The story
The Isle of Axholme lies to the west of the River Trent and to the east of Hatfield Chase, a vast area of low-lying land which was described as a badly drained swamp in the 1620s. It was recorded as Axeyholme, with the three syllables Ax-ey-holme meaning water-island-island being contributed by successive groups of Celts, Angles and Danes. In the reign of King Charles I, the Dutch drainage engineer Cornelius Vermuyden set about draining Hatfield Chase, containing some 70,000 acres (280 km2) of wetland, in 1626. The River Don, River Torne and River Idle were re-routed and re-channelled, and although there were some flaws in the initial scheme, and considerable social unrest, including damage of the drainage works, the unrest was finally resolved in 1719, and the agriculture of the area prospered. The Stainforth and Keadby Canal cut across the region in 1802, providing some transport facilities, but the coming of the railway age resulted in calls for railways to be built to carry the agricultural produce to market.
Precursors
The South Yorkshire Railway built a line which ran broadly parallel to the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, passing through Crowle. Two plans for railways from London to York, which would have crossed the Isle, were proposed but not built, while the more local Isle of Axholme Extension Railway would have linked Haxey, Epworth, Crowle and Thorne. In 1846, the railway financier George Hudson proposed a line from Goole to be called the Isle of Axholme, Gainsborough and York and North Midland Junction Railway, which failed to obtain an act of Parliament, but much of its route was used by the railway which did eventually get built.
In 1882, the Isle of Axholme and Marshland Steam Tramway was authorised by the Isle of Axholme and Marshland Tramways Order 1882. It would run from Haxey to Crowle, and would use a gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). However, in 1883 the company joined forces with, and was then taken over by, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to resist a proposal for the Goole, Epworth and Owston Railway. The defeat of the rival scheme was resented by local businessmen. Under an act of Parliament, the Isle of Axholme Railway Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. liv), the tramway was abandoned and the Isle of Axholme Railway was authorised, but this too was abandoned three years later by another act of Parliament, the Isle of Axholme Railway (Abandonment) Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. viii). Nothing more happened, until the passing of the Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 48), which meant that rural railways could be authorised by an order from the Board of Trade, rather than having to obtain a costly act of Parliament.
Proposals
The Goole and Marshland Light Railway was one of the first to take advantage of the new Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 48). A public enquiry held in Goole on 8 October 1897 showed that the plans, which would cost £59,602 to implement, had local support, and the farmers' club estimated that the railway would carry 51,625 tons of agricultural produce per year. The Goole and Marshland Light Railway Order 1898 was issued on 16 August 1898, enabling construction to proceed. It sanctioned four railways and a road. Leaving the Doncaster to Goole main line (Hull and Doncaster Branch), a line composed of two of the railways ran to Adlingfleet via Eastoft, and there were branches to Swinefleet and Luddington. 2 miles (3.2 km) of road were needed to provide access to the railway. The maximum speed was restricted to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), and locomotives with tenders were not allowed to run tender-first.
The Isle of Axholme Light Railway was proposed in 1897, running from Haxey Junction to Crowle via Epworth and Belton. At Haxey, it would join the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, while at Crowle it would pass over and also connect to the Great Central Railway, and would join the Goole and Marshland Light Railway at Reedness Junction. Two branches, to Hatfield Moor and Newlands, were proposed. Like its northern neighbour, the plans had strong local support, and a light railway order, the Isle of Axholme Light Railways Order 1898, was granted on 11 March 1899. A request by the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company that the swing bridge over the canal near Crowle should be maintained in the open position to allow free passage of boats, rather than in the closed position to prefer the railway, was refused, as was an application for running powers over the line by the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway.
Neither railway remained independent for long. Both were negotiating with the North Eastern Railway by January 1900, and agreement was reached that the larger railway would run both of the new lines, also representing them at the Railway Clearing House. As well as the agricultural traffic, the route would provide access to coal from the South Yorkshire coalfields. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway also needed routes into the coalfields, and the two companies agreed with the two new railways on a takeover plan. The North Eastern Railway Act 1902 (2 Edw. 7. c. clxviii) of 31 July 1902 dissolved, transferred to and vested both companies in the North Eastern and the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway companies jointly, with three directors appointed by each company. They paid £73,500 for the Goole and Marshland line, which had been completed, and £27,500 for the Isle of Axholme Light Railway, which was still in the early stages of construction.
