] The principal engineering feature on the line was a cast-iron bascule bridge over the River Ouse (1837-40), 191 feet 6 inches in length and 24 feet 1 inch in width over all.[ref]Ibid., vol. 4, p. 86 (with illustrations).[/ref] The movable arch, allowing a clear waterway of 45 feet, consisted of two flaps, with counterpoised tail ends. Each flap, weighing 92¾ tons, was raised and lowered by means of a quadrant and rack worked by hand, the time necessary for either operation being from 50 seconds to a minute. The movable arch was first raised to admit the passage of a vessel on the 13th of February, 1840.

The most interesting feature of the Hull and Selby Railway was its permanent way, which had been adopted by Messrs. Walker and Burges after a personal examination of all the other lines in the country. About 17 miles of the railway were laid with longitudinal, and the remainder with cross, sleepers. The rails were flat-bottomed, or, as they were called, ” web-footed,” those used for the longitudinal sleepers — 2¾ inches in depth — weighing 55 pounds per yard, and those for the cross sleepers — 3¾ inches in depth — 63 pounds. These rails, instead of being bolted down to the sleepers, as on the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, were set respectively in saddles and chairs, and secured to them by means of oak keys, 7 inches long.[ref]Whishaw’s Railways of Great Britain, 1842, p. 165.[/ref] The gauge was 4 feet 9 inches, the variation of half an inch from the standard gauge being made to give more play to the flanges of the wheels.

[A description of the first facilities at Hull and an image.]

The company seal (Tomlinson 1915).

There’s some great stuff in this Yorkshire Post piece on the Selby bridge.

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Original

HULL AND SELBY, OR HULL AND LEEDS JUNCTION, RAILWAY.

OPENING OF THE LINE

FOR PASSENGERS AND PARCELS ONLY,

ON THURSDAY, JULY THE 2nd, 1840

The Public are respectfully informed that this RAILWAY will be OPENED THROUGHOUT from HULL to the JUNCTION with the LEEDS and SELBY RAILWAY, at Selby, on WEDNESDAY, the First Day of July next, and that PASSENGERS and PARCELS only will be conveyed on THURSDAY, July 2nd; thus presenting a direct Railway Conveyance from Hull to Selby, Leeds, and York without change of Carriage.

TRAINS WITH PASSENGERS WILL START FROM HULL AS UNDER

AT SEVEN O’CLOCK, A.M.	AT THREE O’CLOCK, P.M.
AT TEN O’CLOCK, A.M.	AT SIX O’CLOCK, P.M.

ON SUNDAYS, AT SEVEN O’CLOCK, A.M., AND SIX O’CLOCK, P.M.

The Trains from LEEDS and YORK, for HULL, will depart from those Places at the same Hours; and Passengers and Parcels may be Booked through at the Leeds, York, and Hull Stations. Arrangements are also in progress for Booking Passengers to Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, and London.

THE FARES TO BE CHARGED ARE AS UNDER:

	First Class.	Second Class.	Third Class.
Hull to Selby	4s. 6d.	4s. 0d.	2s. 6d.
Hull to York	8s. 0d.	6s. 6d.	4s. 6d.
Hull to Leeds	8s. 0d. [£41.67 in 2020]	6s. 6d. [£33.86 in 2020]	4s. 6d. [£23.44 in 2020]

No Fees are allowed to be taken by the Guards, Porters, or any other Servants of the Company.

The Trains, both up and down, will call at the Stations on the Line, viz.: Hessle, Ferriby, Brough, Staddlethorpe, Eastrington, Howden, and Cliff.

Arrangements for carrying Goods, Cattle, Sheep, &c., will be completed in a short time, of which due Notice will be given.

By Order,

GEORGE LOCKING, Secretary.

Railway Office, Hull, June 24th, 1840.

660 words.

Now! Then! 2024! - Yorkshire On This Day

1 July 1840: The opening of the Hull and Selby Railway counters threats to Hull’s port from Goole, Scarborough and Bridlington

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