Axholme Joint Railway - Route

Route

The Goole and Marshland Light Railway ran from Marshland Junction, south east of Goole on the North Eastern Railway Hull to Thorne line, to Reedness Junction with a branch line from Reedness to Fockerby on the River Trent estuary. The junction with the North Eastern Railway faced Goole, and all traffic started from or proceeded to Goole. Since the railway served the needs of the agricultural community, there were many sidings, where wagons could be stored for loading and unloading. On the first section, these were Plumtree Farm siding, Dougherty's siding, Corner's siding, Smith's siding, Glossop's siding, and Goole Fields siding, before the railway crossed over Swinefleet Warping Drain on a 120-foot (37 m) steel girder bridge to reach Reedness station.

Between Smith's and Glossop's sidings, the track was crossed by a tramway owned by the British Moss Litter Company and used for conveying peat. The tramway had been built in 1896, and a ground frame was installed to control conflicting train movements. The NER proposed that the tramway should be cut in two, with each half extended westwards, to run alongside Smith's siding and a new siding opposite it on the other side of the main line, but this was rejected. In 1905 they proposed a tunnel under their line, with gradients on the tramway not exceeding 1 in 20 on both sides. Although agreements were drawn up, the plan does not appear to have been implemented. The tramway was of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, was about 3 miles (4.8 km) long, and used a steam locomotive. It served Old Goole Mill, although further details of either the mill or the locomotive have not been found. Although the mill closed soon after 1902, it was used for storing peat until 1914, and the tracks were not lifted until many years later. In 1903, some twelve trains per day crossed over the Axholme Joint Railway on the tramway.

The bridge over Swinefleet Warping Drain was the subject of an unusual request from Colonel Thompson in 1906, who asked permission for 16 of his female potato pickers to cross it to reach their place of work. To access it, they would need to walk through the goods yard and along the main line, but it would save them having to walk much further each day. The request was granted, provided that the Colonel indemnified the railway against any claims made if the ladies were involved in an accident.

At Reedness, the Fockerby Branch turned to the north, and the Axholme Light Railway route swung to the south. Reedness Junction had a brick-built water tower, a house for the station master, and sidings to the north, accessible from the Fockerby Branch. It was some 3 miles (4.8 km) from the village centre of Swinefleet, and 4 miles (6.4 km) from Reedness village. The Branch was 5.7 miles (9.2 km) long. Blackers siding and Whitgift siding were passed before the line reached Eastoft station, which was 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the village centre.There were two sidings to the north. After crossing the road beside the Adlingfleet Drain, the proposed line to Adlinfleet would have continued beside the drain, but the line to Fockerby as built turned to the south-east. It passed Boltgate siding to reach Luddington station, with two sidings to the south, but still 0.75 miles (1.21 km) from the village. Next came Pindar's siding, after which the line curved to the north to reach Fockerby, where there were two sidings and a run-around loop.

Returning to Reedness Junction, the line started as the Axholme Light Railway ran from there to Haxey. After Moor's Farm siding, Peat Moss Works siding, which serviced Swinefleet Peat Works, and Spilman's siding, the line reach Crowle. Here there was a passing loop and three sidings to the west. To the south of the station was Ealand Depot, with two sidings, which were added after representations were made by farmers. Beyond, the line rose on an embankment to Crowle swing bridge, crossing three brick arches over a road and a drain, a 52-foot (16 m) girder bridge over the Scunthorpe to Doncaster main line, and another brick arch as it approached. The main girders were 104 feet (32 m) long, and the bridge was built by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company of Darlington. To the south of it was a twelve-arched viaduct known as Crowle Arches, which crossed the Hatfield Waste Drain, the North Engine Drain, the River Torne and the A18 road, and beyond that, another nine-arched viaduct spanning the South Engine Drain and the Folly Drain, beyond which the railway started to descend to return to ground level.

Hagg Lane siding, near the village of Belton, was next, from where John Blether agreed to forward 2,500 tons per year. Using Army-suprlus equipment from the First World War, he built 1.25 miles (2.0 km) of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge tramway in 1920 to bring produce from his farm to the sidings. The length of track was gradually extended to 3 miles (4.8 km), and the wagons were pulled by horses. Usage declined after the Second World War, and the tramway was closed in 1953. Belton station had a passing loop, with three sidings and a loading dock, which was used for sugar-beet traffic. The station was regularly used by the photographer J. Bottomley in the 1920s, who would arrive with his photographic caravan loaded on a truck, and recorded life in the district.

A brickworks and clay pit were served by the next siding. It was not constructed until 1936, and continued in use until the line closed. The line then rose on an embankment to cross the A161 road, and then entered a cutting, where it was joined by the Hatfield Moors branch, the two running parallel for some 240 yards (220 m) before the cutting become an embankment, and they joined near Epworth station. Epworth had a passing loop and sidings to the east, with the track crossing the High Street on a brick bridge to the south of the station.

Next came Burnham Lane siding, and then a high embankment, pierced by two brick bridges, which were wide enough for double track, although they only ever carried a single track, followed by another deep cutting. Haxey station had a passing loop and three sidings. It was originally called Haxey Central, and the Haxey Town AJR, and eventually became Haxey Town. The line continued on an embankment, crossed Ferry Drain and Warping Drain by a brick bridge, and turned to the south-east to reach the terminus at Haxey Junction Station. The adjacent station on the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway line between Doncaster and Gainsborough, to which it was connected by a line which required two reversals, was called Haxey and Epworth.

Marshland Junction to Haxey was a distance of 17.15 miles (27.60 km),, although working timetables normally showed the distance from Goole, which was 19.53 miles (31.43 km) from Haxey. The freight-only branch from Epworth to Hatfield Moors was 5.13 miles (8.26 km) long.