Construction
Construction of the Goole and Marshland Light Railway began on 22 September 1898 at Eastoft, where the first sod was cut by the chairman, William Halkon. There was some initial disagreement with the North Eastern Railway over Marshland Junction, but this was resolved in December, and the first section of the virtually flat railway was opened from Marshland Junction to Reedness Junction on 8 January 1900, initially for goods traffic only. A locomotive and two open wagons were used to form a Directors' train to inspect the line to Eastoft on 26 June, and the North Eastern Railway carried out a survey in December before purchasing the line. At the time, the railway was open as far at Luddington, and the final section to Garthorpe was expected to be laid within a month. Eastoft station was completed, and the NER expected Reedness Junction, Luddington and Garthorpe stations to be finished to a similar standard. Garthorpe station was eventually renamed Fockerby.
The railway claimed its first lives when two contractor's locomotives collided in thick fog near Eastoft on 4 January 1901. Both of the locomotives were damaged, and the crew of one were scalded when the boiler tubes burst. The driver died the following day, and the stoker a few days after that. Another inspection train was run on 26 June 1901, starting from Reedness Junction and visiting, according to the Crowle Advertiser, Creyke Siding, Garthorpe and Crowle. The train consisted of two first-class carriages and an open truck. A dinner was held at the Darby and Joan Hotel in Crowle, before the party returned to Reedness. Although Creyke siding was mentioned, this term was normally applied to a siding serving Creyke's peat works on the North Eastern Railway main line to the south of Marshland Junction.
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The cutting of the first sod for the Isle of Axholme Light Railway was an altogether grander occasion. It took place on 20 July 1899, and was reported at great length in the Epworth Bells newspaper. The ceremony was performed by Miss Bletcher, the daughter of one of the Directors, after which a luncheon for a large number of people was held in a marquee. Following speeches, about 400 children were given a free tea in the Temperance Hall, while adults were catered for in the schoolrooms of four local chapels. Sports were then held, watched by a crowd of 1,500, and finally there was a fireworks display. Most of the children later received a commemorative medal.
Construction proceeded slowly, to the extent that there were letters in the local newspaper complaining about the delays. The first train ran into Epworth on 25 November 1901, to test the new bridge, and the event was attended by a crowd of over 400. The line involved more earthworks than the Goole and Marshland Light Railway, with major cuttings at Haxey and Epworth, where steam excavators were used, and a swing bridge over the canal at Crowle. The first fatality was a 15-year-old boy who was hit by a rock during blasting, and died at Doncaster Hospital in early 1902.
By the end of 1902, the section from Crowle to Reedness Junction was finished, as was the line from Epworth to Haxey Junction. The railways became part of the Axholme Joint Railway in early 1903, and the northern sections, from Marshland Junction to Fockerby and Crowle, were opened for passengers and goods on 10 August 1903 19 November 1903. Only Crowle swing bridge remained to be finished by March 1904, and the southern section opened for goods traffic on 14 November. The Board of Trade required several improvements to be made before it passed the line as suitable for passengers, and the formal opening took place on 2 January 1905. The work had involved excavating 820,000 cubic yards (630,000 m3) of earth to form the cuttings between Epworth and Haxey, and another 200,000 cubic yards (150,000 m3) had been used to construct the embankments by Crowle swing bridge. 11,000 cubic yards (8,400 m3) of bricks and 8,000 cubic yards (6,100 m3) of concrete had also been used. Since 17 February 1904, the official name of the undertaking had been the Isle of Axholme Joint Railway (NE and L&Y Joint).
Hatfield Moor branch
An application for a light railway order for the Hatfield Moor Extension Light Railway was made in November 1904, and the Axholme Joint Railway (Hatfield Moor Extension Light Railway) Order 1905 was granted on 5 August 1905. The contract to build it was given to John Moffat of Manchester on 27 September 1907, and the contract price was £14,649. Construction took one and a half years, and the branch opened on 1 March 1909. Because the area through which it ran is low-lying, and had been the subject of drainage schemes since 1626, the railway had several bridges over rivers and drains. Between Epworth and Sandtoft goods station, it crossed the Folly Drain, the New Idle River and the River Torne. Beyond the station it crossed the North Idle Drain, and then ran along the bank of the Hatfield Waste Drain to reach its terminus at Hatfield Moor, close to the Hatfield Peat Works, then owned by the British Moss Litter Company (BMLC).
