The East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway was a railway company established in 1846 between the

Leeds and Thirsk Railway The Leeds Northern Railway (LNR), originally the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, was an English railway company that built and opened a line from Leeds to Stockton via Harrogate and Thirsk. In 1845 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission for ...

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

and the

York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business interest ...

near York, England. The company merged into the York and North Midland Railway in 1852. As of 2017 the route forms part of the modern Harrogate Line, operated by

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

History

The application to form "The East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway" was made in November 1845, and the company was incorporated by Act of Parliament on 16 July 1846, this authorising £200,000 of capital (8,000 x £25 shares) and £66,600 of debt. The line connected the

Great North of England Railway The Great North of England Railway (GNER) was an early British railway company. Its main line, opened in 1841 was between York and Darlington, and originally it was planned to extend to Newcastle. Mergers In 1846 it was absorbed by the Newcastl ...

(GNE) (later the

, YN&B) near York to the

(L&TR) at

, with a route length of about . The line branched from the GNE from York station and passed through Poppleton, Hessay,

Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...

, Hammerton, Cattal, Allerton and Goldsborough (originally Flaxby) to

. The line's engineer was

Thomas Grainger Thomas Grainger FRSE (12 November 1794 – 25 July 1852) was a Scottish civil engineer and surveyor. He was joint partner with John Miller in the prominent engineering firm of Grainger & Miller. Life Grainger was born at Gogar Green near R ...

and the main stations (Poppleton, Marston Moor, Cattal, and Allerton) were built by Samuel Atack to Grainger's designs. Construction began in 1847, works including a tunnel under part of Knaresborough and a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

over the

River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...

. The line was double tracked with a length of . On 11 March 1848 the nearly completed viaduct over the Nidd collapsed, and a temporary wooden station was constructed east of Knaresborough on Hay-A-Park Lane to allow the line to partially opened on 30 October 1848. Originally backed by

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

, the company directors made an agreement with the rival L&TR, which had begun proceedings to absorb the company. However, after the L&TR backed out of the arrangement in the middle of 1848, the directors returned to Hudson and made arrangements for the YN&B to work the line. After 1849 the line was worked with lighter engines from E. B. Wilson (Leeds) with payment on a worked miles basis, plus a percentage of revenue. The York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) took over the line in July. The replacement four arch stone double track viaduct over the Nidd was completed at a cost of £9,803 and the section over the River Nidd connecting to the L&TR was opened on 1 October 1851. Knaresborough station opened the same year, completing the route to Harrogate made by the 1.75 mile Leeds Northern extension from Harrogate to Knaresborough that also completed in 1851. From October 1851 the line also used the L&TR Starbeck station in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...

. Formal application to merge the railway with the Y&NMR was made in 1851 and the Act passed on 28 May 1852. On 1 April 1875 a single track line from

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on t ...

was opened, joining the line east of the town at Knaresborough Junction.Ordnance Survey. 1:2500, 1890–1

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* * {{Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber Defunct railway companies of the United Kingdom Rail transport in Yorkshire York and North Midland Railway British companies established in 1846 Railway companies established in 1846 Closed railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber

History

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