Selby to Driffield Railway

This interlinking railway spans the counties of North Yorkshire and the East riding of Yorkshire.

Menwith Viaduct was completed in 1848 was built for a double width track, with the intention for the line to be such.

Due to financial difficulties the line originally opened as a single line.

It was however doubled in 1889 when profits from the freight hauled on the busy line financed the expansion.

This volume of freight came from the many nearby farms which had, until the railway opened, used waterways to transport their goods to market.

During the life of this railway, freight brought the majority of the profit but only made up around half of the traffic.

Passenger services included seaside excursion through traffic and commuter services, interlinking Driffield to Selby in under one hour.

Unfortunately, by the 1920’s passenger numbers dwindled, and many passenger services were reduced.

During the second world war, munitions were carried on the line to the several RAF bases in the North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. These Munition Services carried on in smaller numbers into the early 1960’s.

When road transport started to overtake rail in volume the line soon fell into debt. The passenger services all but stopped for excursions in 1954 and freight services stopped in 1964, spelling the end of useful life for this magnificent viaduct.

We had permission to make this documentary however the landowners wanted the location kept secret as it is on arable land and next to a nature reserve so please respect this when commenting.

Join Paul and myself Andy on this explore of the viaduct and railway embankment to see what’s left of this forgotten industrial relic.

The Location has not been added to respect the landowners privacy. Please respect this and think before commenting.