Bypassed: The Abandoned Section of the East Coast Mainline

🚂 Bypassed: The Abandoned Section of the East Coast Mainline | Part 3 of our 'Diverting the East Coast Mainline' Series

Join us on a fascinating journey along a disused section of the East Coast Mainline, once a key part of Britain’s railway infrastructure. In this final part of our three-part railway history series, we explore the abandoned railway line between Selby and York, which was closed in 1983 to make way for coal extraction at the Selby Coalfield.

Discover what remains of this once-busy route, including the sites of three former railway stations now lost to time - Ricall, Escrick and Naburn. We'll also see the fascinating Naburn Swing Bridge. Today, this forgotten stretch of track has been repurposed as the Solar System Way cycle path, offering a unique glimpse into the UK's industrial past and the evolution of rail transport in Yorkshire.

Perfect for enthusiasts of British railway history, abandoned railways, industrial heritage, and transport geography, this episode brings the story of the East Coast Main Line's diversion to life.

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#RailwayHistory #EastCoastMainline #AbandonedRailway #SelbyYorkLine #BritishRail #IndustrialHistory #SolarSystemWay #DisusedRailways #TransportHistory #UKRailways

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[drjuanforfar]

Enjoyed this video. The blending of the music that seemed to fit the landscape is an inspiring choice. I will go do far as to say, this is Art. Thank you for creating these videos, far better than many other offerings on the topic of lost railways.

[TheMicksterdee]

I was lucky enough to have this route as part of my route knowledge. The East Coast Main Line was routed via its present course to facilitate coal mining to serve the Gascoigne Wood complex. The diversion of the East Coast Main Line was to allow coal mining and preventing subsidence on this route.

[smithyhouses]

Thanks for explaining what had happened to the old main line through Selby and beyond towards York. I left England in 1990 to live in Australia, and one evening I got out some of my modern maps of the UK and noticed that the east coast main line didn`t continue past Selby but cut across country and joined the Sheffield line somewhere around Bolton Percy and Copmanthorpe at a new junction.This has now solved a long standing mystery for me. I suppose it was the only thing to do, really in this high speed world and all that slow running at swing bridges and sharp curves just wouldn`t do.Thanks again Wobbly, looking forward to new videos, always.

[andrewholloway]

I am enjoying this. Naburn Swing bridge is so well engineered.

[jonatday]

All those over bridges would have been brick arches once, and they were converted to Flat Concrete undeneath to give the clearance for Overhead Electric wires that never got video

[psychicspies]

I love a swing bridge. I spent many hours as a kid watch trains traverse the Reedham swing bridge, whilst also watching boats pass under or through it on the Broads. Still go back there and last time it swung! I need to check Naburn out for sure!

[prestoncrewnarrowboaters]

That was a very interesting series, i used to work all over the area and learning a little more, i didn't realise that was the old east coast line, its been very enlightening.

[Carolb]

Loved the semaphore nice find Paul. Quite a recent abandoned line I didn't realise some clues left if you look hard enough like tension wires for telegraph poles i would never have spotted that Paul. nice to see the crossing keepers house still there that was in the old photo. The swing bridge was fab overlooking the river Ouse & you came across a few nice bridges maybe not a great deal to see artifact wise but a lovely walk with nice views. Cafe was a welcome sight too.Thanks Paul! 😊❤👍

[garyhoward]

We regularly cycle this route. Great to watch the video.

[michaelmiller]

Thanks for that, Wobbly. I'll have to research this line now!

[yorkie]

Great series on one of my local lines, the other is the DVLR. The Goods Yard at Naburn Station was used as an illegal dumping site for yesrs. Near where you saw the cutting gear you would have been able to see the Stillingfleet mine to the west and North Selby mine to the east.

[bostonrailfan]

that goods yard looked large enough- perhaps that round concrete thing that you found was the foundation for a turntable?

[alantunbridge]

I travelled over this line a few times in the ‘60’s, sometimes on railtours sometimes on regular trains (mostly steam hauled) and l remember that Selby was always a crawl on what was otherwise a fast flat line. Maybe the diversion was long overdue?

[ceanothus_bluemoon]

Nice to see a few little remains. To say it was much more recent than most other lines you cover, there seems surprisingly little. The info boards are welcome though. The former swing bridge was a highlight.

[innertube]

Nicely done! Most people over a certain age in Selby were born at Naburn Maternity Hospital, there was also a mental asylum there and if someone was a bit daft we’d say “he’s waiting for the van to come” i.e. to take them back there.

[maestromanification]

Another interesting video Paul. What the hell it has to do with the solar
If you notice a lot of the over bridges we're rebuilt in the 50s for electrification that never came. A lot were done on the ECML and the coast line from Northallerton to gateshead, the latter still not done.
I would think when Naburn bridge was fixed that would have increased the speed over it by quite a lot

[MrJohnL]

I always thought that the only real reason for the diversion was the problem that the swing bridges would have posed for installing overhead wiring, so I was surprised to hear about the business with the coal.

[rushourcpts]

My understanding of one of the main reasons for this diversion was the removal of I think several Automatic Half Barrier Crossings. These present a major issue still as some of Joe public enjoy risking everything by dodging trains driving around the barriers. Clearly with trains exceeding 100mph there's not much time to avoid any collisions. I think there were at least three of these on this line and this was started in the mid seventies I believe.

[grahambradley]

Riccall station building does still exist but isn't very easy to see. Another interesting point on the line is that all the bridges were raised, pending electrification that never happened. The reason it's so flat is because you're almost entirely in the Vale of York.

[tomoflaherty]

Both BR and the road lobby were probably relieved to be rid of this route. It was a latecomer and had to join awkwardly to two existing routes at either end with resultant speed restrictions. The AHB crossings of the A19 at Riccall were probably not fit for purpose with the amount of traffic going over them and should have been bridged, and once in a while the swing bridge would jam open.