Facilities were limited, with a borehole 230 feet (70 m) deep supplying a water column at Sandtoft, and a run-round loop with a lever frame at Hatfield Moor, where the staff consisted of a single porter. Traffic was agricultural, but the railway company hoped to obtain the peat traffic. They held discussions in September 1909, but the BMLC continued to transport their peat overland to Maud's Bridge goods yard, on the Doncaster to Scunthorpe line. The Axholme Joint Railway then built a loading dock for the peat, which was completed in December 1911, but still did not succeed in getting the peat traffic. An agreement was eventually made in April 1913, which required the railway company to extend their line into the peat works. When completed, all peat left the works on the Axholme Joint Railway. It continued to serve the works until 30 September 1963, and was formally closed on 29 February 1964.
There was a siding from the main line to Swinefleet Works, which was also owned by the British Moss Litter Company. The works had a 3 ft 7 in (1,093 mm) steam railway which ran northwards from the works to the banks of the River Ouse at Swinefleet Clough. The line crossed the intended route of the Reedness Junction to Fockerby Branch, and the North Eastern Railway met with the BMLC in October 1902, hoping that they could persuade them to waive their right to a level crossing, in return for a payment. The exact outcome is not clear, but a siding was laid into the works, which was operational from 10 August 1903, and the peat railway was lifted at about that time. Peat was brought to the works by a network of 3 ft (914 mm) railways spreading out southwards across Thorne Moors.
Operation
Passenger traffic was sparse through most of the life of the railway. In 1905, three trains per day ran from Goole to Haxey Junction and back, with a separate train operating on the Fockerby Branch. By November, only the morning and evening train ran, except on Wednesdays. A coal strike in 1912 resulted in all services being withdrawn except on Wednesdays and Saturdays for a period of three weeks. At a public meeting held in October 1920, users complained about the poor service and the lack of trucks to carry goods. The chairman of the Isle of Axholme Rural District Council was particularly exasperated by the fact that the trains arrived at Haxey Junction shortly after the trains on the other line had departed.
Motor buses appeared in the district from 1924, and passenger numbers dropped. Cheap fares and a steam railcar did not halt the decline, although in the last days of operation, five trains were run on Saturdays, three on Wednesdays and two on other weekdays. The last trains ran on 15 July 1933, with all passenger services suspended from Monday 17 July. In addition to timetabled services, excursions were run, with Epworth, the birthplace of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism being popular. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway published a booklet entitled Epworth: What to see and how to get there to entice people to travel there from Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Excursions from the Isle of Axholme to Blackpool were popular, with over 600 passengers on such a trip in 1913, and 750 visiting the Great Yorkshire Show at Hull in 1922. Excursions to Blackpool continued to be run even after timetabled passenger services were withdrawn.
Early freight traffic consisted of agricultural products, including carrots, celery, clover, peas, potatoes, sugar beet and swedes, together with large volumes of peat from Swinefleet Works near Reedness Junction and from Hatfield Works on the Hatfield Moor Branch. Traffic into the area included manure. In the 1920s, stations notified the control centre at Goole of the number of wagons they would need for consignments of peas and potatoes, and could also request additional trains. 4,000 tons of green peas were despatched during the 1926 growing season, and in the following year, 7,000 bundles of celery left Epworth station in a three-day period. Traffic started to decline in the 1930s, as motor lorries began to take some of the trade. By 1937, there were only three workings each day, and those were run if required. The peat works at Hatfield was still supplying an average of six wagon-loads per day.
Closure
The line closed to passengers on 15 July 1933. The section from Haxey Junction to Epworth was closed on 1 February 1956, by which time most of the traffic was peat, supplemented by seasonal sugar-beet. The branch to Hatfield Moors was rarely used from 1962, when small diesel locomotives had replaced steam traction, and was closed on 30 September 1963. The rest of the system closed on 5 April 1965.
Although closed, the line was not lifted, and was maintained as a long siding until 1972, on behalf of the Central Electricity Generating Board, who paid for its maintenance. This was to facilitate the maintenance of the stators from Keadby Power Station, which were too heavy to be transported over the bridge where the A161 road crossed the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. When required, the heavy haulage company Pickfords would move a stator by road to Ealand depot, to the south of Crowle. It would then be loaded onto the railway, and moved across the canal to Belton, where it would be transferred back to the road vehicle. The A161 road bridge was replaced by Lindsey County Council in 1970, and the complicated manoeuvres became unnecessary. Consequently, the rails were removed in 1972.
From Wikipedia’s article on Axholme Joint Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3