Archive Category: Railway Archive

The current route of the York to Selby cycle path was part of the East Coast Main Line, until the threat of subsidence from the Selby coalfield forced the route of the railway to be changed in 1983. This railway heritage is one of four main avenues for historical research in the Railway to Greenway project. You can find out more about the history of this railway by clicking on the links below.

In the archive –

  • Origins of the East Coast Mainline
  • The LNER  Encyclopedia
  • Maps and plans of the proposed and actual rail network in the York area.
  • Learn about the history of Naburn swing bridge courtesy of York RI Sailing Club.
  • Some photos of the Naburn Swing Bridge – Courtesy of Naburn and Bishopthorpe Local History Groups
  • Photos of Selby Bridge – a similar design – and its predecessor
  • Steam to Diesel – images of rolling stock from Mallard to Royal Scot to Deltic and HST 125
  • Photos of trains and infrastructure at Riccall and Escrick – courtesy of Riccall Local History Group
  • Maps and plans of the proposed and actual rail network in the York area.
  • More historic photos and maps can be found on the page contributed by Frank Paterson – retired General Manager of the BR Eastern Region Search ‘Frank Paterson’

Also some personal memories of people who lived alongside the track when it was still in use –

  • (Almost) de-railing the Royal Scot
  • Siver Cross Pram
  • Young Daredevils
  • Friendly fire

Rolling Stock and Infrastructure at Riccall and Escrick – Photos

Robert Cayton – Railway Worker

Robert Cayton’s son Les still lives in Bishopthorpe. He was brought up in the cottages by the bridge over Acaster…

River to Railway – Sam Taylor’s ‘Riccall : A Village History’

Sam Taylor in his book “Riccall: a Village History” looks at the 1901 Census to illustrate the impact of the…

River Ouse crossing – Naburn Swing Bridge Photographs

Some images of Naburn Swing Bridge courtesy of local history groups from Riccall, Naburn and Bishopthorpe. Note the different structures…

Riddles 9F Locomotives at Selby

The British Railways decided to dispose of steam locomotives in favor of switching to diesel power in the 1960s, so…

Riccall train-spotter to British Rail ECML Technician

Steve Bolton’s memoir tells of his adventures as a youthful train-spotter in Riccall and beyond. He later fulfilled his youthful…

Railway to Greenway Rail Heritage Scoping Schedule

This excel file was compiled by Sophie Vohra of York University as a scoping exercise identifying documents that might be…

Railway Photographs at Riccall Local History Group

Riccall Local History Group has a selection of photographs of the railway line over many decades.

Railway Maps and Plans from the 1860s

A selection of maps and plans showing the proposed and actual networks in the area. This map shows the network…

Railway Land Plans and Sections, 1863-1864, York and Doncaster

Original land plans and sections created in 1863 – 1864 by the railway company surveyor for the proposed line from…

Rail Mishaps near Selby

From time to time, there were accidents on the railway. In the two pictures below, an accident occurred when a…

Photo: HST125 at Selby bridge

HST 125 High Speed 254004 express from  London to Aberdeen crossing Selby swing bridge on Tuesday 19th May 1981 at…

Oral History : John Meredith – Designer of the East Coast Mainline diversion

John Meredith was a railway engineer who started work on the Southern Railway in 1945. After ten years, he went…

North Eastern Railway: York, Selby and Doncaster line

This is an item about the North Eastern Railway on the York, Selby and Doncaster line. At some point we…

North Eastern Railway York and Doncaster Bill 1864

The Parliamentary Bills and minutes of evidence is held at The National Archives and is only accessible there.   Reference…

  • Decade