Milford Sidings
![]() 66592 passes Milford Sidings with a coal train | |
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Location | |
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Location | South Milford, North Yorkshire, England |
Coordinates | 53°46′18″N 1°14′14″W / 53.7718°N 1.2371°W |
OS grid | SE504308 |
Characteristics | |
Owner | Network Rail |
Type | Wagon storage sidings |
Roads | 11 dead end sidings, 9 through sidings |
History | |
Opened | 1983 |
BR region | Eastern |
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Milford Sidings are a set of railway sidings in South Milford, North Yorkshire, England. The railways through the site were initially opened in 1834 and 1840, when transfer and marshalling yards opened too, which handled mostly coal. However, the current sidings were developed in the 1980s to function as layover (staging in railway parlance)[1] sidings for coal trains to and from the Aire Valley power stations. The sidings have access to several railway lines radiating in almost all directions.
With the drawdown of coal-fired power stations in line with UK government directives, the sidings have been used less due to the loss of coal trains. However, they are still used to stage other freight trains.
History
The first railway through the area was opened in September 1834 as the Leeds and Selby Railway, which ran on a east/west formation north of the Milford Sidings site, and this line is the present Leeds to Hull (via Selby) line.[2] The second line ran in a north/south direction under the Leeds and Selby at Milford connecting York with Normanton as the York and North Midland Railway.[3] This second line, with a south to east facing connection to the Leeds and Selby railway, was completed in 1840.[4] This allowed passengers to and from Hull, to change trains at Milford Junction station, when previously, they had to change at Sherburn-in-Elmet station.[5]
A large hump marshalling yard covering 47 acres (19 ha), was built at Gascoigne Wood on the Leeds to Selby line, which had access to the former York and North Midland Line, both to the north and south.[6][7] This yard was one of several hump yards built by the North Eastern Railway (NER) (others being at Stockton, York and Hull), and consisted of at least 28 lines grouped on either side of the main line.[8] Sidings were also present at the site of Milford Junction station, in the same place as the re-laid sidings of the 1980s, however, these later sidings have taken up the area formerly used by Milford Junction station.[9]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Garnqueen_Gartsherrie_%26_Whifflet._Hensall%2C_Milford_Selby_%26_Cliff_Common_RJD_28.jpg/220px-Garnqueen_Gartsherrie_%26_Whifflet._Hensall%2C_Milford_Selby_%26_Cliff_Common_RJD_28.jpg)
With the opening of the
Wagon maintenance was undertaken at the sidings in a limited capacity, however, wagons were taken from Milford Sidings to the traction maintenance depot at Knottingley some 5 miles (8 km) south for more in-depth work.[17] The shunter allocated to Knottingley would undertake this duty moving wagons between the two sites.[18]
With the downturn in the electricity supply industry (ESI) coal trains due to power station closures,
References
- ^ Butcher, Louise (12 December 2016). "Rail Freight" (PDF). researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk. House of Commons. p. 12. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-910356-47-0.
- ^ Body 1989, p. 178.
- ^ Tomlinson 1915, p. 273.
- ^ Tomlinson 1915, p. 342.
- ^ "Sherburn-in-Elmet Parish (1950s)". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ISSN 0140-0460.
- ISBN 978-1-909431-25-6.
- ^ "Milford Junction". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
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- ISBN 978-0-902835-30-6.
- ^ Chapman 2002, p. 8.
- ^ Body 1989, p. 73.
- ISSN 1479-2230.
- ISBN 978-0-7110-3520-1.
- ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
- OCLC 983211363.
- ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
- ISSN 1362-234X.
- ^ Thomas, Nathalie; Hook, Leslie; Tighe, Chris (1 October 2019). "How Britain ended its coal addiction". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ISSN 1362-234X.
- ISSN 1362-234X.
- ^ "Opposition to gypsum move". infoweb.newsbank.com. 18 October 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Rail deal will reduce roads' load". infoweb.newsbank.com. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
Sources
- Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railways of the Eastern Region. Wellingborough: P. Stephens. ISBN 1-85260-072-1.
- Chapman, Stephen (2002). Selby & Goole. Todmorden: Bellcode Books. ISBN 1-871233-14-3.
- Tomlinson, William Weaver (1915). The North Eastern Railway, its rise and development. Newcastle: A Reid and Co. OCLC 854595777.
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