[2] The Leeds and Hull scheme was not adequately subscribed by shareholders, and made no significant progress until 1828, by which time the Knottingley to Goole section of the Aire and Calder Navigation canal has opened (1826).

[3] The line between Leeds and Selby was resurveyed by James Walker – in addition to minor changes to the route the stationary engines and inclined planes were replaced with a tunnel.

[11] On 11 August 1834 the Hull and Selby Railway Company was formed, and the process of obtaining an act of Parliament authorising its construction was begun in late 1834.

[13][i] ... no line in England of similar extent is better adapted for the formation of a RailwayFrom Selby, the line connected from the Leeds and Selby Railway, and ran NNE crossing Ousegate, and the River Ouse by a bascule bridge,[map 1] before turning right on a curve approximately 0.5 miles (800 m) radius to head roughly eastwards in a gradually southward course.

The need for the crossings of the Ouse and Derwent to be made at a sufficient height necessitated the introduction of the steeper gradients on the line.

[21] The main civil engineering works for the line were cuttings at North Ferriby and Hessle, and the Humber side embankment on the route into Hull.

[24][map 14] The company's shares were fully taken up by November 1836, allowing the directors began to make contracts for the work; Walker was directed to stake out the line, which was completed before the end of the year.

[33] In July the original contract for the Hull Humber embankment was cancelled due to unsatisfactory progress and relet to Townsend and Harker.

[34] At Brough removal of a mound revealed Roman remains including coins, pottery and a large amount of bones of cattle, as well as seven human skeletons.

[39] By early 1839 plans for the railway depot, workshops and related equipment were being drawn up;[40] the company acquired tanks for kyanising sleepers were acquired, and an order placed with Bereton and Vernon of Hull for a 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) steam engine to power machinery at the Hull workshop, including that for sawing the wood for sleepers.

[45] The contractor Mr. Briggs installed the river bank, sided and central pier piled foundations between autumn 1837 and June 1839.

However the contact between rail and sleeper produced hydraulic pumping in wet conditions, which led to rolling stock becoming dirtied very quickly.

[58] His designs such as the "Star" and "Vesta" were fitted with variable expansion valve-gear,[52] and his engines on the railway represent some of the earliest examples of counterweighting of wheel rims on locomotives.

[n 7] In 1842 locomotive power consisted of twelve six-wheeled engines;[20] a second set of six were ordered from Shepherd and Todd to a revised design: a broad wheelbase of 11 feet (3.4 m) and lateral spring spacing of 6.5 feet (2.0 m), along with a centrally located driving crank was employed to increase safety by reducing oscillations at speed; the design was simplified to two inner frames supporting the inner bearings creating more space in the inside frame, in order to facilitate ease of maintenance; expansive working of steam was employed for fuel efficiency; the remainder of the design was influence by contemporary best practice – 6 feet (1.8 m) driving wheels, pistons of 2 by 1 foot (0.61 by 0.30 m) stroke by diameter, and a firebox 2 by 3.5 feet (0.61 by 1.07 m) with 94 fire tubes each 9.5 ft (2.9 m) long and 2 in (51 mm) diameter.

Joint working under one management began on 1 January 1844, with an approximately 1:5 split on future capital costs and of receipts, with the Hull company with the minor share.

[72][73][74] Two Hull and Selby shareholders disagreed with the arrangements with the Manchester company, and in 1844 began to agitate for a re-negotiation of the distribution of receipts between the two firms.

[77][78] These developments, the concerns of the Hull shareholders, and Hudson's desire to avoid strong competition from a rival company led to informal discussion on amalgamation between the two parties.

[87][n 9] In July 1846 the lease and acquisition of the H&S by the Y&NMR and M&LR was approved by the Hull and Selby Railway Company's Purchase Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict.

[93] The line ran from a junction at Dairycoates west of Hull,[map 15] directly northward to Cottingham, then to Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington.

[map 18] In the enquiries into George Hudson's finances in the late 1840s it was found that he had sold his shares in the Hull and Selby to the Y&NMR at a higher price than he had paid for them; as a result he allowed this transaction was cancelled.

[74][103] In 1852 the Y&NMR and L&YR presented a bill to parliament to clarify the leases and joint working arrangements on the Leeds and Selby and other lines.

[109] The North Eastern Railway (NER) was formed in 1854, following the downfall and disgrace of George Hudson due to his financial dealings.

[110] The H&S initially opposed the merger, wishing to retain the favourable terms of the lease obtained from the Y&NMR under Hudson; the final act included clauses protecting their interests.

[111] The issue of the lease payments originally agreed with the Y&NMR and the M&LR led to a chancery suit being brought by the H&S; the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (successor to the Manchester and Leeds company) made an agreement with the H&S to retain their Hull traffic on the H&S Line, and the directors of the NER agreed to undertake the lease alone, resulting in the H&S terminating their suit.

[120] The exchange of H&S shares for cash or NER preference stock was undertaken between 1871 and 1872, and the Hull and Selby Railway ceased to exist as an independent entity in 1872.

The bridge was operated turned by hydraulic engines, with the control cabin located above the tracks at the centre of the swing span.

[132] The remainder of the bridge foundations consisted of cast iron piers fitted with cutting shoes sunk by excavation by hand labour working in airlocks, and by weighting.

[143] In the late 1970s Tilcon constructed a plant at Dairycoates, supplied with limestone by rail from Rylstone (Swinden Quarry, Grassington branch, Skipton).

[149][150][151] Governmental funding for the electrification in Network Rail's Control Period 6 (2019–24) was announced in the 2015 United Kingdom budget, subject to a financial contribution from Hull Trains, and an acceptable business case being presented.

[160] On 2 October 1880, Patrick Neary, an NER employee was hit by the Hull-Leeds express train whilst carrying out maintenance work of the bridge over the River Derwent at Wressle.