[1] At Goole the line diverges south-west passing over the westward running line of the former Wakefield, Pontefract and Goole Railway (WP&GR); Knottingley and Goole Canal (Aire and Calder); and the Dutch River, then passing Thorne and crossing the Stainforth and Keadby Canal section of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, connecting with the Barnsley to Barnetby Line at Thorne junction.

[3] Early proposals for a line connecting Hull to Doncaster included the Hull, Sheffield and Midland Direct Railway, promoted in 1845, which was for a line from the Hull and Selby Line near Gilberdyke, crossing the Ouse near Goole by a tunnel, then via Thorne and Kirk Sandall to Doncaster, then west to a junction with the North Midland Railway (Midland Railway) near Wath upon Dearne.

[8][9] The NER submitted a scheme for a railway connecting Doncaster (South Yorkshire) and Hull via a line from Staddlethorpe to Hull;[n 3] the NER's line face three other rival schemes: the independently promoted Hull and West Riding Junction Railway;[n 4] and lines from south Yorkshire towards Hull promoted by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR),[n 5] and by the SYR,[n 6] the 'Hull and West Riding Junction' scheme was withdrawn at an early stage, the remaining three schemes undertook and expensive three-way battle in Parliament for an enabling act.

c. ccxxxviii);[n 11] and the SYR's deviations and branch were incorporated into the South Yorkshire Railway Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict.

[16] The main feature of the line was the wrought iron bridge crossing the River Ouse, the Skelton Viaduct;[map 4] at the time of construction it was amongst the largest opening bridges in the world, with a 250 feet (76 m) swing span, and total length including fixed spans of 830 feet (250 m).

[27][28] The length of new line was 14.5 miles (23.3 km),[18][n 14] Brassey and Field were the main contractors for the line, represented by J. Stevenson; the main engineer was the NER's T. E. Harrison, with John Malt the resident engineer; Buttler and Pitt were contractors for the fixed bridges.

The line closed to passengers on 15 July 1933,[34] while freight traffic ceased on 5 April 1965, but the track was not lifted, and was retained as a long siding.

This practice continued until Lindsey County Council built a new bridge on the A161 road, crossing the Stainforth and Keadby Canal at Crowle, and the rails were finally lifted in 1972.

The works was served by a network of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge horsedrawn tramways, extending onto the moors.

The British Moss Litter Co Ltd took over the site in 1896, but failed to notify the North Eastern Railway, who noted the change in 1909.

The works were established in the 1860s, although its exact purpose at the time is unclear, but Newman & Owston Moss Litter Co Ltd took over the site in 1888.

[37] The peat company merged with the Griendtsveen Moss Litter Co Ltd on 11 May 1893, and the siding agreement was assigned to them on 15 February 1894.

In addition to 3 ft (914 mm) gauge tramways, they built around 14 miles (23 km) of canals on the moors to serve the works.

The standard gauge siding was not lifted immediately after production ceased, as it was still in evidence in the mid-1930s,[39] and appears on the 1948 Ordnance Survey map, although not on the 1956 edition.

[41][42] In 1909 the NER also obtained an act to widen a short section of the line on the approach to Staddlethorpe junction.