page_title: Hull and Doncaster Branch
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Hull and Doncaster Branch / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Goole rail bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.Swing bridge over the River Ouse, seen from the eastern bank at Skelton. The bridge was threatened with closure in the 1980s due to the cost of repairing damage caused by frequent collisions with shipping. Humberside County Council intervened to help meet the cost of repairs and so preserve the direct rail link between Hull and Doncaster via Goole.
context_page_description: The Hull and Doncaster Branch is a secondary main railway line in England, connecting Kingston upon Hull to South Yorkshire and beyond via a branch from the Selby Line near Gilberdyke to a connection to the Barnsley to Barnetby Line at a junction near Thorne 8 miles northeast of Doncaster.
  The line was sanctioned by parliament in 1864, and opened in 1869; much of the line is flat, with extensive straight sections; the crossing of the River Ouse required a major bridge, the Skelton Viaduct. There are two minor stations on the line Saltmarshe and Thorne North; the present Goole railway station was also created as part of the line, replacing an earlier terminus in the docks.
context_section_description: The line was to run from the NER's Hull and Selby Line west of Staddlethorpe station at Staddlethorpe junction; to a connection with the SYR southwest of Thorne, joining the main line at Thorne junction; with a chord making a connection to the WP&GR's (L&YR) existing railway at Goole from Potter's Grange junction. The act allowed £310,000 in shares, and £103,000 in loans to be raised specifically for the construction of the line.
  Most of the route of the line was relatively flat ground, representing an easy route for construction of a railway. The main feature of the line was the wrought iron bridge crossing the River Ouse, the Skelton viaduct; 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). The contractors for the bridge were Butler and Pitts of Stanningley (fixed spans), and Pease, Hutchingson and Company (Skerne Ironworks) for the swing span, with hydraulic machinery from William Armstrong (Newcastle upon Tyne).
  Bridges were also required in close succession west of Goole: one over the L&YR line into the docks 80 feet (24 m); the Knottingley and Goole Canal, crossed by an iron trellis girder of around 128 feet (39 m); and the Dutch River, with two iron trellis girders of 90 feet (27 m). On the southern part of the line, west of Thorne, bridges were required over the Stainforth and Keadby canal, and the Thorne-Selby road. Stations were built at Laxton (Saltmarshe station), a new through station at Goole, and a second station at Thorne (Thorne North station).
  Construction of the Hull-Thorne section, and straightening of the Doncaster-Thorne Line had begun by 1864; work on the SYR's line was continued through 1865, with the line (Sandall to Maude's Bridge) opened 10 November 1866. Work on the Thorne-Doncaster section continued through 1866 and 1867, with the line nearly completed in 1868 and the Skelton viaduct over the Ouse complete enough by February 1868 to allow officials of the NER to pass over it in a train.
  The length of new line was 14.5 miles (23.3 km), 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.
caption: Skelton viaduct or Goole swing bridge (2009)
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