Selby railway station

Original Leeds and Selby station, now warehousing (2013)

In 1834 the Leeds and Selby Railway opened, running east west from a terminus station in Marsh Lane, Leeds to a terminus at Selby.

The line opened 22 September 1834, with only one track complete.[2] A train from Leeds set off at 6 am and arrived in Selby around 9 am, to a general celebration. When general service started the journey took about 65 minutes.[3] The main stations were not completed until a few months after the line opened; the Selby terminus at a cost of £10,300. Both tracks of the line were completed by 15 December 1834.[4]

The basic design of the station was of a large warehouse shed, 245 feet (75 m) long and 96 feet (29 m) wide on a site of around 3 acres (1.2 ha), with a wooden trussed roof of three spans (of approximately 25', 46', and 25') supported via iron brackets on 19.5 feet (5.9 m) cast iron columns, which were hollow and acted as drainpipes, to collect rain water then stored in underground tanks. Station offices and other buildings were built adjoining the station. The train shed had six lines of track, four for freight and two for passengers.[5][6][7] Lines for coal and lime were separate, outside the shed to the east, the offices at the northwest corner. The line of rails continued through the station to a wharf on the River Ouse.[8][9] Journeys to Hull were completed by Packet boat from Selby.[2]

After construction of the new station in 1840, with the connection on the Hull and Selby Railway old station became a goods station.[10]

The rail links to the old station were removed in the 1980s. As of 2009 the station is used as warehousing by Viking Shipping Services Ltd.[11]

In 1840, the Hull and Selby Railway was opened.[12] To cross the River Ouse, a bascule lifting bridge was installed, northwest of the old station.[n 1] At that time ships had priority over railway traffic.[13]

The Hull and Selby, and Leeds and Selby railways connected 'end on' at Selby, west of the old station; the Leeds and Selby Line diverged from its old terminus path at a junction near the crossing of Park street; the line of the railway ran a short distance west, and parallel to the track in the original station.[14] A new through station was built, and the old station became a goods station.[10]

In 1871 the NER opened two new sections of track, from Shaftholme junction (4 miles north of Doncaster) to Selby Old West junction (Selby), and from Barlby junction (across the Ouse from Selby) to Chaloner's Whin junction (Dringhouses, York); these formed a new route for the East Coast Main Line.[15]

A new station was constructed from between 1870 and 1873, built by Thomas Nelson to a design from Thomas Prosser's office in the NER.[16]

North end of Selby station and the swing bridge (1957)

In 1891 a new swing bridge was built downstream (east) of the original over the Ouse (see 1891 Selby swing bridge). The priority of river traffic over rail traffic was reversed on completion of the new bridge; crossings by rail were more than ten times more numerous than river craft.[17]

As a consequence of the shift in the path of the railway the old station was rebuilt. The down (west) platforms were retained and modified, whilst the up (east) platforms were moved eastwards, re-using and extending Prosser's platform roof. The architect for the remodelling and extension was the NER's William Bell.[18]

In addition to the main lines west to Leeds (Leeds & Selby, 1834), east to Hull (Hull & Selby, 1840), and north and south to York and Doncaster (York & Doncaster branch, 1871), the rail system at Selby was the location for a number of junctions to other lines, and other facilities.

A branch from the Hull line (near Barlby to Market Weighton) opened in 1848.[19] (see Selby and Market Weighton Railway) The line ran from Cliffe junction east of the Ouse south of Barlby, around a mile east of Selby.[20]

The Cawood, Wistow and Selby Light Railway (CW&SLR) was opened in 1898 linking the Leeds & Selby Railway to the village of Cawood. Until 1904 the line had a separate station, Brayton Gates, 1 mile west of Selby. The line was predominantly used for agricultural traffic but also carried passengers until 1930, its final closure taking place in 1960.

The Selby to Goole Line opened in 1910, ran via the villages of Barlow, Drax and Rawcliffe to Goole. The line closed in 1964 as a result of the Beeching report. A short section of the line was used to access a ballast tip near Barlow until 1983.

In the mid 20th century the 'Loop Line' was converted into a triangle junction by the addition of a short chord between the Selby-Doncaster and Selby-Leeds lines.[21]

In 1983 the Selby Diversion of the East Coast Main Line was opened, avoiding the area around Selby due to possible subsidence from the drift mining works of the Selby Coalfield. As a result, Selby ceased to be a through route on the ECML. The 1871 line from Selby to York was closed on 24 May 1983 and in 1989 was converted into a cycle track which now forms part of route 65 of the National Cycle Network. The line south to Temple Hirst Junction was retained – it is in regular use for both passenger & freight traffic and also serves as a diversionary route for Doncaster to Hull services if the line via Goole is closed for any reason.

An engine shed was built 1870–2, in the V of the junction between the lines to Doncaster and Leeds. The shed was a standard NER design roundhouse by Prosser in a square overall shed, with 20 tracks. The shed was extended to a similar extent in 1896–8 with an adjacent square shed to a design by Bell.[22][23] In around 1900 a short "Loop Line" was built south of the station, altering the path to the Leeds line by forming a junction on the Doncaster line further south, beyond the engine sheds. The original route out of Selby to Leeds became peripheral, part of the sidings associated with the engine sheds.[23]

There was also a Canal works (dye and leather chemicals) east of the Doncaster line,[n 2] on the banks of the Selby Canal, connected by sidings from the mid 20th century.[26] Also on the Selby side of the Ouse were sidings for the gas works, and for a wood yard,[27] and for the 'Ousegate Maltings' as well as accommodation sidings for the Goods shed.[28]

Barlby signal box with BOCM mill in background (2007)

On the far bank of the Ouse there were industrial sidings: A seed mill north of the line had been established by in 1909 with a rail connection; this developed into a large mill Olympia Mills, later part Jurgens (1919),[n 3] Unilever (1929), and BOCM (1952).[29][30] (now part of BOCM Pauls, not rail connected).

Also on the far bank a Sugar Beet factory, was rail connected from the south side Hull-Selby line from the mid 20th century.[26] In 1983 the site was acquired by logistics company Potter Group,[31] and redeveloped into a 62 acres (25 ha) distribution centre including a rail freight terminal and warehousing.[32][33] Client occupiers include Cemex (Asphalt concrete, using stone from Peak Forest, Derbyshire),[34][35] and Clipper Logistics (e-commerce clothing/textile logistics).[36][37]