Hull–Scarborough line

Railway line in Yorkshire, England

The Hull–Scarborough line, also known as the Yorkshire Coast Line, is a railway line in Yorkshire, England that is used primarily for passenger traffic. It runs northwards from Hull Paragon via Beverley and Driffield to Bridlington, joining the York–Scarborough line at a junction near Seamer before terminating at Scarborough railway station. The line was built in the 1840s, and formed by lines sanctioned by three separate acts: the southern part from a junction on the Hull and Selby Railway was a branch of that railway, and ran to Bridlington; the line from Bridlington to Seamer Junction was promoted by the York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR); and the section from Seamer to Scarborough was part of the Y&NMR's York to Scarborough Line. The lines' route has been mostly unaltered since opening with the exception of the section into Hull which was modified soon after opening with the addition of about 5 mile (8 km) of track leading to the new Paragon station, which opened in 1848. The line has been part of the Y&NMR, NER, LNER and British Railways. As of 2018, trains on the line are operated by Northern Trains.

In the 1840s the Hull and Selby Railway (H&S) was promoting a branch line to Bridlington, and planning other branches in the East Riding – in the same period the York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) were planning a branch to the town from their line to Scarborough. This, and a desire to control the H&S's main line into Hull led the Y&NMR to seek and obtain a lease on the H&S. Acts allowing the construction of the H&S's and Y&NMR's branches were passed by Parliament on the same day, 23 June 1845; A connection between the Hull–Bridlington and Bridlington–Seamer lines was obtained by exploiting the maximum deviations of the submitted plans.

The York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) opened a line from York to Scarborough on 7 July 1845. The section from Seamer to Scarborough forms the last part of the coastal line from Hull, with the branch connecting at Seamer junction.|name="hsba"|group="note" enabling a line from Hull to Bridlington of 31 mile (50 km). The 1845 Act allowed the raising of £216,000 by shares, and a further £72,000 by loans. The 1846 Hull and Selby purchase act increased the amount of capital that could be raised. By July 1845 Hull and Selby was leased to the York and North Midland, but was responsible for constructing the Bridlington branch line, as a result a joint committee was formed of directors of both businesses. Three contracts for the line's construction were tendered, separated at Driffield and Beverley; all were given to "Thomas Jackson and Alfred Bean" (Jackson and Bean) (cumulative value £93,534). The line's construction was simple on predominately flat land, with road crossings on the level, and with the only significant river crossing being on the River Hull (or West Beck, Driffield Trout stream, or Eastburn Beck) well upstream, at Driffield; the river bridge was crossed by a 4 arched bridge of low height. the main station buildings were built parallel and abutting to one wall of the trainshed, single storeyed, and of an approximately symmetrically appearance; the main entrance was central. The general large station design include water tank(s) on the platform raised on brick structures containing men's toilets. Bridlington and Driffield had columned stone entrance porticos. Beverley was built with a 60 feet (18 m) double span trainshed, supported in the middle by cast iron columns. Bridlington also had a two road engine shed and turntable. Smaller stations were generally built at the crossing of a main road and the railway, with a two storey station house incorporating both living accommodation and railway facilities; the station houses generally had a columned entrance portico, or a slab fronted stone doorcase at one entrance. Cottingham station was intermediate in design, with an office range as at the larger stations, with attached station master's house, but without a trainshed. The station complexes also included goods sheds at the larger stations and at Cottingham and Hutton Cranswick. Andrew's standard design included a through track on one side, with an interior wooden platform and "cart docks" (raised exits) on the far side. The roofs were also hipped as at the station, but with wooden trusses; architectural detailing included round headed arched exits and entrances and matching diocletian windows. The goods shed roofs were extended beyond the main building on cast iron columns, extending the covered area. Curiosities of the terms agreed with landowners included the provision of a station at Lockington for Baronet Hotham, together with a carriage and horse box for his use; and that the H&S should not compete in the sale of coal at Lockington and surrounding area; Lord Hotham had interests in the Aike (Coal) Beck a navigable tributary of the River Hull with a wharf at Lockington. The line had coal depots at other larger station sites. The Hull to Bridlington section opened on 6 October 1846. The line left the Hull and Selby line near Dairycoates outside the urban area of Hull, travelling north to Cottingham, then passing through Driffield before Bridlington. As built it was double track and also incorporated the then new telegraph system.

The branch from Seamer to Bridlington was surveyed by John Cass Birkinshaw, who estimated a cost of £87,000. The York and North Midland Railway (Bridlington Branch) Act was passed on 23 June 1845,#tag:ref|York and North Midland Railway (Bridlington Branch) Act. "An Act for enabling the York and North Midland Railway Company to make a Branch Railway from the Line of the York and Scarborough Railway, in the Township of Seamer, to Bridlington." (Cap. 58, 23 June 1845). The 13.25 mile (21 km) Filey Bridlington section was double tracked as built, and included gradients of up to 1 in 92, with one section with a minimum curve of ; the section had 18 brick bridges some with stone imposts, and two girder bridges with spans of The section from Seamer to Filey was 6.5 mile (10 km) in length, and without any significant obstacles – there were no bridges required on the section. The final link from Bridlington to Filey opened on 20 October 1847, the section west of Hunmanby had required extensive earthwork.

The Hull–Bridlington section opened on 6 October 1846. A train of 44 carriages arrived in Hull together with George Hudson and other directors, another 22 coaches were attached and the train set, propelled by the engines Hudson, Antelope and Aerial of the Railway Foundry, Leeds. A luncheon for over 900 took place in the Bridlington goods station. The main party then returned to Hull where a grand banquet took place. Initially five trains per day were run between Hull and Bridlington, with the journey taking around 2 hours. The rates of passage were: 3, 2 and 1½ d per mile for first, second and third class passengers. The Seamer–Filey section was opened on 5 October 1846, with a procession followed by a dinner at Filey, attended by George Hudson, J. H. Lowther, the Lord Mayor of York, F. Trench and others at the house of Mr. Bentley (Ravine Villa). In 1865 the Beverley to Market Weighton line was opened, connecting at a junction north of Beverley station. Bridlington gained a new three road engine shed and 50 feet (15 m) turntable in 1892. In June 1908 an additional station in Scarborough opened, the Scarborough Excursion station, later known as Scarborough Londesborough Road. The station was intended to ease congestion at Scarborough station and on the track leading to it. The main feature was a single through platform and a large concourse for the marshalling of passengers. The station's siting allowed trains to travel without reversing to or from carriage sidings on the Scarborough–Whitby line north of the Falsgrave tunnel which had been built at around the same time. Bridlington station had been extended in 1873, and 1892, and in 1911–12 was extensively remodelled with the addition of new platforms and a station concourse and new offices. An additional building for refreshment rooms was added alongside the concourse in 1922–23. Structural problems with Driffield station's roof led it to being replaced with steel awnings in 1904; the roof at Beverley station was replaced with a single span design in 1908. First World War requirements for railway track for use in France led to the singling of the line sections between Flamborough and Bempton, and Speeton and Hunmanby in 1917. The sections were then worked by the Electric Token Tablet Block system. The line was redoubled in 1923. In 1947 a short branch section opened to Filey Holiday Camp, accessible from up and down directions via a triangle of track. The Filey–Seamer section was singled in 1983.

Initially the Hull–Bridlington service was five trains each way per day, with a journey time of 2 hours. By 1851 four trains per day were running to Scarborough, with a journey time of 2 hrs 45 mins. In 1861 additional services had been introduced running from Hull to Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington, followed by the return journey. By 1880 the number of trains from Hull to Scarborough had increased to six, with nine short returns to Beverley. A third class ticket to Bridlington cost 2s.6d. (around 1d per mile), whilst train times were unimproved since 1860. By 1900 a non stop Hull–Bridlington service had been introduced, taking 40 or 45 minutes (around 40 mph average). In 1914 there were eight or more Hull–Scarborough trains per day, and over thirty daily services from Hull to Beverley. By 1930 the Hull–Scarborough stopping train took 2 hours 15 minutes. Railcars from the Sentinel Waggon Works were introduced in 1930. The 1949 timetable had added eight trains to the Filey Holiday Camp to Newcastle, Sheffield, London, York, Birmingham, and Leeds. In the second half of the 20th century diesel multiple units were introduced. By 2000 there were half hourly trains to Bridlington and approximately hourly Scarborough trains. The Hull–Bridlington stopping service took 48 minutes, and the Hull–Scarborough service 1 hour and 23 minutes.

The Newington branch, (also known as the Cottingham branch) ran between Hessle Road and Cottingham South junctions. In around 1896 a station halt Newington Excursion Station was built. Legend states that the halt has it origins in a halt built for the wife of a local timber merchant, which allowed her to detrain only a quarter of a mile from her home; In the late 1890s the North Eastern Railway management were undertaking quadrupling of the Selby–Hull line, and looking for means to reduce the congestion out of Hull – it was suggested to redouble the line allowing additional freight to run from Hull via Cottingham to the Market Weighton and beyond. The construction of an unloading platform was also authorised, allowing livestock to be unloaded for the Yorkshire Agricultural show which was being held in Hull in 1900. In the early 1900s the station was also used to drop passengers travelling to the Hull Fair. Services at the station ended around the First World War. The line was used to allow trains travelling east along the Hull and Selby to continue north along the Bridlington line without passing through Hull such as summer passenger trains running from west of Hull to the seaside resorts on the end of the Bridlington line. From around 1900 the Chalk lane sidings expanded, branching both left and right immediately north of Hessle Road junction. The entire branch was closed in 1965.

On 17 September 1947 a passenger train from Hull collided with an army truck which had crashed through the gates at Burton Agnes level crossing. The collision resulted in the deaths of seven German prisoners of war, and two British service men, plus the serious injury of ten more people, three of whom later died. On 25 August 1956 an empty train of coaches ran into Filey Holiday Camp railway station due to a human failure to connect the brake pipes, resulting in the engine, a LNER Class K3 ending on the station platform. Lockington rail crash. On 26 July 1986, a Hull bound diesel multiple unit collided with a Ford Escort van on the unguarded level crossing. Eight passengers were killed and 32 were injured. A boy of 11 in the van also died.

The Hull to Scarborough line is a branch line railway running from Hull north through Cottingham, Beverley and Driffield, before turning north east towards Bridlington. At Bridlington the line turns roughly north west towards Scarborough via Filey, making a junction with the York–Scarborough line at Seamer approximately 2 mile (3 km) outside Scarborough. As of 2009 the line is used primarily for passenger traffic. Signalling and safety systems on both sections included track circuit and absolute block signalling. There are 99 level crossings on the Hull Seamer section.